Highlights
Dora Galore
October 30, Game 1, S1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4012
In S1-0, Ooi is in 2nd place, 31,900 behind 1st place Okada and 800 away from falling into 4th place.
Ooi starts out 5-shanten for a standard hand (4-shanten for chiitoi), holding pairs of the 6m dora and the 4m. In the first row, he builds sequences and connects the 6m with a red 5m, getting him to 2-shanten. On turn 10, he draws a third 6m to get to iishanten. When Kayamori discards the 6m on turn 11, Ooi calls chii to up his hand’s value to a haneman, shift to tanyao and have a better wait. Right after, Kayamori gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 25s ryanmen.
With Kayamori’s 5p discard, Ooi calls to to get to tenpai and wait on a 25m ryanmen. At the start of the third row, Kayamori draws and discards the 2m and deals into Ooi. Ooi wins the hand with Tanyao/Dora 4/Aka 1 for 12,000 plus Kayamori’s riichi stick, putting him above 30,000.
Dragon Tanki
October 30, Game 2, E2-2
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4013
In E2-2, Shiratori is the dealer and has a narrow 4,400 lead over the rest of the pack.
Shiratori starts out with a 3-shanten hand with a connected red 5m and a pat to a 345 sanshoku. On turn 4, he draws a 4p to fill in his kanchan, now just a 3m and a 3s away from sanshoku. On turn 8, he draws the 3m to get to iishanten, still looking for a pair and a 3s. On his next draw, he gets the 3s and sits dama on a 7s tanki. Near the end of the second row, he switches to a green dragon tanki and calls riichi. Tojo tries to challenge Shiratori late in the hand by getting to tenpai on a 69m ryanmen, but Shiratori’s green dragon ends up being the better wait as he draws it with four tiles left in the wall. Flipping one uradora, Shiratori wins the hand with Riichi/Tsumo/Sanshoku/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 3,000+200/6,000+200, putting him above 40,000.
Yakuman Tenpai!??
October 30, Game 2, E2-3
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3520
In E2-3, Takizawa, Hori and Tojo are all tied for 2nd place with 17,700, all hoping to move ahead of the other.
The hand starts out with Hori at 2-shanten with a pair of 4s and everyone else at 3-shanten. In the first row, Takizawa makes a hard push for honitsu while Tojo and Hori advance to iishanten. After pairing up the red dragon and later making it a concealed triplet, Takizawa gets to tenpai and waits dama on an 8s kanchan.
On his very turn, he draws a fourth red dragon and calls a concealed kan. On his rinshan draw, he pairs up the 9s and calls riichi on a 1s/9s. With his hand, he is now tenpai for a baiman minimum, achieving the suuankou yakuman if he wins by tsumo.
On the ippatsu round, Tojo has a chance to get to tenpai, but would have to throw the 1s. Tojo sits there, thinking of what to do next. Phoenix fans yelling her to not take it, knowing that it would be a sanbaiman deal-in if she does.
After just over 20 seconds of thinking, Tojo declines the tenpai and throws the 1p, staying safe.
Sitting out of the spotlight is Hori, quietly holding his 4s pair, now worth double because of Takizawa’s riichi. Near the end of the second row, Hori gets to tenpai and waits dama on a 47m ryanmen, guaranteed at least a haneman if he wins. A few turns later, Shiratori throws the 7m while pursuing tenpai, dealing into Hori. Hori wins the hand with Pinfu/Dora 4/Aka 1 for 12,000+900 plus Takizawa’s riichi stick, killing the yakuman chance and becoming the sole 2nd place player.
Rumi Rise
October 31, Game 1
In E3-0, Rumi is the dealer in 2nd place, 13,100 behind 1st place Yu.
Rumi starts out the hand 4-shanten with a floating red 5p and a pair of off-wind souths. Across the table is Hagiwara at 2-shanten. In the first few draws, Rumi fills in a kanchan and Hagiwara quickly advances his hand. On turn 4, Hagiwara gets to tenpai and waits dama on a yakuless 7p kanchan. After Sonoda makes two calls, Hagiwara decides to call riichi.
During the ippatsu round, Rumi gets to iishanten and is able to advance safely. In the middle of the second row, Rumi gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 4p kanchan. A few turns later, Rumi draws the 4p and wins the hand. Rumi wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Dora 1/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 12,000, moving into 1st place.
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2514
In E3-1, Rumi starts out 4-shanten for both chiitoi and a standard hand, holding pairs of east and 1p. In the first row, he makes an ankou of 2s and a pair of 4s, getting to 2-shanten. In the second row, Rumi fills in a kanchan and makes the easts an ankou to get to tenpai on a 7p kanchan.
Soon after Rumi gets to tenpai, Sonoda gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 3p kanchan.
During the ippatsu round, Rumi draws a 5p. Not wanting to throw out either the 5p or the dora 8p, she goes back a step and breaks up his 4s pair. On her next draw, she draws the 7p gets to tenpai on a 58p nobetan. In the middle of the third row, Sonoda draws and discards the 5p and deals into Rumi. Rumi wins the hand with Double East/Dora 1 for 7,700+300.
Take the Tenpai?
October 31, Game 1, E3-2
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5508
In E3-2, Rumi is in 1st place with 46,600 while Yu is in 2nd with 31,800.
Rumi starts out the hand 2-shanten for chiitoi (4-shanten for a standard hand) while Yu is 4-shanten. In the first row, Rumi shifts to a standard hand for iishanten while Yu only gets to chiitoi 3-shanten with a pair of 5p dora. At the start of the second row, Rumi gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 69s ryanmen.
While Rumi is in riichi, Yu advances his hand as safely as possible. As he does that, his pairs become triplets. After making a white dragon and dora 5p ankou, Yu gets to iishanten, being just a 4p ankou away from a suuankou tanki tenpai. A few turns later, Yu gets to tenpai on a furiten 47s ryanmen. With only two tiles left, Yu draws a 4p.
With this hand, Yu has a chance at a yakuman. Throwing the 6s would deal into Rumi. Throwing the 5s would put him tenpai. Alternatively, he could discard any other tile to keep his 47s wait. Because there are only two tiles left in the wall, Yu discards the white dragon.
The hand goes to a draw with Yu and Rumi the only ones tenpai.
Yu 2
October 31, Game 1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5509
In E3-5, there are five honba and four riichi stick waiting for the next winner. With 5,500 of bonus sticks available, Yu wants to win now to overcome the 18,800 gap between him and 1st place Rumi.
Before Yu gets his first draw, Sonoda makes a concealed kan and makes the 4s the double dora. With Sonoda’s east discard, Yu calls pon. Holding a pair of white dragons, a floating 4s and a red 5p, Yu has a good opportunity for a big hand. In his first few draws, he gets the red 5s to secure the dora and connects the red 5p with a 6p. By the middle of the row, Yu is already tenpai on a 47p ryanmen. A few turns later, Sonoda discards the 7p and deals into Yu. Yu wins the hand with East/Dora 2/Aka 2 for 8,000+1,500 plus four riichi sticks.
In E4-0, Yu is now just 5,300 behind 1st place Rumi.
Yu starts out the hand 3-shanten with an ankou of wests and pairs of 1s and 3p. To Yu’s right is Rumi at 4-shanten with a connected dora 7s and across from Yu is Hagiawara at 4-shanten. In the first row, all three of them advance, with Rumi getting the furthest at iishanten. In the second row, Rumi calls a chii to get to tenpai on a 9m/north shanpon, with the north being the only tile giving a yaku.
In the middle of the second row, dealer Hagiwara catches up and gets to tenpai, calling riichi and waiting on a 7p kanchan.
After Sonoda interrupts the ippatsu round, Yu gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 58s ryanmen. With the two riichi calls on the table, Rumi starts to fold her hand. At the end of the second row, Yu draws the 8s and wins the hand. Yu wins the hand with Riichi/Tsumo/West/Dora 1 for 2,000/4,000 plus one riichi stick, moving into 1st place.
Shortcut to Baiman
October 31, Game 2, S4-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5013
In S4-1, Setokuma is in 3rd place, 3,700 behind 2nd place Watanabe and 23,400 behind 1st place Kobayashi. He only needs a 3-han hand for 2nd place, but a baiman tsumo would get him into 1st place.
Setokuma starts off with a chiitoi 2-shanten with pairs of 5s, 8s, 9p and the dora 8p. On turn 2, he pairs up the 3s to get to iishanten. After a few more turns of waiting, Setokuma pairs up the 4s and calls riichi on a south tanki. With two souths already discarded, Setokuma’s only hope is the single south left in the wall. On Rumi’s draw during the ippatsu round, she picks up and puts down the south and deals into Setokuma. Setokuma wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Chiitoi/Dora 2/Ura 2 for 16,000+300, a big win for the final hand of the game.
From 4th to 1st
November 2, Game 1, E4-0
In E4-0, Katsumata is the dealer in 4th place, 16,400 behind 1st place Sonoda. With a haneman, when by ron or tsumo, he will move into 1st place.
Katsumata starts out the hand 2-shanten with an ankou of white dragons and two ryanmens. In the first row, he advances to iishanten, but his shapes are less than ideal now. With pairs of 1m and 2m along with a 25s ryanmen, he is now waiting on four different tiles for tenpai. On turn 10, Katsumata draws the red 5s and calls riichi on a 1m/2m shanpon. A few turns later, Hinata chases Katsumata with a 36m ryanmen. With the extra riichi stick, Katsumata only needs to tsumo a mangan to move into 1st. In the third row, he gets the 1m and wins the hand. Katsumata wins the hand with Riichi/Tsumo/White Dragon/Aka 1 for 4,000 all plus one riichi stick, moving into 1st place by 600.
Quick Close
November 2, Game 1, S4-1
In S4-1, Sonoda is in 1st place, but 2nd place dealer Katsumata is getting dangerously close, just 1,600 behind him. Sonoda wants to shut down the game right away.
As Katsumata throws the 9s as his first discard, Sonoda instantly calls pon. As we take a look at Sonoda’s hand, he is 2-shanten with a pair of green dragon doras. With the yakuhai dora pair, Sonoda forces Katsumata to either discard the green dragon or slow down his hand a lot of Katsumata draws it. When Date discards the 1s with the next go-around, Sonoda calls chii to get to iishanten. Two turns later, Katsumata draws the green dragon. Sitting at iishanten himself, he throws the green dragon and Sonoda calls pon, getting to tenpai on a 47s ryanmen. On Katsumata’s next draw, he draws and discards the 7s, dealing into Sonoda. Sonoda wins the hand with Green Dragon/Dora 3 for 8,000+300, securing the win.
Back-To-Back
November 2, Game 2
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4015
In S2-0, Matsumoto is in 4th place, 2,000 behind 3rd place dealer Aki, 17,400 behind 2nd place Takamiya and 31,000 behind 1st place Asami.
Matsumoto starts out the hand 3-shanten with a connected red 5p, but all his shapes are messy. In the first row, he draws tiles closer to the middle, naturally connecting with each other and making good shapes. On turn 10, Matsumoto gets to iishanten and guarantees a good wait. On turn 11, Matsumoto gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 36p ryanmen, guaranteeing at least a mangan if he wins. Right after him, Takamiya tries to call riichi by throwing the 6p but deals into Matsumoto. Matsumoto wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Pinfu/Tanyao/Iipeikou/Aka 1 for 12,000, moving into 2nd place.
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4016
In S3-0, Matsumoto is now the dealer and 19,000 behind Asami. A haneman tsumo will be enough to take top spot.
Matsumoto starts out the hand 3-shanten with a connected 3s and a likely 123 sanshoku, just missing a 2s and a 2m to secure it. On turn 2, he draws the 2s to get to 2-shanten. On turn 5, he pairs up the 8s to solidify the 123 sanshoku shape and get to iishanten. In the middle of the second row, Matsumoto draws the 2m to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 58m ryanmen, guaranteed at least a mangan. A few turns later, Matsumoto draws the 5m and wins the hand. Matsumoto wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Sanshoku/Dora 1/Ura 1 for 6,000 all moving into the lead.
All the Reds
November 3, Game 1, E2-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5014
In E2-0, Honda is the dealer in 2nd place, 10,300 behind 1st place Uchikawa.
Honda starts out the hand 2-shanten with a connected red 5m and a secured red 5p. On turn 2, he draws a red 5s and shifts his hand to tanyao. In the middle of the row, he calls pon on the 2m and gets to iishanten. On his next draw, he gets to tenpai and waits on a 4m/5s shanpon. In the second row, he shifts to a wider 36m ryanmen. Soon after, Kayamori discards the 3m and deals into Honda. Honda wins the hand with Tanyao/Aka 3 for 12,000.
Bonus Sticks
November 3, Game 1, E3-5
In E3-5, there are 3 riichi sticks sitting unclaimed, making for 4,500 in bonus sticks left for the next winner. Sitting in 2nd place is Uchikawa, 8,800 behind 1st place Honda.
Uchikawa starts out the hand 4-shanten with a connected red 5p. Across from him is Honda with a secured 7m dora and a pair of green dragons. In the first row, Uchikawa secured the red 5p as well as draw a red 5m, getting to iishanten with a guaranteed tanyao. At the same time, Honda makes two calls and gets to iishanten as well. The first of the two to get to tenpai is Honda, who does so on a 6s tanki. A few turns later, he switches to a 1p tanki. In the middle of the second row, Uchikawa finally gets to tenpai by calling pon on the 4s and waiting on a 6m kanchan. Immediately after, Kayamori draws and discards the 6m and deals into Uchikawa. Uchikawa wins the hand with Tanyao/Dora 1/Aka 2 for 8,000+1,500 plus three riichi sticks, moving into 1st place.
Uchikawa West Tanki
November 3, Game 1, S3-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3011
In S3-0, Uchikawa is in 2nd place and just 300 behind Honda.
Uchikawa starts out the hand 3-shanten for chiitoi (4-shanten for a standard hand) with pairs of 8s, 2m and north. In the first row, he makes the north an ankou, a 7p pair and draws a lone west dora, advancing to 2-shanten in two different ways. On turn 7, Uchikawa pairs up the 4m and discards the north, solidifying his attempt at seven pairs. In the middle of the row, Uchikawa pairs up the 6p and waits dama on a west tanki, the same tile that haunts his dreams. Two turns later, Kayamori draws and discards the west dora, dealing into Uchikawa. Uchikawa wins the hand with Chiitoi/Dora 2 for 6,400, moving into 1st place going into the last hand.
Strike Like Lightning
November 3, Game 1, S4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5015
In S4-0, Honda is in 2nd place going into the last hand, 6,100 behind dealer Uchikawa. Honda needs a 3/30 direct hit, a 3/40 tsumo or a 3/50 general ron to move finish the game in 1st.
Honda starts out with a promising starting hand, 3-shanten with three ryanmens and a chance at a sanshoku. On turn 2, he creates a 2m pair to secure pinfu. On turn 3, he draws a 6p for iishanten, now just a 6m away from a sanshoku chance. On turn 4, he gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 36m ryanmen. In order to get enough points, Honda needs to win on the 6m for sanshoku. Within the ippatsu round, Nakada discards, the 6m and deals into Honda. Honda wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Pinfu/Sanshoku for 8,000, moving ahead of Uchikawa for 1st place.
Ippatsu
November 3, Game 2, E2-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p6014
In E2-1, Sarukawa is the dealer in 2nd place, 3,000 behind 1st place Kurosawa.
Sarukawa starts out the hand 3-shanten with a pair of dora 3p and a secured red 5p. In the first row, he makes a 369p three-sided shape and a 69s ryanmen, getting to 2-shanten. In the second row, he draws a 6p to get to iishanten and a 6s near the end of the row. He calls riichi and waits on a 7m penchan, trying to trap his opponents with the 4m he discarded in the first row. Within the first go-around, Tojo draws and discards the 7m, dealing into Sarukawa. Sarukawa wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Dora 2/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 18,000+300.
Dama
November 3, Game 2, E3-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5016
In E3-0, Kurosawa is the dealer in 3rd place, 800 behind 2nd place Shibukawa and 10,500 behind 1st place Sarukawa. A dealer mangan is enough to move to the head of the pack.
Kurosawa starts out the hand with pairs of 2p, 7m and the dora 5m (including the red 5m), putting her 3-shanten for chiitoi. On turn 2, she pairs up the 8p. While Kurosawa hopes to advance to iishanten, Tojo keeps making calls and skipping her turn. In the middle of the second row, Kurosawa finally gets a pair of 9m and waits at iishanten. After a few more turns of waiting, Kurosawa gets to tenpai on a 2s tanki and sits dama. After Kurosawa gets to tenpai, Tojo does too on a 6m. In the third row, iishanten Sarukawa draws and discards the 2s (a tile likely safe against the manzu honitsu Tojo) and deals into Kurosawa. Kurosawa wins the hand with Chiitoi/Dora 2/Aka 1 for 12,000.
West Tanki
November 3, Game 2, S3-2
In S3-2, Shibukawa is in 2nd place and 1,100 behind 1st place dealer Kruosawa. With two riichi sticks on the table, a win now for Shibukawa will mean sitting in all last in 1st place.
Shibukawa starts out the hand with four pairs and a lone 5m dora. On turn 2, Shibukawa makes a 5th pair, now sitting one away from seven pairs. Being forced to have a closed hand, all Shibukawa can do is wait. He sits there, watching as Sarukawa makes calls. In the second row, Shibukawa is still waiting, still watching as everyone else advances except for him. Then, near the middle of the second row, Shibukawa draws the red 5m double dora to get to tenpai and waits dama on a west tanki, just like Uchikawa in the previous game. Within the first go-around, Tojo discards the west and deals in. Shibukawa wins the hand with Chiitoi/Dora 2/Aka 1 for 8,000+600 plus two riichi stick, going into the last hand with a 9,500 lead.
Copyright Strike
November 3, Game 2, S4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5018
In S4-0, Kurosawa is in 2nd place, 9,500 behind 1st place Shibukawa. Twice today have the Kadokawa Sakura Knights used the west tanki trick, the same trick she used for her suuankou tanki against Uchikawa years ago. Time to show them who is in charge of the table. In order to move into 1st, Kurosawa will be aiming for a 3/40 direct hit, a mangan tsumo or a haneman ron.
Kurosawa starts out the hand 3-shanten with a secured red 5p, holding some value but not enough. In the first row, Kurosawa shifts to tanyao, guarantees pinfu and has the ability to accept the 8m dora. By turn 5, she is iishanten. On turn 7, she draws the 8m dora and waits dama on a 25m ryanmen. With her hand only being guaranteed a mangan, she needs to either hit Shibukawa directly or draw her winning tile herself.
At the same time, Shibukawa is trying to end the game. On turn 8, he secures a white dragon concealed triplet for iishanten. A few turns later, he calls pon on the 4s to get to tenpai on a 36m ryanmen.
Sitting in the dealership and the only one who can extend the game is 4th place Tojo, desperately needing a win. Near the end of the second row, Tojo gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 7p penchan.
During the ippatsu round, Shibukawa draws the 2m. He chooses to discard it to maintain his tenpai and deals into dama Kurosawa. Kurosawa wins the hand with Pinfu/Tanyao/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 8,000, giving Team Raiden back-to-back wins.
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