Standings

For the first time this season, the Kadokawa Sakura Knights take top spot in the performance rankings. After 22 weeks, they finally have their bento. Okada was able to triple her starting score in the south round of her game, Uchikawa was able to hit the 7th place Sega Sammy Phoenix directly to strengthen their hold on a playoff spot. With a 2/1/1/0 record and a +121.7pts gain, the team catapults up to 3rd place. With only two more games against the Sega Sammy Phoenix left, they are very unlikely to lose their playoff spot. They will be facing the Drivens in the last four games, so they might have to be careful just a bit.

Second in the performance rankings is the EX Furinkazan. The team’s monster run just keeps going. Matsugase got a haneman tsumo in the very first hand to basically clinch his win, Katsumata was able to escape 4th late in the game and ended up gaining points. With another strong week for the team, they got their 11th straight week of positive results, going 1/2/0/1 with a gain of +39.9pts. With this unique position, they have a unique opportunity. If they want to, the team could actually try to push the Drivens and Phoenix into 1st games in their games together, denying the other competing teams from getting the extra oka/uma points.

U-Next Pirates are third in the performance rankings. Sure, Nakabayashi lost a yakuman due to headbump, but the final result is what matters. He got 1st and the Drivens got 4th, widening the gap between the Pirates and elimination. The team had a record of 1/1/2/0 and a gain of +37.0pts. They have no more games against the Drivens, so they are safe from a direct hit from them. However, they still have four games against the Sega Sammy Phoenix. So long as they can avoid any 1st/4th scenarios in the those games, they should have their playoff spot.

The last gaining team this week is Team Raiden. Though Team Raiden gained points this week with a 2/0/1/1 record and a +33.5pts gain, they are still in the most dangerous spot in the league. The 6th place Team Raiden will be facing the 7th place Sega Sammy Phoenix in their last six games of the regular season. They will need to make sure that they place above them in every single game. Even two 1st/4th scenarios will put Team Raiden in 7th. Target the Phoenix and avoid dealing in. If they can do that, they will make the playoffs.

Going into the dropping teams, the Konami Mahjong Fight Club are fifth in the performance rankings. It wasn’t the best of weeks, there is a lot of positive to look see. They have their playoff spot. Takizawa avoided a yakuman deal-in (albeit in a highly unorthodox way). The team has their best season in the team’s history. With a -25.1pts loss and a 0/2/2/0 record, the team still sits in 2nd place, but are one strong 1st away from top spot again.

The Akasaka Drivens are next, dropping -59.0pts with a record of 1/0/1/2. Though Murakami killed a yakuman and Sonoda got his 11th win this season, the team sees that the end is near. If they don’t get into the finals, they will have to replace at least one player. Being 361.2pts away from 6th place, they have to win basically every game. If they want to target teams to make their work a bit easier, they can try to hit the Shibuya Abemas in four of their last six games, getting a 1st/4th result against them to gain close the gap by over 100.0pts every game.

Next are the Sega Sammy Phoenix. They want to go up, they get there and the something gets in the way. The team started the week within range of 6th, Tojo gets very unlucky and the team drops down to 8th. Kondo saves the team with a 1st, then Kayamori ends up dealing into a dealer mangan while in 1st place. By the end of the week, they lost -68.7pts and had a record of 1/0/1/2. Though the team seems to be out, they are lucky to be facing Team Raiden in their last six games. Getting 1sts and targeting them, they can rack up points quickly. With three 1st/4th results, they can actually overtake Team Raiden. However, they will have to work hard to win it. The Phoenix are in the ashes right now. Now is the time to rise.

And finally, coming in last place in the performance rankings, we have the Shibuya Abemas. Though the Shibuya Abemas are very likely going to make the semifinals, they are currently flirting the possibility of not making it. 4th place avoidance Hinata and team captain Ooi both suffered 4ths, with Hinata suffering her biggest loss ever. Shiratori and Matsumoto tried to get 1sts to save the team, but they were just a hand short. With a 0/2/0/2 record and a -79.3pts loss, the team now sits 5th in the standings. Having finished all of their games against the Sega Sammy Phoenix, they now have to make sure that they don’t fall prey to the Akasaka Drivens in their four games against each other. If they can do that, they will get a playoff spot.

This Week’s M-League Stats

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That’s all for this week! Only one more full week of the regular season, then we have the final four games of the regular season the week after! With the 6th place Raiden and 7th place Phoenix facing each other in their last six games, who will triumph? Can the Drivens make a miraculous comeback? Will we get a yakuman that won’t be headbumped? As always, we’ll just have to wait and see!

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