Highlights
Ippatsu
October 23, Game 1
In E2-0, Katsumata is in 2nd place and 3,800 behind 1st place Takamiya
Katsumata starts out the hand the hand 3-shanten with riichi as the only clear yaku. To his left is Mizuhara at 3-shanten with an ankou of white dragons. In the first row, Katsumata is only able to advance to 2-shanten while Mizuhara connects a red 5s to make a ryanmen and get to iishanten. On turn 7, Mizuhara draws the red 5m to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 47s ryanmen. On the ippatsu draw, she gets the fourth white dragon and calls a concealed kan. The rinshan misses, but the 2s in her hand now becomes dora.
With the second row being more kind, Katsumata is able to get to get to tenpai right after Mizuhara’s kan and calls riichi on a 58p ryanmen. On Mizuhara’s draw, she picks up and puts down the 5p and deals into Katsumata. Katsumata wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Ura 1 for 5,200 plus one riichi stick.
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2511
Moving ahead to E4-0, Katsumata is now the dealer and holding a 5,200 lead over 2nd place.
Katsumata starts out with a good starting hand, 2-shanten with a clear route to tanyao and holding a 3-sided 258p wait. In the first row, he gathers all four 4m to have a kan chance, but doesn’t advance his hand forward. In the second row, Katsumata makes the pinzu block into a 3456778p shape for iishanten. In the middle of the row, he draws a third 7p for tenpai and calls the concealed kan. Both the rinshan and kandora miss and Katsumata decides to stay dama, hoping to improve the 7p/7s shanpon. On his very next turn, he improves his hand to a 25p ryanmen and calls riichi. During the ippatsu round, Mizuhara (who is pursuing a manzu chinitsu) draws and discards the 2p and deals into Katsumata. Katsumata wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tanyao for 9,600.
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3515
Shifting to a different player, Takamiya is the dealer in S1-1, 7,500 behind 1st place Katsumata.
Takamiya starts out the hand 2-shanten for chiitoi (3-shanten for a standard hand) with pairs of west, 8m, 5m and 5s (including the red 5s). On turn 5, Takamiya pairs up the 7p to get to iishanten. After a few turns of waiting, Takamiya pairs up the 8p to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a green dragon tanki. In the ippatsu round, Mizuhara (who is pursuing a souzu chinitsu) discards the green dragon and deals into Takamiya. Takamiya wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Chiitoi/Aka 1 for 12,000+300, moving into 1st place
Aka
October 23, Game 1
In S1-2, Katsumata is in 2nd place after being passed by Takamiya the previous hand. The gap is small, though, with only a 4,800 gap to overcome.
Katsumata starts out with a 3-shanten hand with a lot of middle waits and likely to be tanyao. In the first row, he fills in many of those middle waits (including drawing the red 5m and the 7p dora) to get to iishanten. On turn 10, Katsumata gets to tenpai and stays dama on a 25p ryanmen, guaranteed at least a mangan if he wins.
To his left is Mizuhara, deep in 4th place and needing a lot of points. Soon after Katsumata gets to tenpai, Mizuhara gets to tenpai with Honroutou/Chiitoi and calls riichi on a 1s tanki. Mizuhara has a chance to get this rare yaku, five years after the first and only time it has ever been won in M-League.
As if Mizuhara wasn’t unlucky enough with -18,300, Mizuhara would end up drawing and discarding the red 5p in the middle of the third row and deal into Katsumata. Katsumata wins the hand with Pinfu/Tanyao/Dora 1/Aka 2 for 8,000+600 plus Mizuhara’s riichi stick, putting Katsumata into 1st place.
Beast
October 23, Game 2, E4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p6013
In E4-0, Daisuke is the dealer sitting in 1st place, 87,700 ahead of 2nd place.
Daisuke starts out the hand 3-shanten with an ankou of 3p and a pair of souths. In his first few turns, he draws the 3s dora to fill in a kanchan, makes two ryanmens and exchanges the souths for a white dragon pair, getting to iishanten. Soon after, he draws a 4p to create a 3334p shape, allowing him the possibility to shift to tanyao and even create a 234 sanshoku. On turn 8, Kobayashi challenges the table by calling riichi and waiting on a 47p ryanmen.
With the 4p being dangerous for Daisuke, he has no choice but to incorporate it into his hand. He starts out by discarding the white dragon pair and then draws the red 5p, now holding a chance for a 345 sanshoku. However, just as Daisuke gets back to iishanten, Aki gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 36p ryanmen.
At the end of the second row, Daisuke draws the red 5m, the perfect tile. He calls riichi and waits on a 258m wait, guaranteed to be at least a dealer haneman. If he gets the 5m or 8m, he will add a 345 sanshoku for baiman minimum. Two turns later, Daisuke draws the 2m and wins the hand. Daisuke wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Tanyao/Dora 1/Aka 2 for 6,000 all plus two riichi sticks, putting him at 54,000.
Takizawa
October 23, Game 2, S2-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3517
In S2-0, Takizawa is in 2nd place, 1,600 behind the dealer Kobayashi. If he can win a good hand here, he can both take the lead and end Kobayashi’s dealership (making a comeback more difficult for him). Takizawa starts out the hand 3-shanten with a good route to tanyao. In his first few draws, he creates a 34567s group and a 5678p group, allowing many possibilities for getting to iishanten. On turn 7, he draws a 2s and is now waiting on 13 different tiles for tenpai. In the middle of the second row, he has a chance for a 7m kanchan, but rejects it. A turn later, Takizawa draws the 4p dora and calls riichi on a 369p wait.
During the ippatsu round, Aki draws the red 5p. It gives her a chance at tenpai for mangan minimum, but she would have to discard the 6p to accept the 25p ryanmen. She throws the 6p and deals into Takizawa. Takizawa wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Pinfu/Tanyao/Dora 1/Ura 1 for 12,000.
Shortcut to Haneman
October 23, Game 2, S4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2512
In S4-0, Aki is in 4th place, 17,100 behind 3rd place Kobayashi. She only has one last chance to escape fourth. to do that, she would need a haneman direct hit, a baiman tsumo or a sanbaiman ron.
Aki starts out the hand 4-shanten for both a standard hand and chiitoi with a pair of white dragons and a connected 3m dora. On turn 3, she pairs up the 3p and on turn 6, she pairs up the 3m dora. With chiitoi being the clear route, she now has the roadmap for haneman and a chance at baiman with uradora luck. In the middle of the second row, she pairs up the 9p to get to iishanten. A turn later, she pairs up the souths and calls riichi on a 3s tanki. With tsumo and uradora, she will have the baiman tsumo she is looking for.
Aki isn’t the only player looking for points, though. Across the table is Takizawa holding a closed honitsu. At the end of the second row, Takizawa gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a green dragon/south shanpon. If he win by tsumo on either of them, he will have a baiman and enough points to take 1st place.
Two players with two chances at baiman. One more row to go. With each draw, there is hope. 10 tiles left. 9. 8. The tiles are hiding. 7. 6. Hope remains. Then, with five tiles left in the wall, Aki draws the 3s and wins the hand. Unfortunately, the wishes for uradora were unfulfilled and Aki had to accept the haneman. Aki wins the hand with Riichi/Tsumo/Chiitoi/Dora 2 for 3,000/6,000 plus one riichi stick, 1,100 short of 3rd place.
Kuma Kuma Time
October 24, Game 1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5010
In E3-1, Setokuma is in 2nd place and 9,000 behind the leader Futoshi. With 1,300 of bonus sticks on the table, Setokuma just needs a mangan to move ahead.
Setokuma starts out the hand 3-shanten for both chiitoi and a standard hand holding pairs of 2s, 2p and 8s, as well as a single red 5m and a 7m dora. In the first row, Setokuma pairs up the 5m and makes an ankou of 1s, pushing his hand to chiitoi. At the start of the second row, Setokuma pairs up the north and calls riichi on a 7m dora tanki.
To his right, Futoshi is iishanten with a connected red 5s and an easy way to advance safely. In the middle of the second row, Futoshi gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 258s wait.
Though wider waits are nice, mahjong will be mahjong. At the end of the second row, Setokuma draws the dora 7m tanki and wins the hand. Setokuma wins the hand with Riichi/Tsumo/Chiitoi/Dora 2/Aka 1 for 3,000+100/6,000+100 plus one riichi sticks.
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5011
Jumping to S2-0, Setokuma is in 1st place, 13,900 ahead of 2nd place dealer Futoshi and wanting to end his dealership.
Setokuma starts out the hand 4-shanten with two red fives and a likely tanyao hand. In the first row, Setokuma draws a dora 5s to create a 34567s shape and calls riichi on a 567p sequence, getting to iishanten. In the middle of the second row, Setokuma draws the red 5s double dora to get to tenpai on a 7m kanchan. Right after him, Futoshi gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 2m kanchan.
In the ippatsu round, Setokuma switches his wait to a 5m/8m shanpon, pushing everything he draws. At the start of the third row, Futoshi draws and discards the 8m and deals into Setokuma. Setokuma wins the hand with Tanyao/Dora 2/Aka 3 for 12,000 plus one riichi stick, putting him above 55,000.
Takame
October 24, Game 1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3008
In S3-2, Okada is in 3rd place and 16,600 behind 2nd place dealer Matsumoto. In order to pass Matsumato this hand, she will need to win a mangan direct hit, a haneman tsumo or a sanbaiman ron.
Okada starts out the hand 2-shanten with a 456s sequence and a 456m sequence. In the first row, Okada builds her souzu shape and a 3467p shape, getting to iishanten with two ryanmens. In the second row, Okada shifts the souzu to a 2234567s shape, now being able to accept more tiles and the potential to shift to a 567 sanshoku. Near the end of the second row, Okada draws the 5s and calls riichi on a 58p ryanmen, hoping for the 5p for sanshoku. A few turns later, Okada draws the 5p and wins the hand. Futoshi would later call riichi on a 7p kanchan to challenge her, but Okada would draw the takame 5p within Futoshi’s ippatsu round and win the hand. Okada wins the hand with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Tanyao/Sanshoku/Dora 1 for 3,000+200/6,000+200 plus one riichi stick, achieving the haneman she needs for 2nd place.
No More Ura San
October 24, Game 2, E3-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4008
In E3-0, Ooi is in 2nd place, only 3,000 ahead of 4th place Kurosawa and wanting to widen the gap.
Ooi starts out the hand 2-shanten with a secured red 5p, two sequences and two pairs. In just four turns, Ooi creates a 123s sequence to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 5s/9p shanpon. Across from him is Kurosawa in 4th place, holding a good tanyao hand with a lone 9p. With few folding option and a good hand to push, Kurosawa discards the 9p on turn 5 and deals into Ooi. With the flip of the uradora, the 9p becomes uradora and upgrades the hand to a mangan, Ooi wins the hand with Riichi/Aka 1/Ura 3 for 8,000.
Escaping the Negatives
October 24, Game 2, S1-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5012
In S1-1, Kurosawa has a score of -800 and deep in 4th place. The game is not over yet. She still has time to work her way back up.
Kurosawa starts out the hand 4-shanten with a loosely connected 8p for value. On turn 2, Kurosawa pairs up the 8p and secures the dora. By the end of the first row, Kurosawa is 2-shanten with a good chance at tanyao. In the second row, Sonoda gets to iishanten and a 3p away from a 234 sanshoku. At the same time, Okada makes a call and gets to tenpai on a 58p ryanmen.
After a few turns, Kurosawa secures tanyao and gets to tenpai on a 3p. She stays dama on the mangan minimum, hoping to maximize her chances at winning. On Kurosawa’s last draw, she picks up the 3p and wins the hand. Kurosawa wins with Tsumo/Tanyao/Sanshoku/Dora 2 for 3,000+100/6,000+100 plus one riichi stick.
Speed
October 26, Game 1, E2-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2513
In E2-1, Matsugase has a small lead after being the only one tenpai at draw.
Matsugase starts out the hand in a good position, sitting 2-shanten with a ryanmen and a secured red 5p. On turn 2, he gets to iishanten, waiting on a 5s to complete a 456s iipeikou shape. On turn 4, he draws the red 5s to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 69m ryanmen. During the ippatsu round, Kayamori pushes the 9m due to a lack of of safe tiles and deals into Matsugase. Matsugase wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Iipeikou/Aka 2/Ura 1 for 12,000+300, putting him above 40,000.
Not Too Late
October 26, Game 1, S3-2
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4508
In S3-2, Kayamori is the dealer in 4th place, 14,600 behind 3rd place Sugawara. With the dealership and 1,600 in bonuses available, the time is now.
Kayamori starts out the hand 4-shanten with a secured red 5m for value. To her right is 1st place Matsugase with a 3-shanten starting hand. In the first row, Kayamori creates a few sequences to get to 2-shanten while Matsugase gets to iishanten. On turn 7, Matsugase gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 69m ryanmen.
Sitting in last place with nothing to lose, Kayamori keeps pushing her hand. Ther is a little bit of trouble for Kayamori with Sugawara in tenpai, but the yakuless 5s kanchan makes it like the hand doesn’t exist. At the end of the second row, Kayamori gets to a wide iishanten, but is still waiting. After a bit of fiddling, Kayamori finally gets to tenpai in the middle of the third row and calls riichi on a 6s/7s shanpon. On her very next draw, she gets the and wins the hand. Kayamori wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Aka 1 for 4,000+200 all plus one riichi stick, moving her into 3rd place.
Double Date
October 26, Game 2
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3518
In E1-0, Date is playing in her fourth game of the season, hoping to get her fourth win in a row and be the 6th person in M-League history to do so.
Date starts out the hand 3-shanten with two red fives in hand. With a few good draws, Date secures both of them and gets to iishanten on turn 4. After a bit of waiting, Date eventually gets to tenpai at the end of the second row and calls riichi on a 36m ryanmen. On her very next draw, she gets the 3m and wins the hand. Date wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Pinfu/Aka 2 for 3,000/6,000, taking the early lead.
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3519
After the next hand went to a draw, Date kept pursuing in E3-1.
She holds a very good starting hand, 2-shanten with an ankou of easts and a secured 6s dora. In her first few draws, she picks up souzu (including another 6s dora), pushing her hand towards a souzu honitsu. By turn 4, she is already iishanten. To Date’s right is Rumi, also sitting iishanten. On turn 5, she is the first to tenpai after a red dragon pon and waits on a 5p kanchan.
On turn 6, Daigo discards the 6s and Date calls pon, widening her iishanten and upping her value. As Date keeps waiting, Daigo gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 58s ryanmen.
Two turns after Daigo’s riichi, Date gets to tenpai and waits on a 36s ryanmen, guaranteed a haneman if she wins. On Daigo’s next draw, he draws and drops the 3s, dealing into Date. Date wins the hand with East/Honitsu/Dora 3 for 12,000+300 plus a riichi stick.
Surprise
October 26, Game 2, S4-0
In S4-0, Rumi is in 3rd place and 9,900 behind 2nd place Daisuke. To move up in ranking, Rumi needs a 3/40 direct hit, a mangan tsumo or a haneman ron.
Rumi starts out the hand 3-shanten with two ryanmens and a connected 6m. In the first half of the first row, she creates more sequence shapes, but still sits at 3-shanten. In the second half of the row, she completes two of the sequences and gets to iishanten, looking for a pair. On turn 7, she pairs up the 6m to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 25s ryanmen, guaranteed at least a mangan. Two turns later, Date throws the 2s. Though a mangan ron isn’t enough, Rumi still call ron, hoping for two uradora. As luck would have it, the 6m becomes the double dora with the flip and Rumi attains the haneman. Rumi wins with Riichi/Pinfu/Dora 2/Ura 2 for 12,000, finishing the game in 2nd.
Abemas Gyakuten
October 27, Game 1, S4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4010
In S4-0, Ooi is in 2nd place and 1,500 behind 1st place Taro. With any tsumo or direct hit, or any ron with at least 1/50, Ooi will finish the game in 1st place.
Ooi starts out the hand 4-shanten with two ryanmens and a completed sequence. It’s showing hints of pinfu or tanyao, but nothing is guaranteed. In the first few turns, Ooi pairs up the 7p and completes a souzu sequence, still flexible for tanyao or pinfu. On turn 5, he gets to iishanten and is a 6s away from a 567s iipeikou shape. A turn later, he draws the red 5s, easily fulfilling the value requirement. While all this is going on, Taro is hard at work trying to prevent Ooi’s approach and increase his own lead. In the second row, Taro (having already called once) pairs up the south and calls pon on it, getting to tenpai on a 5m/4s shanpon.
With Taro’s discarded 6s, Ooi takes the opportunity to call chii, getting to tenpai on a 36m ryanmen. Within the next turn, Taro improves to a 36m ryanmen, matching Ooi’s wait. With Taro being earlier in turn order, any ron would have Taro winning and Ooi missing out. This predicament is no problem for Ooi, however, as he plucks the 6m on his very next draw. Ooi wins the hand with Tanyao/Aka 1 for 500/1,000, finishing the game in 1st.
Abemas Gyakuten
October 27, Game 2, S4-3
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4011
In S4-3, Shiratori is in 2nd place and 5,500 behind 1st place Nakabayashi. With three riichi sticks on the table as well, any 2-han hand will work.
Shiratori starts out the hand with a concealed triplet of west yakuhai at 2-shanten. He has the ability to accept the 8m dora with his hand, but also has the option at a souzu honitsu. On turns 2 and 3, Shiratori draws souzu and confirms the honitsu pursuit. Near the end of the first row, Shiratori calls a chii and gets to tenpai on a 36s ryanmen. After a few turns of waiting, Shiratori draws the 3s in the middle of the second row and wins the hand. Shiratori wins with West/Honitsu for 3,900+900 plus three riichi sticks, enough to end the game on top.
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