Standings

As always with the last day, I will be going through the teams in standings order

Finishing at the top of the standings in the semifinals is the EX Furinkazan. After having a rough start, they erased almost all their losses. After a few rough games earlier in the semis, Matsugase and Katsumata gave it one last go and they did well. Between the two of them, they won a third of all the hands of the day and both were able to get 1st place. Both Aki and Rumi avoided 4th place on the last day of the semis to get the finals spot and start out in 1st place. The are the only team playing in these finals to have previously won a championship and they now have the chance to be the first team to win a second.

The Shibuya Abemas take the second spot in the finals. It was Shomatsu (Shiratori Sho and Matsumoto Yoshihiro) week this week and they did the team proud. For Shiratori on Monday and Matsumoto on Thursday, they fought against those who tried to keep them down and rose up, finishing their games in 1st. With a net gain of +238.8pts in the semifinals, they are the top-performing team of this year’s semifinals. They now head into their fifth finals in a row. They look to do better than 3rd and finally win a championship.

This is a huge result for Team Raiden. After four straight years of missing the finals, they have finally done it. Even though their last four games weren’t the greatest, their performance in the rest of the semifinals was spectacular. On Thursday, during their last two games, all they had to do is be above the Pirates to be near certain of a spot. In the first game of the day, Setokuma won a clutch hand in South 4 to pass Nakabayashi and steal 2nd. With Hagiwara avoiding any big deal-ins the last game, the team was the first team to mathematically clinch a spot in the finals. If they seize this moment, they may also go home with their first championship.

Taking the last finals spot is the Konami Mahjong Fight Club. After Takizawa had trouble in the first game of the week, the team needed to make sure that they didn’t get any more 4th. The team got aggressive and got to work. Hisato won just under a third of his hands in the second game to place two places above Yu, drastically increasing their lead to almost 100pts. On Thursday, their goal was not to get last. In South 1, a single dealer mangan by Date basically sealed the playoff spot for the team. With 5 wins and 0 deal-ins by Takamiya in the final game of the semis, the team officially punched their ticket to the finals. They sit in 4th right now, but the only result that really matters is the one at the end of the finals.

Going to the teams that will miss the finals, we have the U-Next Pirates. They were about 148.4pts away from a playoff spot and they needed to bring their best. On Monday, the UK combo was sent out and they brought their best. Nakabayashi was able to make it a close battle until the end to get 2nd, Yu won seven hands in his game to get 1st. By the end of the day, they were 61.0pts away from a spot. Unfortunately, the wall just said no. Nakabayashi was only able to win some small hands and nothing else to get 3rd, Yu was left noten on his very last dealership and finished 4th. They got close, but it just wasn’t enough and are now relegated to commentary for the finals. The team now has one more year to get to the finals before they are forced to change their roster. Look forward, work hard, stay hopeful.

And finally Kadokawa Sakura Knights. Nightmares of the 2019-20 Finals (when they couldn’t get a single 1st in the 12-game finals) have returned. Even as the closed off the season, they could get too much luck. Shibukawa got a big negative, Uchikawa could get anying better than a 3rd and finished the season with a negative 4th. Their only consolation was a good showing by Okada to tie for 1st place. After starting the semis in 4th, they ended up losing -355.3pts and fell all the way down to 6th and unable to defend their title and can only contribute through commentary. If they don’t make the finals next season, they will have to change their roster. They will need to regroup and work on their playoff play if they want to keep their team. Another chance awaits them in the future.

This Fifth’s M-League Stats

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And that’s it for the semifinals! Congratulations to the EX Furinkazan, Shibuya Abemas, Team Raiden and Konami Mahjong Fight Club for advancing to the finals! Though the U-Next Pirates and Kadokawa Sakura Knights couldn’t advance, they did well to make it this far and will likely be making appearances as commentators during the finals.

The finals start on May 8! What do the finals have in store for us? Which teams will surprise us? What incredible plays await us? Which team will have the privelege of raising the championship plate? As always, we’ll just have to wait and see!

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