Highlights
Tenpai Battle
November 13, Game 1, E2-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3525
In E2-1, Hisato is in 3rd place, 1,200 behind 1st place Aki. Being the dealer and with two riichi sticks waiting for the next winner, any hand will do.
Hisato starts out the hand 4-shanten with two different dora (a 6p and a red 5s), two ryanmens and other sequence candidates. In the first row, he fills in one of the ryanmens, secures the red 5s and gets to iishanten. In the second row, Hisato shifts to tanyao and improves his shapes, still sitting at iishanten. At the same time, all of his opponents get to iishanten as well. In the third row, the first player to get to tenpai is Daigo who calls riichi on a 14s ryanmen with a mangan minimum hand.
Two turns later, Hisato also gets to tenpai, but sits dama with a yakuless 7s tanki. After him, Aki gets to tenpai and waits dama on a 47s ryanmen.
On Hisato’s next draw, he improves to a 6s kanchan and adds sanshoku to his hand. Right after, Aki draws and discards the 6s and deals into Hisato. Hisato wins the hand with Sanshoku/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 12,000+300 plus three riichi sticks, taking the lead.
Furiten Ippatsu
November 13, Game 1, S3-4
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p6017
In S3-4, Daisuke is in the negatives with -6,800. With his dealership starting right now, he can slip to the positives with a single hand.
Daisuke starts out the hand 2-shanten with two sequences and two pairs. In the first row, he draws a red 5m to be iishanten. Across from him, Daigo makes sequences as well and gets to 2-shanten. In the second row, both Daigo and Daisuke secure pinfu. Near the end of the row, Daigo is the first to tenpai and stays dama on a 69s ryanmen.
After a lot of waiting, Daisuke gets to tenpai in the middle of the second row and calls riichi on a 369p (with the 3p giving iipeikou). Since Daisuke discarded the 3p in the second row, he is furiten and can only win by tsumo. On Daisuke’s very next turn, Daisuke draws the 9p and wins the hand. Daisuke wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Pinfu/Aka 2 for 6,000+400 all plus one riichi stick, easily moving him into the positives and actually tying for 3rd place.
Aki Ascends
November 13, Game 1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s60_p2259
In S4-1, Aki is the dealer in 3rd place, 2,400 behind 2nd place Daigo and 31,700 behind 1st place Hisato. With the last dealership, she can win endless hands to make up the difference.
Aki starts out the hand 3-shanten with a pair of souths. The first 6 draws for Aki are unhelpful, only getting her to 2-shanten. In the second row, she makes a sequence and makes the souths into a concealed triplet, getting her to tenpai on an 8m kanchan. After a few turns of being dama, she improves her wait and calls riichi on a 67m. In the middle of the second row, Aki draws the 7m and wins the hand. Aki wins with Riichi/Tsumo/South for 2,600+100 all.
In S4-2, Aki starts out with a 2-shanten hand with a ryanmen in hand. On turn 2, she is already iishanten with the ryanmen still intact. On turn 3, she draws the dora 2m to get to tenpai and call riichi on a 2p/9s shanpon. At the end of the second row, Aki draws the 9s and wins the hand. Aki wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Dora 1 for 2,600+200 all.
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2517
In S4-3, Aki is now just 9,700 behind 1st place Hisato. With three honba, she just needs a 2/40 direct hit, a 3/40 tsumo or a 3/50 general ron.
Aki starts out with another good hand, again 2-shanten with a probable pinfu and a chance at iipeikou. Across from her is Hisato who is also 2-shanten. On turn 2, Aki makes a pair to secure pinfu and be iishanten and Hisato gets to iishanten with a chance at ittsuu. On turn 3, Hisato is the first to tenpai and waits dama with ittsuu on a 7m penchan.
A turn after, Aki secures a 789m iipeikou and calls riichi on a 14p ryanmen. A win by tsumo or a ron on 1p by itself will be enough for 1st place. On her very next draw, she finds the 4p and wins the hand. Aki wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Pinfu/Iipeikou for 4,000+300 all.
In just three hands, Aki overcomes a 31,700 deficit and moves into 1st place. She would hold onto this lead and finish the game in top spot.
Kayamori Comeback
November 13, Game 2, S4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4510
In S4-0, Kayamori is in 2nd place and 7,800 behind 1st place Takizawa. To take 1st place, she needs a 3/30 direct hit for a tie, a 3/50 tsumo or a mangan ron. In the 21 games that Takizawa and Kayamori have faced, she has never gotten a 2nd place. She wants to keep it that way.
Kayamori starts out the hand 2-shanten with a red 5s and a floating green dragon. In the first row, her hand shifts toward being filled with sequences. On turn 5, she draws a red 5p, adding more han to her hand. Throwing the green dragon, she firmly pursues the closed hand route. On turn 7, Kayamori gets to tenpai on an 8m kanchan. She calls riichi hoping to win by tsumo to have enough. At the end of the second row, she draws the 8m and wins the hand. Kayamori wins the hand with Riichi/Tsumo/Aka 2 for 2,000/4,000, completing the comeback and getting her first 1st of the season.
Taro Time
November 14, Game 1
In E1-0, Taro is in the south seat and is currently looking to end his 19-game no-1st streak.
Taro starts out the hand 3-shanten with sequences in his hand. To his right is Nakabayashi at 4-shanten with a tanyao hand. In the first row, Taro gets to 2-shanten with a few bad shapes while Nakabayashi gets to a quick iishanten. In the second row, Taro draws a 2s dora and fills in one of his bad shapes. He is the first to tenpai and calls riichi on a 7s kanchan.
During the ippatsu round, Nakabayashi gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 69s ryanmen.
In the third row, Taro draws the 7s and wins the hand. Flipping an uradora, Taro wins the hand with Riichi/Tsumo/Dora 1/Ura 1 for 2,000/4,000 plus one riichi stick.
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2011
In E2-0, Taro is the dealer and he starts out 4-shanten with a likely tanyao hand and a connected red 5s. In the first row, Taro creates a lot of wide sequence options and secures the red 5s, getting to iishanten. As Taro waits, Hori gets to tenpai and waits dama on a 6s tanki.
Soon after, Taro gets to tenpai and calls riichi on an 8p/9s shanpon. On his very next draw, he gets the 9s and wins the hand. Taro wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 4,000 all, now with more than double 2nd place’s score.
Action and Reaction
November 14, Game 1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3013
In S1-1, Hori is in 3rd place, 16,100 behind 2nd place Nakabayashi and 27,400 behind 1st place Taro.
Hori starts out the hand with an annoying 5-shanten with no value and a few floating honours. In the first row, Hori draws a red 5m to create a 345m sequence and draws a red 5s to create a 456s sequence, getting to 2-shanten. In the second row he draws the red 5p to create a 567p shape and later gets to tenpai, calling riichi on a 147s wait. Between the second and third row, Setokuma also gets to tenpai on a 47s ryanmen, but he is of little worry to Hori as Hori draws the 1s soon after to win the hand. Hori wins the hand with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Aka 3/Ura 1 for 3,000+100/6,000+100 plus one riichi stick, enough to move into 2nd place.
In S2-0, Taro is the dealer and senses that both Hori and Nakabayashi are coming after him. A win during his dealership will be a good chance to widen that lead.
Taro starts out the hand 4-shanten with two ryanmens. In the first row, he fills in a kanchan and picks up a pair of dora souths to get to 2-shanten. On turn 7, he fills in a penchan to get to iishanten and on turn 8, he gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 14m ryanmen. Two turns later, he draws the 1m and wins the hand. Taro wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Dora 2/Ura 2 for 4,000 all, putting him above 50,000.
Hori
November 14, Game 1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3014
In S4-0, Hori is the dealer in 2nd place, 26,100 behind 1st place Taro. As with any final dealership, anything can happen.
Though Hori has no completed groups in his starting hand, he is 3-shanten with two pairs and two ryanmens. In the first row, he makes the 3s pair into a concealed triplet and sets up for a 678 sanshoku, getting to iishanten with a guaranteed good wait at the end of the first row. After adding pinfu in the second row, Hori draws the dora 8s in the third row to get to tenpai. She calls riichi on a 58m ryanmen, hoping to get the 8m for sanshoku. Two turns later, Nakabayashi throws the 8m trying to call riichi and deals into Hori. Hori wins the hand with Riichi/Pinfu/Sanshoku/Dora 1/Ura 1 for 18,000.
In S4-1, the gap between Hori and Taro is now just 8,100. With a 2/40 direct hit, a 3/30 tsumo or a 3/50 general ron, Hori will be in 1st place.
Hori starts out with a good hand at 3-shanten with a secured 7s dora and another chance at a 678 sanshoku. In the first row, Hori draws a 9m to complete a sequence and creates a ryanmen to get to iishanten. On turn 9, he draws the 1m to fill in the ryanmen and calls riichi on a 7p kanchan.
During the ippatsu round, Nakabayashi calls a 234s chii and gets to tenpai on a 2m/8m shanpon.
One person is hoping to secure 3rd place, another is trying to draw their winning tile for 1st place. In the third row, Hori draws the 7p and wins the hand. Hori wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Dora 1 for 2,000+100 all, moving into 1st place.
In S4-2, Hori is in 1st, but only by 300. With a tsumo by another player or a noten payment being able to shift the standings, Hori needs to win this hand to hold onto 1st.
Hori starts out with another good startin hand, this time 3-shanten with a three-sided wait, a ryanmen and a secured red 5m. The first row gets him to 2-shanten with another ryanmen and a dora 5p. In the second row, he fills in a ryanmen and makes the 5p a pair to get to tenpai, staying dama on a 36s ryanmen. At the end of the row, he draws the 3s and wins the hand. Hori wins the hand with Tsumo/Pinfu/Dora 2/Aka 1 for 4,000+200 all to put him above 60,000.
Letting the next hand go to a draw, Hori secures the win and leaves Taro with a 20-game firstless streak.
Hagi!
November 14, Game 2
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5022
In E1-0, Hagiwara wants to make up the points that were lost by unlucky Setokuma in the first game.
Hagiwara starts out the hand 3-shanten with a pair of 2p dora. In the first row, he advances to 2-shanten and is a 9p away from a 789p iipeikou. In the second row, he draws two 1p to be a 3p away from a 123p iipeikou. If he gets both the 3p and the 9p, he will have ryanpeikou. On turn 10, he draws the 9p guarantee ryanpeikou and waits dama on a 3p penchan. Two turns later, Kobayashi draws and discards the 3p and deals into Hagiwara. Hagiwara wins with Ryanpeikou/Dora 2 for 8,000.
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5023
In E2-0, Hagiwara starts out with a 4-shanten hand with no value and only one good shape. As Hagiwara draws tiles, he builds both value and shapes. In the first few turns, he creates a sequence and draws a red 5p double dora. In the second half of the first row, he pairs up the 5p to get to 2-shanten. In the second row, he make the 5p pair into a triplet and fills in a kanchan to get to tenpai. He calls riichi and waits on a 47s ryanmen. In the middle of the second row, Kobayashi chases with the exact same 47s ryanmen, but Hagiwara draws the 4s himself during Kobayashi’s ippatsu turn to win the hand. Hagiwara wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Dora 3/Aka 1 for 3,000/6,000 plus one riichi stick, bringing him to 46,000.
In E3-0, Hagiwara starts out with a decent starting hand, sitting 3-shanten with a secured 5m dora. By turn 3, Hagiwara is already iishanten with three completed sequences. On turn 5, he fills in a kanchan and calls riichi on a white dragon dora tanki. Two turns later, 4th place Kobayashi discards the white dragon while trying to accept a wider iishanten and deals into Hagiwara. Hagiwara wins the hand with Riichi/Dora 2/Aka 1 for 8,000, bringing his score up to 54,000.
Ippatsu
November 14, Game 2, S3-0
In S3-0, Hori is in 3rd place and 9,900 behind 2nd place Futoshi.
Hori starts the hand off 3-shanten with a connected red 5s. Across from him is 1st place Hagiwara at 2-shanten with a concealed triplet of white dragons. In the first row, Hori creates a sequence to get to 2-shanten while Hagiwara, fills in his bad shapes to get to tenpai on a 69m ryanmen, staying dama.
In the second row, Hori draws a red 5m, draws a 6s to secure the red 5s and makes the 9m an ankou for tenpai. Hori calls riichi and waits on a 4m kanchan. On his very next draw, he gets the last 4m in the wall and wins the hand. Hori wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Dora 1/Aka 2 for 3,000/6,000, moving into 2nd place.
Akina
November 16, Game 1
In E2-1, Mizuhara is in 4th place after dealing into a mangan in the very first hand. Now she is the dealer and has a chance to make up that loss.
Mizuhara starts out the hand with a nice 3-shanten hand with pairs of east and south. On turn 4, she calls pon on the east to get to 2-shanten. After that, she pairs up the 8s to get to iishanten. With a pon on the south in the middle of the second row, Mizuhara gets to tenpai on a 6s kanchan. In the third row, Mizuhara draws the 6s and wins the hand. Mizuhara wins with Double East/Aka 1 for 2,600+100 all, bringing her up to 2nd place.
In E2-2, Mizuhara is now 4,700 behind 1st place Sonoda.
She starts out the hand with a less graceful 4-shanten, but she does have a connected dora 8s. In the first row, Mizuhara builds sequences in other suits and gets to iishanten on turn 6. With an 456899s shape, she does have a good chance to build around the dora, but the 3456m shape in her hand is also nice. On turn 9, she pairs up the 8s to get to tenpai and calls riichi on an 8s/9s shanpon. Two turns later, Sonoda breaks up his 9s pair trying to go for tanyao and deals into Mizuhara. Mizuhara wins the hand with Riichi/Dora 2 for 7,700, moving into 1st place.
Stealing the Riichi Tile
November 16, Game 1, S3-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2012
In S3-0, Sonoda is in 2nd place and 4,300 behind 1st place Mizuhara.
Sonoda starts out the hand 2-shanten, destined for pinfu and holding a secured red 5s. On turn 2, he gets to iishanten. The rest of the first row is spent fiddling, trying to shift to tanyao and get the best shape possible. At the start of the second row, Sonoda gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 25p ryanmen.
With Sonoda’s discarded 3s on his riichi, Takamiya calls chii to break the ippatsu and advances to an ittsuu 2-shanten. When Sonoda discards the 6m on his next draw, Takamiya steals the tile again with another chii. When Sonoda draws yet again, he throws the 8m and Takamiya calls chii for the third time, getting to tenpai on a south tanki for mangan minimum.
Luckily for Sonoda, Takamiya isn’t able to call his next discard and he gets to keep on living. Soon after, Sarukawa discards the 2p and deals into Sonoda. Sonoda wins the hand with Riichi/Pinfu/Tanyao/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 8,000, moving into 1st place going into the last hand.
Dora Tanki
November 16, Game 1, S4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5513
In S4-0, Mizuhara is in 2nd place and 3,700 behind 1st place dealer Sonoda. To finish the game in top spot, she needs a 2/30 direct hit, a 2/40 tsumo or a 3/30 general ron.
Mizuhara starts out the hand 3-shanten for chiitoi (4-shanten for a standard hand) with an isolated south dora. In her first four turns, she draws two more pairs to get to iishanten, still holding onto the lone south. On turn 8, she draws her sixth pair and waits dama on a dora tanki. With four han, she can move into 1st place with any win.
Soon after, Sonoda gets to tenpai on a 69p ryanmen. Having no yaku secured, he can only win on the 9p to get a 789 sanshoku yaku. Unfortunately for him, he draws the 6p the very next turn, leaving him furiten and forced to look for another path. He throws the 6p to give him the potential of drawing the 9p himself.
Between Mizuhara and Sonoda is Sarukawa, sitting iishanten with a floating red 5p. Sitting in 4th place and 15,900 behind 3rd place Takamiya, Sarukawa needs a baiman or a mangan direct hit to move out of 4th. Near the end of the second row, Sarukawa gets to tenpai on a 47p ryanmen. His hand only has two han guaranteed, so he stays dama in hopes of getting the 6s to shift to a 456 sanshoku. Within the go-around, Sonoda discards the 7p as he tries to jump around maintaining a safe tenpai. Sarukawa rejects the 7p ron, giving Takamiya the chance to call pon and get to honitsu iishanten. With the potential to get a chankan off of Takamiya, Sarukawa calls riichi to potential upgrade his hand to a mangan.
Counting tiles, there is one south in the wall, zero 7p and two 4p (Sonoda’s now 69m ryanmen doesn’t matter as he doesn’t have a yaku). With the riichi on the table, Sonoda folds his hand. This gives an interesting scenario, where a draw with only Sonoda noten would put Mizuhara in 1st place. Though this would be nice, Mizuhara does one better and draws the last south in the middle of the third row to win the hand. Mizuhara wins with Chiitoi/Dora 2 for 1,600/3,200 plus one riichi stick, finishing the game in 1st place.
Mahjong Singularity
November 16, Game 2
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2013
In S1-0, Futoshi is the dealer and sitting in 4th place, 5,600 behind 1st place Sugawara.
Futoshi starts out the hand 3-shanten, lacking any value besides the potential chiitoi. In the first row, he picked up more pairs end eventually got to tenpai near the end of the first row on a 5s tanki, staying dama.
To his left is 1st place Sugawara, already with two calls, including a pon of the south dora. With visible danger, everyone is on edge. When Futoshi draws a 4m against the seemingly manzu honitsu hand, he switches to a 4m wait.
Right after, Date gets to tenpai for chiitoi and waits on a 6p tanki, throwing the 5m.
With the 5m discard, Sugawara calls pon to get to tenpai on a 2p/9m shanpon.
Drawing a north right after, Futoshi starts to fold. Right after, so does Date. At the end of the second row, Futoshi manages to pair up the 4m and be tenpai on a north tanki. On his very next draw, he gets the north and wins the hand. Futoshi wins with Tsumo/Chiitoi/Aka 1 for 3,200 all, moving into 1st place.
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2014
In S1-1, Futoshi starts out the hand 3-shanten with a connected dora 5s. In his first few draws, he creates sequences, guaranteeing a good wait tenpai by turn 4. On turn 7, Futoshi gets to iishanten and just needs a 5m and a 7s to add a 567 sanshoku. When Sugawara discards the red 5m, Futoshi calls chii and gets to tenpai on a 47s ryanmen. Near the end of the second row, Futoshi draws the 7s and wins the hand. Futoshi wins with Tanyao/Sanshoku/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 4,000+100 all, putting him above 45,000.
Last to Tenpai, First to Win
November 17, Game 1, E1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2518
In E1-0, the EX Furinkazan are in 6th place and it’s Katsumata’s turn to carry the team forward.
Katsumata starts out the hand 3-shanten with a pair of red dragons. In the first row, Katsumata skips calling pon on the red dragons and gets to 2-shanten through draws alone. At the same time, Tojo calls pon on the white dragon, Uchikawa gets to 2-shanten with sanshoku and red dora options and Matsumoto gets to iishanten. In the second row, Uchikawa is the first to tenpai and calls riichi on a 2p kanchan.
During the ippatsu round, Tojo gets to tenpai and waits on a 6p kanchan.
At the end of the second row, Shiratori calls chii on a 456p sequence to secure ittsuu and get to tenpai on a 47m ryanmen.
Drawing a 5p dora, Tojo adds value to her hand and switches to a 5p/3m shanpon. Right after, Katsumata fills in a kanchan and calls riichi on a 147s wait. To get the maximum value, Katsumata hopes for the 4s for both tanyao and sanshoku. Immediately after, Uchikawa draws and discards the 4s and deals into Katsumata. Katsumata wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Pinfu/Tanyao/Sanshoku/Dora 1 for 12,000 plus one riichi stick.
Sticky Situation
November 17, Game 1, S3-2
In S3-2, Katsumata is in 1st place and 6,100 ahead of 2nd place dealer Tojo. With four riichi sticks and two honba on the table, Katsumata wants to win this to deny any other player from catching up.
Katsumata starts out with a messy 5-shanten with no clear path to a yaku. In the first row, he makes a concealed triplet of 9p and creates a 345s sequence, getting to 2-shanten. On turn 11, Katsumata pairs up the red dragon and gets to iishanten. On his next turn, he calls a 123p chii and waits on a red dragon/9m shanpon. With no yaku secured, only the red dragon will allow Katsumata to win.
Two turns later, Uchikawa gets to tenpai with a closed hand and calls riichi on a 25m nobetan. With all the riichi sticks sitting out on the table, the table took a bit of time trying to find a riichi stick for Uchikawa to use.
To Uchikawa’s right is Shiratori sitting iishanten. During the ippatsu round, he draws the red dragon, but holds onto it. On Uchikawa’s ippatsu, Uchikawa draws and drops the 7p. Shiratori calls chii in order to advance his hand, but ends up discarding the red dragon and dealing into Katsumata. Katsumata wins the hand with Red Dragon only for 1,300+600 plus 5,000 in riichi sticks, moving the game to S4-0 as the last dealer with a 13,000 buffer.
Ippatsu
November 17, Game 2, E1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2519
In E1-0, Katsumata has been passed the baton to Aki and she starts out the game as the first dealer.
Aki starts out the hand with a strong 2-shanten hand with a pair of 5p and two ryanmens. On turns 5 and 6, Aki creates a 123p and a 345p sequence to get to iishanten. On turn 9, Aki gets to tenpai and discards a 5p, calling riichi on a 14m ryanmen. On her very next draw, she gets the 1m and wins the hand. Flipping one uradora, Aki wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Pinfu/Dora 1/Ura 1 for 6,000 all, the second game in a row that an EX Furinkazan player wins a haneman on the very first hand.
Yakuman Tenpai?!!
November 17, Game 2, E1-2
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4022
In E1-2, Matsumoto is tied for 3rd place, 3,000 behind 2nd place Uotani and 27,000 behind 1st place Aki.
Matsumoto starts out the hand 2-shanten for chiitoi with pairs of 6s, 8s, 4p and 8p. On turn 3, he pairs up the dora 5s to get to iishanten. As Matsumoto waits for tenpai, he makes the 8s into a triplet and then 8p. Suddenly, Matsumoto is iishanten for toitoi with the potential for yakuman. On turn 11, Matsumoto draws the red 5s double dora and waits dama on an 8p/6s shanpon. If Matsumoto wins by ron, he will have a baiman. If he wins by tsumo, he will have a suuankou yakuman.
In the third row, Uotani tries to maintain iishanten by discarding the 4p and ends up dealing into Matsumoto. Matsumoto wins the hand with Toitoi/Tanyao/Sanankou/Dora 3/Aka 1 for 16,000+600, moving into 2nd place.
Double Riichi
November 17, Game 2, E4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2520
In E4-0, Aki is in 2nd place after being passed by Matsumoto.
With Aki’s initial 13 tiles, she is already iishanten, waiting for a 3p, 1m or 4m for tenpai. On her first draw, she gets the 4m and calls a double riichi on a 3p kanchan.
Being the dealer in 3rd place with no way to fold, Hori pushes. By turn 4, Hori is already iishanten. After a bit of fiddling and avoidance, Hori gets to tenpai on turn 9 and calls riichi on a 47s ryanmen.
Unfortunately for Hori, he draws and discards the 3p on his ippatsu turn and deals into Aki. Aki wins the hand with Double Riichi/Iipeikou/Ura 1 for 8,000 plus one riichi stick.
Widening the Gap
November 17, Game 2, S2-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s60_p2285
In S2-0, Matsumoto is in 1st place and 3,100 ahead of fast-approaching 2nd place Aki.
Matsumoto starts out the hand already at a perfect iishanten with a pair of 8m dora and a connected red 5m. Despite this perfect start, the wall did not want to give him anything. As Matsumoto waits and waits and waits, Hori gets to tenpai in the middle of the second row, on a 6s kanchan, staying dama. On turn 11, Hori improves his wait and calls riichi on a 36s ryanmen, hoping to get the 3s for haneman minimum.
After more than two rows of waiting, Matsumoto finally gets to tenpai near the middle of the third row and calls riichi on a 47m ryanmen. Two turns later, Matsumoto draws the 4m and wins the hand. Matsumoto wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Dora 2/Aka 1 for 3,000/6,000 plus one riichi stick, widening the lead and sending both Hori and Uotani into the negatives.
Tie
November 17, Game 2, S4-0
In S4-0, the space between 3rd place dealer Hori and 4th place Uotani is just 3,900, both players trying to finish in 3rd place. At the same time, Matsumoto is trying to win a hand to end the game and secure 1st place.
Matsumoto starts out the hand 2-shanten with a secured red 5m. In the first row, he pairs up his yakuhai north, then discards it to aim for pinfu. On turn 11, Matsumoto draws the red 5s and gets to tenpai on a 147s wait, guaranteed 3 han. Immediately after, Hori draws and discards the 1m and deals into Matsumoto. Matsumoto wins the hand with Pinfu/Aka 2 for 3,900.
With Hori losing 3,900, both he and Uotani finish the game with -3,300. Because of the tie, they both finish in 3rd place and Uotani still maintains her 4th-place avoidance streak on a technicality.
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