Highlights
Quick Riichi
March 13, Game 1
In S1-0, Shibukawa is in 3rd place, 15,700 behind 2nd place Hagiwara and 17,000 behind 1st place Murakami. As long as they can place above both the Phoenix and the Drivens, the Sakura Knights will strengthen their hold on a playoff spot.
Before Shibukawa even takes his first draw, we see that he is already iishanten with his 13 starting tiles, waiting on a 3p, 4p or north for tenpai. With his very first draw, he finds the 4p and calls a double riichi, waiting on a 3p penchan.
Holding three of the 4p, anyone who even wanted to push would have a difficult time using the 3p. With the early riichi nobody wanted to push hard. With no one pushing against Shibukawa, he can only wait to draw it. At the end of the first row, Shibukawa draws the 3p and wins the hand. Shibukawa wins with Double Riichi/Tsumo/Dora 1 for a 2,000/4,000 mangan.
In S3-0, Shibukawa is now the dealer and holding a small 1,000 lead over 3rd place. With such a narrow lead, Shibukawa wants to take advantage of his dealership to widen it.
With Shibukawa’s first 14 tiles, he is already iishanten, holding a pair of white dragons for potential value. On his very next draw, he gets to tenpai and calls a turn 2 riichi on a west/white dragon shanpon.
With absolutely no clues at what to discard, Murakami discards the white dragon during the ippatsu and unluckily deals into Shibukawa. Shibukawa wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/White Dragon for 7,700, getting a direct hit on the Drivens.
Uchikawa
March 13, Game 2
In S1-0, Uchikawa is the dealer in 3rd place, 9,000 behind 2nd place Honda and 39,600 behind 1st place Tojo. With the team at -16.7pts, Uchikawa wants to push the team into the positives for the first time since November.
Uchikawa starts out the hand 2-shanten with a red 5s and the ability to accept the 5p dora. With his first few draws, he starts to create a sequence in manzu and when he completes it on turn 5, he gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 5p kanchan. Just two draws later, Uchikawa finds the red 5p and wins the hand. Uchikawa wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Dora 1/Aka 2 for 4,000 all, quickly moving him into 2nd place.
In S1-1, Uchikawa is now just 13,600 behind 1st place Tojo. Uchikawa starts out the hand 2-shanten with a dora 5p and a red 5s. By turn 2, Uchikawa is iishanten and has a small chance at a 345 sanshoku. Over the next few turns, he improves his shapes and tile acceptance, but has to drop the sanshoku. At the start of the second row, Uchikawa gets to tenpai and waits dama on a 14m ryanmen (with the 1m giving iipeikou). Immediately after, Honda discards the 4m and deals into Uchikawa. Uchikawa wins the hand with Pinfu/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 5,800+300.
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-14_s30_p734
After being noten in S1-2, Uchikawa starts out S2-3 2-shanten for both chiitoi and a standard hand with a pair of white dragons. When Tojo discards the white dragon on turn 4, Uchikawa calls pon to get to iishanten. Though Uchikawa has a good start, Tojo interrupts it near the end of the second row by calling riichi on a 147m wait.
With an unresolved 89m block in hand, Uchikawa starts to partially fold. When he draws the red 5m double dora, it seems like his hand was dead.
As the turns come, he runs out of safe tiles. As his safest option and moving his hand forward ever so slightly, be breaks up his 89m shape. Just a few turns later, Uchikawa pairs up the 5m, giving him hope. Calling pon on Tojo’s discarded 4p, Uchikawa gets back to iishanten, having a chance at toitoi. In the third row, Uchikawa makes an ankou of 2p and gets to tenpai on a 4s/5m shanpon, guaranteed at least a haneman. In the middle of the third row, Tojo draws and discards the dora 5m and deals into Uchikawa. Uchikawa wins the hand with Toitoi/White Dragon/Dora 3/Aka 1 for 12,000+900 plus a riichi stick. With a direct hit on 1st, Uchikawa moves into top spot.
In S3-0, Uchikawa is in 1st place and wanting to win two quick hands to end the game. He starts out the hand 4-shanten with three ryanmens and a chance at tanyao and/or pinfu. In the first row, he completes many of those ryanmens and gets to a tanyao iishanten by turn 5. At the end of the first row, Uchikawa gets to tenpai and waits dama on a 36m ryanmen. Uchikawa is able to sneakily ron off of Sonoda’s discarded 6m a few turns later and win the hand. Uchikawa wins with Pinfu/Tanyao/Aka 1 for 3,900.
In S4-0, Uchikawa just needs one more hand to finish the game. His starting hand is 3-shanten, annoyingly holding an 89m shape. Even though it has a chance use the dora, he breaks up the group to aim for a much faster tanyao. By turn 5, Uchikawa is already iishanten and waiting on 10 tiles for tenpai. On turn 6, Uchikawa gets to tenpai and waits dama on a 147p wait. On turn 8, Honda discards the 7p and deals into Uchikawa. Uchikawa wins the hand with Pinfu/Tanyao/Aka 1 for 3,900 to finish the game in 1st.
Ura San
March 14, Game 1, S3-2
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-14_s40_p742
In S3-2, Hisato is the dealer in 3rd place. If he can get a mangan tsumo or a haneman ron, he would move into 1st place.
He starts out with an expensive 3-shanten hand, holding three ryanmens and a red 5s. Almost every single one of his draws brought him closer to tenpai, filling in his ryanmens. On turn 5, Hisato gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 1s/5s shanpon. Having throws the 2s and 8s, the 5s is now a trap.
As Katsumata works around the riichi, he hand somehow gets closer to tenpai. At the start of the second row, Katsumata is iishanten with a chance at a 345 sanshoku. All he needs is a 4s and a 5m. On turn 9, Katsumata draws the 4s. Having a 25m ryanmen with the 5m giving sanshoku, the hand looks like a perfect riichi. Little does Katsumata know that the 5s, the tile he needs to throw to take the tenpai, deals into Hisato.
As Katsumata throws the 5s, Hisato calls ron to win the hand. With the flip of the uradora, the 5s becomes dora, more than doubling the han in his hand. Hisato wins with Riichi/Aka 1/Ura 3 for 12,000+600, moving him into 2nd place.
Quick Completion
March 14, Game 1, S4-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-14_s40_p743
In S4-1, Katsumata the dealer is 7,800 behind 2nd place Hisato, while Hisato is 5,200 behind 1st place Nakabayashi.
At the start, we see both Katsumata and Hisato at 2-shanten. Before Hisato even has a chance to get his first draw, Matsumoto calls pon on the red dragon to get to 2-shanten himself. In each of their first few draws, they get close to tenpai. On turn 2, both of them are iishanten. For Hisato, he has an ankou of souths and a 567 iipeikou, just needing to keep the hand closed and find one more han to have enough points for 1st. A turn later, Hisato makes a pair of wests to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 47p ryanmen.
During the ippatsu turn, Katsumata gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 69m nobetan.
Two players calling riichi, both of them on two-sided waits. Only one can win. With Matsumoto in last place and not having any safe tiles and holding all four of the 4m dora, Matsumoto needs to push. Unfortunately for him, he has both a stray 4p and a stray 7p in his hand. During the ippatsu round, he throws the 7p and deals into Hisato. Hisato wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/South/Iipeikou for 8,000+300 plus one riichi stick to win the game.
Ippatsu
March 14, Game 2, E1-0
In E1-0, Yu is playing in the team’s 90th game of the season. They sit in 4th in the standings and are one big 1st away from the positives.
Yu starts out the hand 3-shanten with a pair of white dragons and a pair of 7m dora. With good shapes and good value, it’s a good start for Yu. However, across from him, Rumi has a pair of green dragons and souths, looking at a potential dealer honitsu. By the end of the first row, Rumi has called the green dragon and picked up a pair of easts at 2-shanten while Yu is iishanten with the white dragons now being an ankou. At the end of the second row, Rumi is the first to tenpai and waits on an east/5s shanpon.
On Yu’s draw, he fills in a kanchan to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 36m ryanmen, guaranteed at least a mangan. On his very next draw, he finds the 3m and wins the hand. Getting one uradora, Yu wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/White Dragon/Dora 1/Ura 1 for 12,000.
4th Place Avoidance
March 14, Game 2
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-14_s50_p734
In S3-1, Hinata is in 4th place and 7,000 behind 3rd. Her team is in 6th place in the standings and she wants to lead her team out of danger.
Hinata starts out the hand 3-shanten and lacking any value whatsoever. With pairs of 9m and east, her only option for an open hand is just toitoi. In her first few draws, she manages to make the east an ankou, draw a dora 3s and create a sequence. At the end of the row, she has a nice tenpai and calls riichi on a 14s ryanmen.
Looking around the table, Rumi and the dealer Yu both have hands that can compete against her. As both of them draw more tiles, Rumi decides to fold her hand while Yu moves forward. At the start of the third row, Yu gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 47s ryanmen.
Counting tiles, all the 4s are being held while two 1s and two 7s are still in the wall. Almost a 50/50 chance. With more draws, one of the 1s is taken, giving Yu the slight advantage. However, even with only one 1s left, Hinata finds that last 1s on her second-last draw and wins the hand. Flipping one uradora, Hinata wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Dora 1/Ura 1 for 2,000+100/4,000+100 plus one riichi stick to move into 2nd place.
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-14_s50_p735
In S4-0, Hinata is the dealer in 2nd place and just 9,400 away from 1st. With any mangan, Hinata would move into 1st.
She starts out the hand 2-shanten, but lacking in any value at all. With multiple terminals in her hand, any attempt at an open hand will be difficult. In the first row, she picks up a bunch of souzu and a single east dora and slowly shifts her hand towrds honitsu. As she pursue this, she goes back in shanten, being 3-shanten for it by the end of the row. In the second row, she secures souzu sequences, pairs up the easts and gets to iishanten by turn 8. With a pon on the 9s, she gets to tenpai the very next turn to get to tenpai on a 4s kanchan, guaranteed at least a mangan. A turn after that, she increases her acceptance to a 58s/east wait, getting a haneman with the east. Near the end of the row, Takamiya discards the east and deals into Hinata. Hinata wins the hand with Honitsu/East/Dora 3 for 18,000 to put Hinata into 1st place.
She would go on to win the game and the team would move into 5th place.
Haitei
March 16, Game 1, E4-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-14_s80_p739
In E4-0, Mizuhara is in 4th place, but the scores are still close, being just 10,000 away from 1st place. In pursuit of the title of MVP, Mizuhara wants to win the game to get back into the race.
Mizuhara starts out the hand 2-shanten with a red 5p and a chance at a 789 sanshoku. By turn 2, Mizuhara is one step closer to sanshoku, needing only a 9m and an 8p to complete it. On turn 5, she draws the 8p and calls riichi on a 69m ryanmen. Finding the 9m would give her mangan, with one extra han giving her haneman.
Looking around the table, the player most likely to challenge Mizuhara is Matsugase, who is sitting iishanten and waiting on 7 different tiles for tenpai. On turn 8, Matsugase does get to tenpai and calls riichi on an 8p kanchan.
Unfortunately for Matsugase, all the 8p are accounted for, giving him no chance to win. For Mizuhara, she still has two 9m and one 6m to wait on. As the second row became the third row, they were nowhere to be found. As more an more tiles were drawn, it looked like it would end in a draw. However, Tojo makes a call late in the hand to give Mizuhara an extra chance. As Mizuhara draws the haite, she finds her winning 6m! Mizuhara wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Haitei/Aka 1 for 2,000+100/4,000+100 plus two riichi sticks to move into 1st place.
Junchan
March 16, Game 2, E2-1
In E2-1, Kayamori is in 4th place, 1,000 behind 3rd and 6,000 behind 2nd. Her team is elimination territory and desperately needs a 1st to have even a chance to make it to the semifinals.
Kayamori starts out with a messy 4-shanten hand with no good value. Breaking her 2m pair, Kayamori aims for a 123 sanshoku or even a junchan. Kayamori’s draws in the first row quickly got her closer and closer to iishanten on turn 4. On turn 6, she gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 69s ryanmen. With the han difference between the two is huge, with the 9s giving three extra han. During the ippatsu turn, Mizuhara has no safe tiles. Holding two 8s and with a decent chance at tanyao, she discards the 9s and immediately deals into Kayamori. Kayamori wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Pinfu/Junchan for 12,000+300 to move into 2nd place.
Chinitsu
March 16, Game 2, E4-1
In E4-1, Kayamori is back down to 4th place after a series of unfortunate draws. She is now 18,200 behind 3rd place dealer Mizuhara and needs at least a haneman tsumo to move up.
Kayamori starts out the hand 4-shanten for a standard hand (3-shanten for chiitoi) with no dora for value. If she wants to build value, she will have to go for honitsu (3-shanten for chiitoi, 5-shanten for a standard hand) or chinitsu (5-shanten for both chiitoi and a standard hand). She decides on a flush from the start, discarding her 6s from a 46s shape.
The first row provides nothing of value, stuck with the same manzu and honours that she started with. In the second row, Kayamori draws an ankou of 5m and 6m to get her to 3-shanten, but she still has to contest with the dealer Mizuhara who is tenpai on a 3p penchan. In ther next few draws, she draws a 6m to create a 68m block, pairs up her lone 2m and calls pon on it to get to tenpai on a 7m kanchan. On her very next draw, she gets the 7m and wins the hand. Kayamori wins with Chinitsu/Tanyao/Aka 1 for 3,000+100/6,000+100 to put her 200 over Mizuhara.
Takame Yasume
March 16, Game 2, S2-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-14_s70_p737
In S2-0, Kurosawa is in 2nd place and 2,400 behind 1st place. With only three han, she can take top spot.
Kurosawa starts out the hand 4-shanten with two ryanmens and a distant chance at a 567 sanshoku. In the first row, she creates more sequences and has a chance at a souzu ittsuu as well. By turn 5, she is iishanten. In the middle of the second row, Kurosawa draws a red 5m and has a chance to get to ittsuu tenpai on an 8s kanchan. However, because three 8s have already been discarded, she declines it in favour of going for a 567 sanshoku. Two turns later, she draws the 7p and calls riichi on a 147s wait. With the 1s and 4s, she would have sanshoku.
The difference between the 7s and 14s are pretty big, with the han being doubled with the 14s. On Kurosawa’s very next draw, she gets the lower-valued 7s and wins the hand. Though it is the lower-valued wait, the timing makes it mangan. With a flip of the uradora, Kurosawa magically upgrades the hand to a haneman as the 7s is made the new dora. Kurosawa wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Aka 1/Ura 2 for 3,000/6,000 to move into 1st place.
Ura Ura
March 16, Game 2, S3-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-14_s80_p740
In S3-1, Mizuhara is in 4th place, 6,300 behind 2nd place. If she wants to compete for MVP, she will have to escape 4th place.
Mizuhara starts out the hand 3-shanten for chiitoi (4-shanten for a standard hand) with a red 5p. Though she has pairs of east and west, neither of them are yakuhai to her. Early on in the 3rd row, desperate Kayamori makes a kan on the 2s to try to get more value in her hand. With the kandora, the 4m becomes the dora, a tile that Mizuhara has a pair of. Through the rest for the first row, Mizuhara creates sequences and gets to 2-shanten by the end of the row. Drawing a 3m and a red 5m in the second row, Mizuhara gets to tenpai throws the red 5p and calls riichi on a 25m ryanmen, guaranteed at least a mangan. Two turns later, Kayamori throws the 5m as she calls riichi and ends up dealing into Mizuhara. With a flip of the uradora, Mizuhara’s west pair becomes dora to upgrade her hand to haneman. Mizuhara wins the hand with Riichi/Pinfu/Dora 2/Aka 1/Ura 2 for 12,000+300 to move into 2nd place.
MVP Fighters
March 17, Game 1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-14_s30_p735
In S1-0, Uchikawa is in 4th place, 8,000 behind 3rd place Ooi and 8,400 behind 2nd place Date. Being in 7th place in the individual standing, a win this game would put him in the running for MVP.
Uchikawa starts out the hand 3-shanten with two ryanmens and the ability to accept the 3s dora. Though the hand lacks value, kicking Date off of her dealership will stop her from running away with the MVP award. In the first row, Uchikawa draws the 3s dora, fills int one of the ryanmens and gets to iishanten on turn 3. Though Uchikawa is iishanten early, he is just unable to get to tenpai. On turn 9, Date beats him in the race for tenpai when she calls riichi on a 2p kanchan.
On the ippatsu turn, Uchikawa draws one of Date’s 2p to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 25m ryanmen.
Counting tiles, Date only has one tile left while Uchikawa has two. Each draw has a chance of them drawing it themselves or dealing into their rival. Near the end of the third row, disaster strikes for Date when she draws the red 5m and deals into Uchikawa.
Uchikawa wins the hand with Riichi/Pinfu/Dora 1/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 8,000 plus one riichi stick, a direct hit on the MVP award leader.
In S2-0, Date is in 4th place after dealing into Uchikawa, 8,600 behind 3rd place Ooi and 9,600 behind 2nd place Uchikawa.
Before Date even has a chance to get her first draw, Uchikawa calls pon on the south to get to 2-shanten, telling the table that he is going quick. When Date does get her first draw, she is already 2-shanten, having the speed to compete against Uchikawa. In the first row, she creates a ryanmen and an ankou of 3m to get to iishanten on turn 5. As Date waits, Uchikawa makes another call to get to tenpai on a 25p ryanmen.
Right after, Date gets to tenpai and calls riichi waiting on a dora 2p kanchan. With their waits overlapping, Date’s only hope of winning is to draw the 2p herself. The first row becomes the second row and all of Uchikawa’s 5p are gone. With only the 2p left, there is no danger of Date dealing in. In the third row, Date is lucky enough to draw the 2p and win the hand. Date wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 2,000/4,000 to move into 2nd place and push Uchikawa down.
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-14_s40_p744
In S4-0, the scores are close between the two MVP candidates. In 3rd place is Uchikawa the dealer, sitting with 18,900. In 4th place is Date, sitting with 18,300. With 600 separating the two of them, the next winner will change the state of the MVP race.
At the start, we see Uchikawa 4-shanten with a red 5s and Date 3-shanten with one ryanmen. The first row provides both of them with good tiles, getting both of them to iishanten. For Uchikawa, he has at least two han and a ryanmen while Date has a ryanmen as well. The first of the two to get to tenpai is Uchikawa, who calls pon on the 8p and waits with a 36s ryanmen.
On Date’s draw right after, she gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 14m ryanmen. Even though it’s riichi only, a win would be enough to move into 3rd. Though Uchikawa breaks the ippatsu with a kan, Date manages to get the 4m on her next draw to win the hand. Date wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Ura 1 for 1,000/2,000 to finish the game in 3rd.
M-League Watch 