Highlights
South 4
December 11, Game 1, S4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4518
In S4-0, Uotani is in 2nd place with 34,400 and Mizuhara is in 1st place with 37,100. With a 2,700 gap, Uotani needs a 1/50 direct hit, a 240 tsumo or a 2/50 ron.
In the first go-around, Uotani is 2-shanten for chiitoi (3-shanten for a standard hand) with a floating dora. In the first row, she shifts her hand to a tanyao standard hand to be able to win more easily. At the end of the row, she pairs up the 8s while at a standard 2-shanten. Soon after, she calls pon on the 4s to get to iishanten. As Uotani waits for tenpai, Okada gets to a 78s tenpai, but chooses to stay dama on her yakuless hand. At the end of the second row, Uotani makes a 456p sequence and gets to tenpai on a 7m/8s shanpon.
Wanting to challenge Uotani for the win, Mizuhara makes a pon on the 2s to get to tenpai on a 14m ryanmen.
No matter how many people are in tenpai, only one can win. Soon after Mizuhara gets to tenpai, Uotani picks up the last 8s in the wall and wins the hand. Uotani wins with Tanyao/Dora 3 for 2,000/4,000 to win the game.
East 1
December 11, Game 2, E1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5521
In E1-0, Yu is playing for the Pirates who are 50.1pts behind the 1st place Kadokawa Sakura Knights. A good 1st place this game will put the team at the top of the rankings.
Sitting as the dealer, Yu starts out the hand already 2-shanten with the makings of a pinfu. On turn 2, Yu gets to iishanten and is a 5m away from a 345m iipeikou. On turn 5, he draws the 5m and calls riichi on a 47p ryanmen. Near the end of the second row, Yu draws the 4p and wins the hand. With a flip of the uradora, he adds two han to his hand and upgrades to a dealer haneman. Yu wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Iipeikou/Ura 2 for 6,000 all, a big win to start the game.
Beating Zeus
December 12, Game 1, E1-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3530
In E1-1, Date is tied for 3rd place after being noten the previous hand. She faces off against Suzuki “Zeus” Taro who is sitting tied for 1st place and in the dealer seat.
From the start, Taro is 3-shanten with a pair of white dragons and a floating 6p, while Date is 3-shanten with a pair of red dragons. Date makes some connections with her hand by drawing a 6p dora to create a kanchan, but Taro is going lightning speed. By turn 5, his white dragon is an ankou and he is tenpai, throwing the 6p dora and calling riichi on a 25m ryanmen.
During the ippatsu round, Date fills in the 7p kanchan to get to iishanten. With the red dragon being safe, she comfortably keeps her progress by throwing the red dragon pair. After a few turns of waiting and fiddling, Date finally gets to tenpai in the middle of the third row and calls riichi on a 47m ryanmen with just 3 more draws for herself. On her very next draw, she gets the last 7m in the wall and wins the hand. Date wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Pinfu/Dora 1/Ura 1 for 3,000+100/6,000+100 plus one riichi stick, taking the early lead.
Riichi Battle
December 12, Game 1, E2-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5030
In E2-0, Hagiwara is in 2nd place, 3,000 behind 2nd place Hinata and 13,400 behind 1st place Date. His dealership starts now.
Hagiwara starts out the hand 3-shanten with a loosely connected red 5s. To his right is Hinata at 2-shanten and to her right is Date at 5-shanten. In the first row, Hagiwara is unsuccessful in securing the red 5s, but is able to get to iishanten. Hinata is also progressing well, getting to a ryanmen-ryanmen iishanten by the end of the row. In the second row, Hagiwara is successful in connecting the red 5s, ensuring an extra han if he wins. In the middle of the second row, Hagiwara is the first to tenpai and calls riichi on a 14p ryanmen.
Two turns later, Hinata chases and calls riichi on a 36p ryanmen.
Still sitting at 3-shanten, Date doesn’t push her hand much. However, as she draws, she gets closer to tenpai. At the start of the third row, Date gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 36s ryanmen.
Two turns later, the riichi battle ends with Hagiwara drawing his winning 4p. Hagiwara wins the hand with Riichi/Tsumo/Dora 1/Ura 1 for 4,000 all plus two riichi sticks, moving into 1st place.
Zeus Strikes Back
December 12, Game 1, E2-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2024
In E2-1, Taro is all the way down in 4th place after getting hit with the dealer penalty two hands ago.
Taro starts out the hand already 2-shanten with a penchan, a ryanmen and a 3-sided wait, Making it very likely to get a good wait and good value. On turn 4, he pairs up the dora 2p to get rid of the penchan and get to iishanten. At the end of the row, he completes the ryanmen to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 147s wait, guaranteed at least a mangan if he wins. On turn 9, Taro draws the 7s and wins the hand. Taro wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Tanyao/Dora 2 for 3,000+100/6,000+100, bringing him to 2nd place and within 600 of 1st.
Wanting More
December 12, Game 1, S1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2025
In S1-0, Taro is the dealer in 1st place, holding a 1,000 lead over 2nd place Date.
Taro starts out the hand iishanten for chiitoi with pairs of 8p (which is part of a 7889p group), east, south, 4s and 8s. With two yakuhai in hand, he chooses to go for the “quicker” route and aim for a standard hand. On turn 2, Hinata discards the east and Taro calls pon. Hagiwara discards the 8s after that and Taro calls pon again. Instead of taking a cheap tenpai, Taro maintains iishanten to aim for toitoi.
With a pon of the south, Taro gets to mangan tenpai and waits on a 4s/8p shanpon. A few turns later, Hagiwara discards the 8p and deals into Taro. Taro wins the hand with Toitoi/East/South for 12,000
Shortcut to Haneman
December 12, Game 2, E2-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2026
In E2-0, Futoshi is in 2nd place, 5,800 behind 2nd place Ooi and 12,300 behind 1st place Honda.
Futoshi starts out the hand 2-shanten for chiitoi (4-shanten for a standard hand) with pairs of 3p, 5p, 6s and 9s. With his pairs being comprised of middle tiles and a terminal, it will be difficult to go for anything open. On turn 5, he pairs up the 7s to get to iishanten. At the end of the row, he pairs up the west and calls riichi on an 8s tanki.
During the ippatsu round, Hisato also gets to tenpai and calls a chasing riichi on a 2s kanchan.
Though 4th place Hisato hopes to win, his hopes are dashed when Honda (who has no safe tiles) discards the 8s and deals into Futoshi. With a flip of the uradora, Futoshi gets to more hand and achieves the shortcut to haneman. Futoshi wins the hand with Riichi/Chiitoi/Dora 2/Ura 2 for 12,000 plus one riichi stick, moving into top spot.
Yakuman Tenpai???
December 12, Game 2, S3-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5031
In S3-0, Honda is in 4th place and 7,600 behind 3rd place Hisato, while Ooi is in 2nd place and 9,400 behind 1st place Futoshi.
At the start, we see Ooi 3-shanten with a 6p triplet and pairs of 1p and north, while Honda is 3-shanten with a triplet of souths, a loosely connected red 5s and a route to a souzu honitsu. In the first row, Honda confirms his pursuit for honitsu by getting rid of his other suits and Ooi makes a pair of 3p to give him some more pivot power (between a standard and a pairs hand). By the end of the row, Ooi is 2-shanten and Honda is iishanten. In the second row, Ooi makes a triplet of 3p getting him closer to a standard hand and giving him the distant possibility for a suuankou yakuman. In the middle of the row, Honda creates a ryanmen and gets to tenpai on a 36s ryanmen, guaranteed at least a haneman if he wins.
During the ippatsu round, we see Ooi draw the 3s. He doesn’t discard it, but we can see where the hand might go. On turn 11, he pairs up the 3m and gets to suuankou iishanten. With the 3s being completely useless, Ooi’s eventual demise is in the cards, paining both Abemas fans and yakuman hunters. At the start of the third row, Ooi draws a third 1p. Just as quickly as Ooi gets to tenpai for yakuman, he also loses it with the 3s discard.
Honda wins the hand with Riichi/South/Honitsu/Aka 1 for 12,000, moving into 2nd place and leaving Ooi frustrated.
Clean Finish
December 14, Game 1, S4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2529
In S4-0, Katsumata is in 1st place and 10,000 ahead of 2nd place. The surest way to finish in 1st place is to win this hand.
Katsumata starts out the hand already 2-shanten with a connected dora 8m and a chance at tanyao. In the first row, Katsumata draws good ryanmens and the red 5m, giving him the option to pivot to ittsuu as well. By turn 4, he is iishanten and waiting on any manzu for tenpai. At the end of the row, he draws the 5m and calls riichi on a 14m ryanmen, hoping for the 4m for tanyao. On his ippatsu draw, he gets the 4m and wins the hand. Katsumata wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Tanyao/Dora 1/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 3,000/6,000, finishing the game with a clean 50,000.
Last to Riichi, First to Win
December 14, Game 12, E3-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2029
In E3-0, Sonoda is the dealer in 2nd place, 9,000 behind 1st place Kobayashi.
Sonoda starts out the hand with an excellent 2-shanten hand with 3 ryanmens and a secured red 5s. During his first few turns he creates a 7s triplet to secure tanyao but lose pinfu. With a perfect iishanten, he is guaranteed a good wait no matter how he gets to tenpai. As he waits to get ready, Kobayashi gets to tenpai first and calls riichi on a 58s ryanmen.
Being the dealer with good value, Sonoda continues to push. Across from him, Daisuke also draws favourable tiles and pushes as well. At the start of the second row, Daisuke draws a red 5m to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 25s ryanmen, guaranteed to have at least a mangan if he wins.
Two turns later, Sonoda finally gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 36p ryanmen. Immediately after, Kobayashi draws and discards the 6p and deals into Sonoda. Sonoda wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tanyao/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 8,000 plus two riichi sticks, taking the lead.
The Revenge
December 14, Game 2, S1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p6025
In S1-0, Daisuke is the dealer in 2nd place, 1,600 behind 1st place Sonoda. After losing the previous game, Daisuke wants to win this game o make up the points and get a little extra.
Daisuke starts out the hand 3-shanten for both chiitoi and a standard hand with a red 5s and a dora 7s loosely connected to each other. On turn 2, he pairs up the 7s, putting him a bit closer to chiitoi. On turn 3, he fills in a kanchan and confirms a standard hand by breaking his 4s pair. On turn 4, he discards the 9s pair to aim for tanyao and pinfu. After fills in one ryanmen near the end of the first row, Daisuke gets to tenpai in the middle of the second row and calls riichi on a 25p ryanmen, hoping for the 5p for iipeikou. In the middle of the third row, Daisuke draws the 2p and wins the hand. Daisuke wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Tanyao/Pinfu/Dora 2/Aka 1 for 6,000 all, easily taking the lead.
At-Takamiya
December 15, Game 1, E1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3532
In E1-0, Takamiya is the starting dealer and starts out 4-shanten with a connected red 5m with four ryanmens. With so many good shapes, she easily fills them in quickly. At the end of the first row, Takamiya draws the dora 4m and calls riichi on a 14s ryanmen, guaranteed at least a mangan if she wins. During the ippatsu round, Kurosawa discards the one-chance 1s and deals into Takamiya. With the 1s being uradora, Takamiya wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Pinfu/Dora 1/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 18,000.
Double Riichi
December 15, Game 1, E1-2
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3533
In E1-2, Takamiya is still the dealer and looking to extend her lead even further
Amazingly with her first 14 tiles, she is already tenpai! She calls a double riichi on a west/4m shanpon, guaranteed at least a mangan with the two red fives in her hand.
Though folding against a dealer double riichi is usually standard, Hori sitting at 2-shanten has material to fight with. On turn 2, he makes a pair of red dragons and gets to iishanten. On turn 3, he draws a 4m to complete a manzu ittsuu and waits dama on a 3s kanchan.
On turn 5, Kurosawa draws and discards the west and deals into Takamiya. Takamiya wins the hand with Double Riichi/Aka 2 for 12,000+600, moving Takamiya above 55,000 and Kurosawa into the negatives.
Escaping the Negatives
December 15, Game 1, E2-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5032
Kurosawa is in the negatives with -7,100 and the game has hardly started. However, that means she has a whole game to make it up.
Kurosawa starts out the hand 4-shanten with pairs of white dragon and north, as well as a connected red 5p. In the first row, Kurosawa is able to draw pinzu tiles to get close to a honitsu. Near the end of the row, Kurosawa is iishanten and an 8p away from ittsuu. At the same time, Hori makes a call and and kan to get to iishanten and Takamiya calls the red dragon for iishanten as well. When Hori discards the white dragon, Kurosawa passes on it in true Kurosawa fashion. The first of the three to get to tenpai is Hori who waits on a 25s ryanmen.
Within the go-around, Takamiya gets to tenpai as well and waits on a 69p ryanmen.
In the middle of the second row, Kurosawa’s patience pays off as she draws a third white dragon and waits dama on an 8p kanchan, guaranteed at least a haneman if she wins. In the third row, Hori draws and discards the 8p and deals into Kurosawa. Kurosawa wins the hand with Honitsu/Ittsuu/White Dragon/Aka 1 for 12,000, bringing Kurosawa back into the positives.
Ryanpeikou
December 15, Game 1, S1-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s60_p2411
In S1-1, Hori is in 3rd place, 10,900 behind 2nd place Uotani.
Hori starts out the hand 4-shanten with a secured red 5s. In the first row, he pairs up the 2m, 4s and 7m, giving him option for tanyao and securing pinfu. In the second row, he starts pairing up even more, making the 9m and 5s into pairs and sitting iishanten. On turn 11, he pairs up the 6s and waits dama on a 6p tanki. After a bit of movement from Takamiya (including a kan), Hori draws the 8m at the end of the row. With pairs of 7m and 9m Hori suddenly converts from chiitoi to a ryanpeikou tenpai, guaranteed and waiting on an 8m kanchan. Soon after, Uotani draw and discards the 8m and deals into Hori. Hori wins the hand with Ryanpeikou/Aka 1 for 8,000+300, moving into 2nd place.
More Positive
December 15, Game 1, S3-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5033
In S3-0, Kurosawa is back in the negatives, but she has a chance to change all that with her dealership.
Kurosawa starts out the hand 3-shanten with two ryanmens. On turn 2, she makes a kanchan to advance to 2-shanten. In the rest of the first row, she works on guaranteeing a good wait while still sitting at 2-shanten. In the second row, she draws a red 5p and makes a 3-sided wait in souzu, moving to iishanten. In the middle of the row, Kurosawa draws the dora 7p to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 258s wait, guaranteed at least a mangan if she wins. On her very next turn, she gets the red 5s and wins the hand. Kurosawa wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Pinfu/Dora 1/Aka 2 for 3,000/6,000, moving back into the positives.
Raiden’ the Wave
December 15, Game 1, S4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5034
In S4-0, Kurosawa is in 2,000 behind 3rd place dealer Uotani and 10,900 behind 2nd place Hori. With a haneman, she can move into 2nd place, a far cry from the negative score she had in the early east round.
Kurosawa starts out the hand 3-shanten with a secured red 5p and likely tanyao. With every one of her draws, she got closer to tenpai. After making a 2s triplet, creating pairs and then turning them into sequences, she gets to tenpai in the middle of the first row and calls riichi on a 58s ryanmen, hoping for the 5s for iipeikou. Near the start of the second row, Takamiya discards the 5s trying to pursue iishanten and deals into Kurosawa. With a flip of the uradora, Kurosawa’s 2s triplet suddenly becomes dora and upgrades her hand to a haneman. Kurosawa wins with Riichi/Tanyao/Iipeikou/Aka 1/Ura 3 for 12,000, finishing the game with a positive result.
Menhon
December 15, Game 2, E3-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5035
In E3-0, Setokuma is in 4th place, 6,900 behind the 2nd place tie and 19,800 behind 1st place dealer Takizawa.
During the first go around, Uchikawa discards the east with no action on the table. When we get a view of Setokuma’s starting hand, we see that he denied the east pon and sits 2-shanten with a pair of wests as well. On turn 2, he makes a second block in pinzu and breaks up his 4p pair, leaving him with just the honour pairs. As Setokuma tries to nould his hand, Daigo gets to tenpai first and calls riichi on a 58m ryanmen.
By sheer coincidence, Daigo’s discard pile has no manzu, allowing Setokuma to go for a manzu hointsu while he folds. He draws manzu and kicks out his souzu ryanmen, playing safely and pushing at the same time. In the third row, Setokuma makes a triplet of easts for tenpai and waits dama on a 5m/west shanpon. A turn later, he switches his wait and calls riichi on a 47m ryanmen. Two turns later, Setokuma draws the 7m wins the hand. Setokuma wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Honitsu/East/Aka 1 for 3,000/6,000 plus one riichi stick, enough to get within 800 of 1st place.
No More Ura San
December 15, Game 2, S1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4520
In S1-0, Daigo is in 3rd place, 10,900 behind 2nd place Takizawa and 20,100 behind 1st place Setokuma.
Daigo starts out the hand 4-shanten with only one completed sequence and a lot of bad shapes. He spends the first row cleaning up his hand, getting rid of stray tiles and making shapes. By the end of the row, he is 2-shanten with a connected red 5p and a pair of souths as the south seat in the south round. On turn 7, he fills in a penchan to get to iishanten. On turn 9, he draws a third south to make it a triplet and calls riichi on a 47p ryanmen, guaranteed at least a mangan if he wins.
To his right is Takizawa who gets a very good iishanten during the ippatsu round, coaxing him to push. A turn later, he gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 36p ryanmen,
After some drawing and discarding, Daigo draws the 4p at the start of the third row and wins the hand. With a flip of the uradora, the south becomes dora and doubles his hand’s value. Daigo wins the hand with Riichi/Tsumo/Double South/Aka 1/Ura 3 for 4,000/8,000 plus one riichi stick, enough to move into 1st.
Gyakuten
December 15, Game 2, S4-3
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5036
In S4-2, Setokuma is in 2nd place and 1,900 behind 1st Daigo. With two riichi sticks and three honba on the table, he can win anything and finish the game in top spot.
Setokuma starts out the hand 3-shanten with a secured 6m as part of a 678m sequence. Holding a pair of 9s and a 79p block, it will be difficut for Setokuma to open up his hand. In the first row, he makes some sequence candidates and gives himself a chance at a 678m iipeikou, but nothing is firmly secured. At teh same time, both Daigo and Uchikawa make some good progress. At the start of the start of the second row, Daigo is the first to tenpai, waiting on a 369p wait (with the 36p being the only tiles for a yaku).
In the middle of the row, Uchikawa joins in and calls riichi on a 4p kanchan.
Right after him, Setokuma calls the riichi and waits on an 8p kanchan. With the two player in riichi, Daigo joins in with a riichi on his three-sided wait. Each player drawing their tile, taking a quick look, then discarding. At the end of the row, Uchikawa quickly draws and discards the 8p and deals into Setokuma. Setokuma wins the hand with Riichi/Dora 2 for 5,200+900 plus four riichi sticks, finishing the game in 1st place.
M-League Watch 