Highlights
Ippatsu Backfire
February 27, Game 1, S3-2
In S3-2, Honda and Nakabayashi are tied for 2nd place and sitting 19,100 behind 1st place Matsumoto. Both Nakabayashi and Honda start out with a big iishanten starting hands. For Nakabayashi, he has two red fives and a decent chance at tanyao, waiting on 4 different tiles for tenpai. For Honda, he has a pair of white dragons and waiting on 8 different tiles for tenpai. After upgrading to a perfect iishanten and drawing the tanyao side of a ryanmen, Nakabayashi gets to tenpai on turn 4 and calls riichi on a 14m ryanmen.
On the ippatsu turn, Honda draws a red 5p, switches out his floating 3s and waits on 10 different tiles for tenpai. At the start of the second row, Honda gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 5p/white dragon shanpon. Unfortunately, Honda draws the 1m, Nakabayashi’s winning tile, on the ippatsu draw and deals in.
Nakabayashi wins the hand with Riichi/Pinfu/Dora 1/Aka 2 for 8,000 plus Honda’s riichi stick.
Random Tanki
February 27, Game 1, S4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-14_s50_p729
In S4-0, 6,500 separates 1st place Matsumoto and 2nd place dealer Nakabayashi. Matsumoto wants to win to end the game, Nakabayashi wants to win to continue the game.
At the start we see Nakabayashi at 4-shanten with no value, while Matsumoto is 3-shanten with a red 5p. Both of them manage to fill in a few bad shapes and advance their hands well in the first row, both of them advancing two steps closer to tenpai. In the middle of the second row, Matsumoto is the first to tenpai and waits dama on a 47m ryanmen.
Two turns later, Nakabayashi gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 3p kanchan.
Two turns after Nakabayashi calls riichi, Matsumoto draws a 5p. The 5p is completely exposed and is very dangerous. However, it does create an ankou and allows Matsumoto to break his ryanmen. To keep safe, Matsumoto discards the 5m and waits on a 6m tanki. Unexpectedly, Matsumoto manages to draw the 6m on his very next draw to win the hand. Matsumoto wins with Tsumo/Aka 1 for 500/1,000 to win end the game and place 1st.
Sonoken
February 27, Game 2
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-14_s10_p738
In E4-0, Sonoda is sitting in last place, 5,700 behind 3rd place Nakabayashi and 10,000 behind 2nd place Ooi. He did win the previous hand, so he does have some forward momentum working for him.
He starts out the hand 4-shanten with no clear value or a path to a good hand. With his path undecided, he starts out by throwing his stray honours. By the end of the first row, his hand now has a ryanmen-ryanmen iishanten with one dora and guaranteed pinfu. At the start of the second row, Sonoda gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 14m ryanmen.
During the ippatsu round, Nakabayashi gets to tenpai as well and calls riichi on a 47m ryanmen.
If Ooi discards the 4m, Nakabayashi would win. If Hagiwara discards the 4m, then Sonoda would win. Though, both of them would prefer to draw it themselves. Just two turns after calling riichi, Sonoda finds the 1m and wins the hand. With a flip of the uradora, Sonoda’s 6p pair becomes dora and upgrades his hand. Sonoda wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Aka 1/Ura 2 for 6,000 all plus one riichi stick, moving him into 2nd place.
In E4-1, Sonoda is in 2nd place and starts out 3-shanten with two 3p dora and a red 5s. His hand is guaranteed to be a mangan if he keeps all of them, paving a way for 1st place. During the first few turns, 4th place Nakabayashi tries to win quickly by making two calls. However, as Nakabayashi tries to rush the hand, Sonoda draws good tiles. By the end of his first row, he is iishanten (though he had to get rid of a 3p dora to accept a ryanmen). At the start of the second row, Sonoda gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 14p ryanmen. Just two turns later, Nakabayashi discards the 1p and deals into Sonoda. Sonoda wins the hand with Riichi/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 7,700+300, moving into 1st.
In E4-2, Sonoda starts out 2-shanten with not much value, but his dealership makes winning more valuable. Even as Nakabayashi tries to call to end the dealership quickly, Sonoda draws the right tiles. At the end of the first row, Sonoda gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 58m ryanmen. Though Nakabayashi interrupts the ippatsu turn to get to tenpai himself, Sonoda gets his winning 8m on his next draw. Sonoda wins the hand with Riichi/Tsumo for 1,000+200 all.
In E4-3, Sonoda starts off the hand 3-shanten with two red fives and three ryanmens. With the hand basically directing itself, Sonoda just hopes for the right draws. By the end of the first row, Sonoda is 2-shanten with a chance at pinfu and a 456 sanshoku. When Hagiwara discards a 2p in the second row, Sonoda calls pon to get to iishanten. A turn later, Sonoda draws a 6m and gets to tenpai on a 36s ryanmen (with the 6s giving sanshoku). Soon after, Hagiwara discards the 6s and deals into Sonoda. Sonoda wins the hand with Tanyao/Sanshoku/Aka 2 for 12,000+900, putting Sonoda above 55,000.
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-14_s10_p739
In E4-4, Sonoda starts out the hand 3-shanten for both chiitoi and a standard hand. With sequences of 123p and 789m as well as a pair of red dragons, Sonoda has a chance at chanta. On turn 2, Sonoda creates a 13p shape and missing a 2p for iipeikou. A turn later, Sonoda draws a 2p to get to iishanten. With the pair of red dragons and a 7899m shape, Sonoda has a chance at ryanpeikou if he draws a 7m and 8m. On turn 8, Sonoda draws a 7m. Ready for what is sometimes nicknamed “super chiitoi“, Sonoda calls riichi and waits on an 8m kanchan, guaranteed at least a haneman if he wins.
All players try to avoid the riichi, but Hagiwara ends up drawing good tiles while he does so. At the end of the second row, Hagiwra manages to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 69m ryanmen.
Two hands, a ryanmen and a kanchan. An expensive hand and a relatively cheap hand. Two teams that are trying to get a playoff spot. In the middle of the third row, Sonoda manages to draw his winning 8m and wins the hand. Sonoda wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Chanta/Ryanpeikou for 6,000+400 all plus one riichi stick, moving Sonoda above 75,000.
Hagi
February 27, Game 2
In S1-0, Hagiwara is in 2nd place and 53,200 behind 1st place Sonoda. With Hagiwara being so far behind, he needs to win a lot.
He starts out the hand 3-shanten with a dora 5m. With three kanchans, he aims to either fill them or convert them into ryanmens. By the end of the first row, Hagiwara is iishanten and only left with one kanchan. At the start of the second row, Hagiwara draws a red 5p and calls riichi on a 6m kanchan. At the end of the second row, Hagiwara draws the 6m and wins the hand. Hagiwara wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 2,000/4,000.
In S2-1, Hagiwara is 42,200 behind Sonoda and starts out 2-shanten with a pair of double souths. On turn 2, he draws a red 5p and connects it with a 4p dora near the end of the row. At the start of the second row, Hagiwara fills in a 6s kanchan. A few turns later, he calls chii on the 3p and gets to tenpai on a south/9p shanpon (with the south being the only tile to give a yaku).
Soon after, Nakabayashi gets to tenpai on a 5m/3s shanpon. With a call in the third row, he improves the wait to a 36m ryanmen. Unfortunately for Nakabayashi, he draws a south just two turns later and is forced to fold.
With one of Hagiwara’s souths gone, Hagiwara only has one south left to hope for. On Hagiwara’s second-last draw, he finds the last south and wins the hand. Hagiwara wins with Double South/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 2,000+100/4,000+100.
After Hagiwara’s dealership started with a draw, Hagiwara continued it in S3-1. With the gap between him and Sonoda being 30,800, a haneman would be enough to cut that gap in half.
Hagiwara starts the hand 2-shanten with one ryanmen, two kanchans and a red 5s. On turn 5, he fills in a 4s kanchan to get to iishanten. At the end of the first row, he upgrades to a ryanmen-ryanmen iishanten. In the second row, he upgrades his hand even further, creating a sanmenchan and giving himself a chance at a 567 sanshoku. On his next draw, he draws a 4p to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 147s wait. On the ippatsu draw, he draws a 4s and wins. Hagiwara wins big with a Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Pinfu/Tanyao/Aka 1 for 6,000+100 all, getting to within 7,400 of 1st place.
Shaa Tanki
February 28, Game 1, S4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-14_s30_p730
In S4-0, Uchikawa is in 4th place, 6,300 behind 3rd place Katsumata, 13,700 behind 2nd place Kondo and 15,200 behind 1st place Date. A baiman for 1st or a haneman tsumo for 2nd would be nice, but they are a bit difficult to achieve. More reasonably, a mangan win is enough for at least 3rd, with a direct hit off Kondo or Date being enough to move into 2nd.
Before Uchikawa even draws his first tile, we see he has an amazing starting hand, already iishanten with a chance at double riichi and just a 4p away from an ittsuu. He isn’t able to double riichi with his first draw, but the path to mangan is secured.
At the end of the first row, Uchikawa draws the 4p and secures ittsuu. With a riichi, Uchikawa waits on a west tanki, the wait of his nightmares.
Near the end of the second, Date has run out of completely safe tiles. Holding a pair of wests and seeing one west already discarded, Date breaks up her west pair and deals into Uchikawa.
Uchikawa wins the hand with Riichi/Ittsuu/Aka 1 for 8,000 to move into 2nd place. After just over 3 years after dealing into Kurosawa’s suuankou tanki on the west, Uchikawa has now found positive results with the west.
Perfect Ends
February 28, Game 2, S4-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-14_s30_p731
In S4-1, Uchikawa is in 3rd place, 8,600 behind 2nd place dealer Takamiya and 13,900 behind 1st place Matsugase. To take 2nd, he would need a haneman indirect ron, a 3/40 direct hit or a 3/50 tsumo. For 1st place, he would need a baiman indirect hit or a haneman direct hit or tsumo.
Uchikawa starts out the hand 3-shanten with no immediate value. There is the chance at a 123m sanshoku, but that would require a 2m, 1m and finding a pair somewhere else.
In the first row, Uchikawa gets a pair of 9m and creates a 69p ryanmen. Though he still needs to draw a 9p and 1m to get there, he has a chance to add junchan to his hand. At the start of the second row, Uchikawa draws a 1m to put him iishanten, waiting for a 2s and a 9p for the ultimate hand. However, as Uchikawa waits, Takamiya gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 7m kanchan.
Being in 3rd place, far from 4th and holding a potential comeback hand, Uchikawa pushes his hand. In the middle of the second row, Uchikawa draws the 2s. He calls riichi and waits on a 69p ryanmen. If he wins off the 9p, draws the 6p and finds one extra han, or calls ron on the 6p and finds two extra han, he will take 1st place because of Takamiya’s riichi stick.
Just two turns later, Uchikawa draws the takame 9p and wins the hand. Uchikawa wins the hand with a beautiful Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Junchan/Sanshoku for 4,000+100/8,000+100 plus one riichi stick to win the game.
Late, Yet On Time
March 2, Game 1, E2-2
In E2-2, Maruyama is in last place with 16,900. With 2,600 in bonus sticks available to be won, Maruyama can win any hand and get back to above 20,000.
Maruyama starts out the hand 3-shanten with three ryanmens in hand. Though it seems like a fast hand, it is a bit behind Hinata’s 2-shanten haipai. Even worse, the first row doesn’t let her get further than 2-shanten, allowing Kayamori to match her at 2-shanten and Hinata to advance to iishanten. In the middle of the second row, dealer Hinata secures tanyao and one dora and calls riichi on a 58p ryanmen, guaranteed at least three han.
Even with the dealer riichi, both Maruyama and Kayamori are able to advance safely. With just seven tiles left in the wall, Kayamori gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 36m ryanmen.
Maruyama is stuck at iishanten and holding no yaku if she does get to tenpai. On her second-last draw, she gets a useless 1p, almost ending her chances of winning this hand. However, as Hinata discards the red 5s on the second-last tile, Maruyama calls pon and gets to tenpai on a 3m/2s shanpon.
With Maruyama’s chii, the last tile is shifted from Maruyama to Kayamori. With Kayamori’s last draw, she hopes to find the haitei but ends up getting Maruyama’s winning 2s.
With the last tile being her winning tile, Maruyama now has a yaku and calls ron. Maruayama wins with Houtei/Aka 1 for 2,000+600 plus four riichi stick, enough to move into 3rd place.
Ura
March 2, Game 1, S4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-14_s40_p740
In S4-0, the scores are very close. Only 6,600 separates 4th place Hinata and 1st place Maruyama. The scores are as follows:
- Takizawa: 25,100
- Hinata: 20,700
- Maruyama: 27,300
- Kayamori: 26,900 (dealer)
From the start we see Takizawa with the best starting hand, starting iishanten with his first 13 tiles and having a double riichi potential. The first tile misses, but it is still a good starting hand. Needing either 2/40 or 3/30, his most likely value route is Riichi/Pinfu and one more han.
On turn 3, Takizawa draws an 8m to get a ryanmen. Having pinfu, he calls riichi and waits on a 69m ryanmen. With a tsumo or a win on a 6m, he would have enough. However, if he rons the 9m off either Kayamori or Hinata, he would have to hope for ura.
Looking around the table for the most likely victims, Hinata is holding a lone 9m. After creating a ryanmen, Hinata discards the 9m on turn 5.
Though the 1st place isn’t guaranteed, Takizawa calls ron and takes the gamble. With a flip of the uradora, he reveals the 3s as the uradora indicator and makes his 4s dora, giving him just enough to win. Takizawa wins with Riichi/Pinfu/Ura 1 for 3,900 to win the game by 1,700.
Three Times in Three Weeks
March 2, Game 2, S4-1
Video (Abema): https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-14_s40_p741
Video (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WfuDR3zzo4
In S4-1, Takamiya is in 2nd place and 8,700 behind 1st place dealer Shiratori. With 1,300 in bonus sticks available, she would need a mangan indirect, a 3/30 direct or a 3/40 tsumo for 1st place.
Takamiya starts out the hand with a triplet of 3p and pairs of 6s, 4m and 7m. With Toitoi/Tanyao, it would likely be enough for a tsumo or a direct hit. If her hand were to remain closed, she would have a chance for sanankou or maybe even suuankou.
To her right, Shiratori tries to rush the hand by calling the south on turn 3. Though Takamiya knows she needs to speed up the hand, she has no ability to do that. All she can do is wait to draw the right tiles. By the end of the first row, both Shiratori and Takamiya are iishanten.
In the second row, Shiratori shifts his hand towards a mangan, though his draws just aren’t getting him to tenpai. Meanwhile, Takamiya’s hand starts to get bigger. In the middle of the second row, Takamiya makes a pair of 5m. If she can draw the 4m, 5m or 6s, she would be tenpai for suuankou. On Takamiya’s very next draw, she finds the 6s to get to yakuman tenpai. She calls riichi, hoping to complete the 4m/5m shanpon for maximum points.
Two 4m and one 5m sit in the wall. Three tiles that Takamiya can draw to get the league’s third yakuman in as many weeks. On Takamiya’s next draw, on the ippatsu turn, Takamiya finds the red 5m and completes the yakuman! Takamiya wins with Suuankou for 8,000+100/16,000+100 plus one riichi stick to win the game. With the third yakuman in around 16 days, this is the shortest span of three yakuman since the three yakuman in 8 days during February-March 2020.
Ippatsu Haitei
March 3, Game 1, E3-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-14_s30_p732
In E3-1, Okada is in 1st place and 6,000 ahead of 2nd place. With the team just 16.4pts away from 6th place in the standings, a 1st place would be a big help for the team
Okada starts out the hand with a nice 2-shanten hand with two ryanmens and a dora 2m. In the first row, she gets nowhere besides drawing another 2m dora. In the second row, Okada is able to draw the red 5m to get to a ryanmen-ryanmen iishanten for a guaranteed mangan. Around her other players are calling to advance their own hands. By the end of the first row, Everyone but Kurosawa is iishanten. As all three of them go through the third row, none of them are able to advance. With no dora visible, Mizuhara actually folds her hand when she draws some dangerous tiles. On Okada’s second last draw, she draws a third 2m amd finally gets to tenpai. There are only 4 tiles left in the wall, but she has no yaku. Trying to take as much advantage of the dora, Okada calls riichi.
As long as no one calls, any win of Okada will give an extra han. With Aki, Kurosawa and Mizuhara not able to get to tenpai, they all avoid dealing in. On the very last draw, Okada manages to find the 6m on the ippatsu and wins the hand! With the uradora flip, Okada’s 3p pair now becomes dora for an extra surprise. Okada wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Haitei/Dora 3/Aka 1/Ura 2 for 4,000+100/8,000+100 plus one riichi stick to go above 50,000.
Doubled
March 3, Game 2
In E1-0, Aki is the starting dealer and trying to get her team back in 1st place. To do that, she would need to finish the game in 1st place with a score of 47,000 or higher.
Aki starts out the hand 3-shanten and lacking dora, but she does have many floating middle tiles to work with. With two sequences and a pair, she needs to find two more groups to win. In the first row, she makes a pair of 6s, a 58p ryanmen and a 25p ryanmen. With the 6s pair, Aki discards the 9m to go for tanyao. At the start of the second row, Aki draws the dora 2p and calls riichi on a 58p ryanmen, guaranteed at least a mangan. Two turns later, Shibukawa tries to chase and calls riichi on a 4s. However, immediately after, Aki draws the 8p and wins the hand. Aki wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Tanyao/Dora 1 for 4,000 all plus one riichi stick.
In E1-1, Aki starts out with a ryanmen-sanmenchan iishanten with her first draw, guaranteed pinfu and waiting on five different tiles for tenpai. On turn 3, Aki draws a 4s and calls riichi on a 147p sanmenchan. Though the wait is wide, Aki is unable to draw it in the first or the second row and all her opponents are avoiding it. By the end of the second row, Aki only has three tiles left. But, at the start of the third row, Aki finds the 1p and wins the hand. Flipping one ura, Aki wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 4,000+100 all, putting her above 50,000 in just two hands.
Ura Ura
March 3, Game 2, E2-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-14_s70_p733
In E2-0, Setokuma is the dealer in 2nd place, 31,500 behind 1st place Aki. The team is currently in 6th place and they want to put as much space between them and 7th.
Setokuma starts out the hand with a big iishanten hand with two red fives. Two only the 3s and 7s will get him to tenpai, his 4567m shape can easily improve his hand. In Setokuma’s first six turns, he just drew and discarded, stuck with the same hand that he started with. In the middle of the second row, Setokuma finally makes some progress, doubling his tile type acceptance from 2 to 4 types (though he needed to discard the 7m, losing the sanmenchan chance). Two turns later, Setokuma draws the 7s to fill in a kanchan and calls riichi on a 3s kanchan. During the ippatsu turn, Shibukawa discards the 3s and deals into Setokuma. With the ura flip, Setokuma’s 9p pair becomes dora and upgrades his hand. Setokuma wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Aka 2/Ura 2 for 18,000, putting Setokuma above 35,000 and Shibukawa in the negatives.
Bully
March 3, Game 2, E2-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-14_s20_p734
In E2-1, Aki is in 1st place and the dealer Setokuma is chasing her, 13,500 behind.
Aki starts out the hand 3-shanten with a red 5p and a decent chance at tanyao. In the first row, Aki makes pairs and concealed triplets to get to iishanten by the end of the row. At the same time, Shibukawa has called a concealed kan and is also iishanten. The first of the two to get to tenpai is Shibukawa, who does so in the middle of the second row and calls riichi on a 36m ryanmen.
By this point, Aki is iishanten and waiting on five different tiles to tenpai. She avoids the ippatsu turn by throwing her 7p, losing the 6p kanchan and putting it down to 4 different tiles. A turn later, she creates a 25s ryanmen to get back to 5 different tiles. At the end of the row, she draws the 2s to create an iipeikou and gets to tenpai on a 25p/7s wait.
The the wait is wide, she already sees three 2p and three 5p, making her hand unlikely to win. Two turns later, she switches to a 6p kanchan, a tile that is difficult to use with three 5p and three 7p visible to Aki. In the middle of the third row, she draws a 4p and switches to a 36p ryanmen. With the 234s iipeikou and the 34455p shape, Aki only needs a 3p to win a ryanpeikou.
This was the third ryanpeikou chance in the past two weeks. Could Aki win it? As we counted, there was only one 3p and one 6p left in the wall.. Unfortunately, the dream was killed when Kobayashi drew the 3p soon after. However, on Shibukawa’s last draw, he gets the last 6p and deals into Aki.
Aki wins the hand with Pinfu/Tanyao/Iipeikou/Aka 1 for 8,000+300 plus Shibukawa’s riichi stick, putting Shibukawa below -10,000.
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