On June 30, 2023, the M-League 2023-24 draft took place and seven new players were drafted. Today, we’ll take a look at which players each team drafted and learn more about them.
Beast Japanext 1st Pick: Sarukawa Masatoshi (猿川真寿)
Professional Organization: JPML
Pro League: A2
Titles: 17th Mahjong Masters
For their first pick, Beast Japanext chose Sarukawa Masatoshi (猿川真寿). A pro since 2001, Sarukawa Masatoshi is a top JPML player, bouncing between A1-B1 for many years. In 2008, he won the 17th Mahjong Masters
Sarukawa is also a shogi fan, a trait he shares with another team member.
In a note after he was drafted, Sarukawa said that he was glad that he was chosen and that he will focus on studying to improve his game.
Beast Japanext 2nd Pick: Sugawara Hiroe (菅原千瑛)
Professional Organization: JPML
Pro League: C2, Women’s A
Titles: 2nd Cherry Bud Cup, RTD Girls Tournament 2021
The team’s second pick was Sugawara Hiroe (菅原千瑛). Back in 2019, Sugawara Hiroe visited Paris to compete in a WRC 2020 qualifier, making her more well known to the western community
In 2021, Sugawara won both the 2nd Cherry Bud Cup and the RTD Girls Tournament. Earlier this month, Sugawara won the Beast Japanext draft audition competition to secure her spot with the team.
In a tweet, she said that she will try her hardest and asked fans to support her.
Beast Japanext 3rd Pick: Suzuki Daisuke (鈴木大介)
Professional Organization: JPML
Pro League: B2
Titles: 2019 Mahjong Saikyousen
3rd pick for the Beast was Suzuki Daisuke (鈴木大介). In mid-May, Suzuki Daisuke joined the JPML as a mahjong pro. Because of his status as a 9-Dan shogi pro, there was a large news conference to announce him joining JPML. Less than two months later, he is picked by Beast Japanext to be part of an M-League team.
Despite being a mahjong pro for a very short time, Daisuke is well-versed in mahjong. In 2019, he won the 2019 Mahjong Saikyousen.
In a short video, he thanked Beast Japanext for drafting him and thanks everyone for their messages to him.
Beast Japanext 4th Pick: Nakada Kana (中田花奈)
Professional Organization: JPML
Pro League: E1
Titles: 1st Cherry Bud Cup 4th place
A former member of the Japanese idol group Nogizaka46, Nakada Kana was the Beast’s final pick.
Becoming a pro in 2021, Nakada Kana is the owner of the chun. mahjong cafe and was a finalist in the first Cherry Bud Cup.
At first in a tweet, Nakada couldn’t fully comprehend what was happening. Later in the Beast Japanext news release, she said that the skills she learned as an idol, such as communication and withstanding adversity, will help her and that she looks forward to the start of the season.
Sega Sammy Phoenix 1st Pick: Daigo Hiroshi (醍醐大)
Professional Organization: Saikouisen
Pro League: A1
Titles: 23rd Big 1 Cup, 45th Saikoui
To replace Kondo Seiichi, new manager of the Sega Sammy Phoenix Kondo chose Daigo Hiroshi from Saikouisen.
Daigo has been a long-time top player in Saikouisen, joining the organization in 2008, being in the top league since 2015 and being the champion in 2020.
Daigo was doing a watch party at the time of the announcement and was excited when he heard his name called.
Akasaka Drivens 1st Pick: Asami Maki (浅見真紀)
Professional Organization: Saikouisen
Pro League: C3, Women’s A
Titles: 13th Nihon Open runner up
To fill in the female spot on the Akasaka Drivens, the team chose Asami Maki (浅見真紀) of Saikouisen. A pro since 2010, Asami Maki has been in the top women’s league in Saikouisen for most of her career.
In a tweet, she introduced herself to everyone and said that she will do her best and grow with M-League and the Drivens. In the Drivens’ tweet, she said that she never imagined being part of M-League and that she will aim high now that she is here.
Akasaka Drivens 2nd Pick: Watanabe Futoshi (渡辺太)
Professional Organization: Saikouisen
Pro League: B1
Titles: 5th · 16th Tenhoui
The final player to be drafted was Watanabe Futoshi (渡辺太). In February 2023, Watanabe Futoshi joined Saikouisen as a mahjong pro. Prior to this, he was well known as a player on the mahjong site Tenhou, hitting the top rank (Tenhoui) three times (twice in 4-player, once in 3-player). On YouTube, he streams with a pig avatar and is also known by his Tenhou name “Futokunaio” (太くないお)
In a tweet, he said that he was truly honoured to be chosen by the Akasaka Drivens, despite being a pro for such a short amount of time. After watching the team play through the TV, he now has a chance to play.
Congratulations to all seven of our newest M-Leaguers! How will they stack up against the other M-Leaguers? How will their teams do? Will they shine and exceed our expectations? As always, we’ll just have to wait and see!
M-League Watch 
Beast
So, the 5ch leak was true. Sarukawa is known as Daisuke’s friend. As a new team, Beast need Nakata to gain popularity. Poor Hiro Shibata. He wasn’t even selected for the 8-people audition.
Phoenix
Just as expected.
Drivens
Asami has a Master’s degree in Engineering. I’m not surprised she did well on that test involving a lot of math. The pick of Watanabe explains why in Koshiyama’s interview he abruptly said he wish Maruyama will become Tenhoui and return.
None of current title holders were chosen, indicating that simply being a strong player is not enough.