Highlights
Quick Menhon
December 25, Game 1, S2-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3536
In S2-0, Date is in 1st place and holding a 9,700 lead over Okada. If she can win the next few hands and widen the lead, she can secure another 1st and rise through the individual rankings.
Date starts out the hand 3-shanten with pairs of east and west. With neither of them being her yakuhai, it may be more favourable to get rid of her pinzu block to pursue a manzu honitsu. After drawing a 5m on turn 2 and a third west on turn 3, she starts to break her pinzu block to go for honitsu. In her next two turns, she draws two more manzu (including the red 5m) and gets to tenpai on a 7m penchan, staying dama. At the start of the second row, Kobayashi drops the 7m and deals into Date. Date wins the hand with Honitsu/Aka 1 for 8,000.
Shortcut to Haneman
December 25, Game 1, S4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3537
In S4-0, Date has a strong 18,300 lead over 2nd place and is just one hand away from winning the game.
Date starts out the hand 2-shanten with a triplet of 8s and pairs of 1m and 6p. On turn 2, she draws the red 5s to get to a standard iishanten. On turn 3, she pairs up the 7s and puts her iishanten for seven pairs as well. With a yakuless hand being ineffective to end the game, Date decides to secure her chiitoi at the end of the row by breaking up her 8s triplet to make it a pair. In the middle of the second row, she finds her sixth pair and waits dama on a green dragon dora tanki. In the third row, she draws the green dragon and wins the hand. Date wins with Tsumo/Chiitoi/Dora 2/Aka 1 for 3,000/6,000, finishing the game with a score of 57,300, her best score so far this season.
Ura Ura Upgrade
December 25, Game 2, E2-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3538
In E2-0, Takamiya is in 3rd place early on and sitting 4,300 behind 1st place.
Takamiya starts out the hand 3-shanten with a loosely connected red 5p and a bunch of kanchans. On turn 2, he fills in a 4p kanchan to secure the dora and advance to 2-shanten. Over her next few turns, she fills in a 7s kanchan and gets rid of another by creating a pair. On turn 5, Takamiya draws a 2p dora to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 14p ryanmen. Guaranteed at least a mangan, she can upgrade the hand to a haneman if she wins of the 4p and finds one more han. With the early riichi, nobody pushes particularly hard to challenge her. In the third row, Takamiya draws the 4p and wins the hand. As if the haneman upgrade wasn’t enough, she flips the uradora and adds two more han to her hand to upgrade to a baiman. Takamiya wins the hand with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Tanyao/Dora 1/Aka 1/Ura 2 for 4,000/8,000, easily moving into the lead.
Reds
December 25, Game 2, S1-0
In S1-0, Yu is the dealer in 2nd place, sitting 10,500 behind 1st place Takamiya.
With Yu’s first draw, he gets the red 5s to now have all three red fives. If Yu can manage to win with all three of them, he will have at least a mangan for 1st place. On turn 2, he successfully connects all of the reds. Through the first row, he makes a 567s sequence and a 456p sequence with the red 5p, leaving the red 5m as part of a pair. At the end of the row, Yu pairs up the red dragon to give him a callable yaku. Soon after, he calls the dragon and gets to tenpai on a 5m/north shanpon. Two turns later, Takamiya drops the north and deals into Yu. Yu wins the hand with Red Dragon/Aka 3 for 12,000, moving into top spot.
Takame
December 25, Game 2, S3-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5039
In S3-0, Kurosawa is in 3rd place and 6,500 behind 2nd place dealer Takamiya.
From the start, Kurosawa is already iishanten with a kanchan and a ryanmen needing to be filled in. However, to pursue a higher score and better shapes, she throws the 1p, breaking the kanchan and going back a shanten. On turn 3, she draws a floating 8s, giving her the distant possibility of a 678 sanshoku. On turn 4, she makes a triplet of 5p to get to iishanten. Drawing the 7s on turn 5, she gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 69s ryanmen. If she wins on the 9s, she will only have Riichi/Aka 1. If she wins on the 6s, she will add sanshoku and tanyao to upgrade it to mangan minimum. Just two turns later, Kurosawa draws the 6s she wants and wins the hand. Kurosawa wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Tanyao/Sanshoku/Aka 1 for 3,000/6,000, taking her to 2nd place going into her last dealership.
Going For Five
December 25, Game 2, S4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5528
Going into this game, Suzuki Yu has won his last 4 games, tying the M-League record for most wins in a row. Going into S4-0 in 1st place, he has a definite chance of being the first player in M-League history to win five in a row. However, Kurosawa is in hot pursuit, sitting just 6,100 behind him and starting her South 4 dealership, the same seat where she had her own legendary performance.
Yu starts out the hand 2-shanten with a bunch of kanchans. With a 123m secured in hand, Yu will likely have to pursue pinfu or riichi. The first row doesn’t give him much, but he is able to get to iishanten by pairing up his red 5m. To his left, Kurosawa is 2-shanten with a pair of easts and a loosely connected 7s. In the second row, Kurosawa fills in a kanchan and makes a rare east pon to get to tenpai on a 69p ryanmen.
Soon after, Yu fills in a kanchan and gets to tenpai. With no yaku, Yu calls riichi on a 5s kanchan. Counting 5s, Kurosawa is holding onto three of them, leaving just the red 5s in the wall. Yu’s hope for five in a row rests on a red 5s. Kurosawa and Yu exchange draws and discards, feeling relief and disappointment at the same time. Near the end of the second row, Yu draws the red 5s, does a double take and declares tsumo. Yu wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Aka 2 for 2,000/4,000 to be the first player in M-League history to win five games in a row.
With this historic win, it was the perfect Christmas gift for all M-League fans!
Menhon
December 26, Game 2, E4-4
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4035
In E4-4, Matsumoto is in 3rd place and needs to do a lot of work to catch up to 2nd place Aki who is 16,300 ahead.
Matsumoto starts out the hand 4-shanten with a triplet of souths and a lot of honours and souzu. From the start, he easily pursues a honitsu, waiting for the souzu and honours to come to him. Unfortunately, he is no closer to tenpai by the end of the row. In the second row, he starts to draw a few more souzu and creates two ryanmens, but he is still 2-shanten with only one more row to go. On turn 14, he pairs up the dora 1s to get to a ryanmen-ryanmen iishanten. Around the same time, dealer Taro makes a call to get to tenpai first on a 58m ryanmen. Two turns later, Matsumoto gets himself to tenpai on a wide 258s wait. Within the go-around, Aki discards the 5s trying to take tenpai and deals into Matsumoto. Matsumoto wins the hand with Honitsu/Dora 2 for 8,000+1,200, taking him up to 2nd place.
Taro Time
December 26, Game 2, S1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2033
In S1-0, Taro sits in the lead and holding a 11,800 lead over 2nd place. The team is currently in 4th place and just a 1st place away from moving into 2nd overall. With a really big win, Taro can actually move into the positives in the individual rankings.
Taro starts out the hand 3-shanten with both the red 5m and red 5s secured in his hand. In the first row, she shifts his hand to guarantee tanyao and gets to iishanten by the end of the row. On turn 8, Taro gets to tenpai and stays dama on a 47p ryanmen, getting a mangan on the 4p and a haneman on the 7p.
Immediately after, dealer Aki gets to tenpai, throws the 3s dora and calls riichi on a 1m/9m shanpon.
With good value and a good wait (especially since the 7p is safe against Aki), Taro keeps pushing. Two turns later, Aki draws and discards the 7p and deals into Taro. Taro wins the hand with Pinfu/Tanyao/Iipeikou/Dora 1/Aka 2 for 12,000 plus one riichi stick, now having more than double the score of 2nd place.
Escaping 4th
January 4, Game 1, S4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3539
In S4-0, Date is in 4th place, 5,100 behind 3rd place Daisuke. To escape 4th, she needs a 2/40 direct hit or a 3/40 tsumo or ron.
Date starts out the hand with four pairs in her hand to put her 2-shanten for chiitoi. With a riichi added on, she would be able to win with a direct hit or a tsumo. The first row isn’t much help, but she does manage to get to pair up the 5m to get to iishanten at the end of it. Around her, Daisuke has made a call and Nakabayashi is also scheming up tenpai. In the middle of the second row, Date finds her sixth pair and calls riichi on a 1s tanki.
Two turns later, 1st place Nakabayashi gets to tenpai, but he stays dama on his yakuless 47m wait to reduce his chances of falling into 2nd. Soon after, Daisuke gets to tenpai on a 47s wait, hoping to stay in 3rd place. Unfortunately for Daisuke, he would draw the 1s the very next turn and deals into Date.
With the direct hit, Date takes it to move into 3rd. With the uradora, her hand upgrades to mangan for a little extra. Date wins with Riichi/Chiitoi/Ura 2 for 8,000.
Wide Wait
January 4, Game 2, S3-3
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s60_p2469
In S3-3, Takamiya is in 2nd place and 11,200 behind 1st place Sugawara. With two riichi sticks and three honba on the table, a good hand can let her get close or even surpass Sugawara.
Takamiya starts out the hand at a distant 5-shanten, but she does have a red 5p and a red 5s in hand. In the first row, Takamiya pairs up the green dragon to give herself and later makes it into a triplet. By the end of the row, she is miraculously at 2-shanten. At the start of the second row, she guarantees herself a good wait while getting to iishanten. A few turns later, she gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 467p wait, guaranteed at least a mangan if she wins.
During the ippatsu round, 4th place Nakabayashi gets to iishanten and discards the twice-cut dora east. Two turns later, he makes a 567m call and gets to tenpai on a 25p ryanmen.
With Nakabayashi’s 5p being dead (with Takamiya holding three of them) and only two 2p left in the wall, Takamiya has the advantage. Sure enough, Nakabayashi draws and discards the 7p in the third row and deals into Takamiya. Takamiya wins the hand with Riichi/Green Dragon/Aka 2 for 8,000+900 plus two riichi sticks, bringing her within 300 of 1st place.
Think Big
January 4, Game 2, S4-0
In S4-0, the dealer Takamiya is 300 behind 1st place Sugawara and 4th place Nakabayashi is 11,500 behind 3rd place Shiratori.
Takamiya starts out the hand 4-shanten with sequence potential while Nakabayashi is 3-shanten with a pair of white dragons, a secured red 5m and a floating east dora. As soon as the white dragon comes out, Nakabayashi calls it and discards the east for iishanten. With another call, he gets to tenpai on a 14s ryanmen. Soon after, Takamiya discards the 1s and deals into Nakabayashi for Green Dragon/Aka 1 for 2,000.
Despite being seemingly useless, Nakabayashi’s win had a purpose. The obvious one is that it gives the team 2.0pts that they would have otherwise not have gotten if he didn’t win. The less obvious view can be seen if you look further than a single game. In about three months, the M-League semifinals will start. Not only does every point matter for them, deny every point from their opponents is also important. In the standings at the start of this game, the Konami Mahjong Fight Club is in 4th with 241.1pts while the Beast Japanext is far away in 9th place with -634.9pts. By ending the game and denying Takamiya a chance to move into 1st place, Nakabayashi also denies her from getting the extra 40.0pts oka/uma from a 1st place win. Instead, those points go to the Beast Japanext who will have a difficult time bringing those extra points to the semifinals in their current position.
12k 12k
January 5, Game 1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4525
In E4-0, Kayamori is in 3rd place and 2,200 away from falling into last. In front of her are dealer Hagiwara at 6,800 ahead and Sonoda at 30,200 ahead.
Kayamori starts out the hand 2-shanten with riichi being her only obvious yaku. On turn 2, she pairs up the 1m to get her chiitoi 2-shanten as well. Pairing up the 2s a turn later, she gets to iishanten and just looking for one more for tenpai. On turn 5, she draws a lone 7p dora to set up for a shortcut to haneman. Finding her sixth pair in the middle of the second row, Kayamori gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 7p tanki.
During the ippatsu round, Hagiwara also gets to tenpai and waits on a 7p as well.
With both waiting on the 7p, there is a chance of a headbump and Hagiwara winning ebcause of turn order, but the probability that someone would discards a live dora are extremely low. In the middle of the third row, Kayamori draws the 7p and wins the hand. Kayamori wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Chiitoi/Dora 2 for 3,000/6,000.
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4526
In S1-0, Kayamori is now the dealer in 2nd place and 14,200 behind 1st place Sonoda.
Kayamori starts out the hand 2-shanten for pinfu with a lone 1m dora and a 9s away from iipeikou. On turn 3, she gets the 9s to get to iishanten. As Kayamori looks for a pair, her opponents discard the 1m dora. With two cut, Kayamori cuts the lone 1m in her hand to give her a higher chance to complete the hand. A turn later, she gets a pair of 3p and calls riichi on a 36m ryanmen. In the third row, Sonoda discards the 3m trying to accept tenpai and deals into Kayamori. With a flip of the uradora, her two 7s become dora and upgrades her hand to a mangan. Kayamori wins with Riichi/Pinfu/Iipeikou/Ura 2 for 12,000, moving into the lead.
Houtei
January 5, Game 2, E3-2
In S3-2, Tojo is the dealer in 2nd place, 4,700 behind 2nd place Aki and 13,600 behind 1st place Taro.
Tojo starts out the hand 3-shanten for chiitoi (5-shanten for a standard hand) while Aki is already 2-shanten. In the first row she creates sequences and gets to tenpai At the start of the second row on a yakuless 5m kanchan. If she can draw the 7m, she will upgrade to pinfu and have a chance at a 567 sanshoku. Just a turn later, she draws the 7m and calls riichi on a 58m ryanmen, hoping for the 5m.
By this point, Tojo is already iishanten for chiitoi. With chiitoi being an easy hand to push and be safe, she shuffles around her single tiles and hopes to find the sixth pair. At the start of the third row, Tojo pairs up the east and waits dama on a 6p tanki. A turn later, she switches to a 3p tanki and calls riichi. Though it is late in the game, Tojo still has a chance to win. Sure enough, on Aki’s last draw, the very last draw of the hand, she draws and drops the 3p and deals into Aki. Tojo wins the hand with Riichi/Houtei/Chiitoi for 9,600+600, bringing Tojo within 2,400 of the lead.
Ippatsu
January 5, Game 2, E3-3
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2035
In E3-3, Taro is in 1st place and followed closely by 2nd place dealer Tojo.
Taro starts out the hand 3-shanten with lots of ryanmens, very likely to have pinfu. In the first row, he draws a 9m dora and then a 7m, destroying the pinfu guarantee but does ensure an extra han in hand. By the end of the row, he is iishanten with a kanchan and a 3-sided wait. On turn 7, he fills in the kanchan and calls riichi on a 147s wait. On his very next draw, he gets the 1s and wins the hand. Taro wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Pinfu/Dora 1/Ura 1 for 3,000+300/6,000+300.
Takame
January 5, Game 2, S1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s60_p2475
In S1-0, Tojo’s pursuit for 1st place has gotten a little hard because of Taro’s haneman tsumo during her dealership. She now sits 25,500 behind Taro, needing to almost double her score to catch up.
Tojo starts her hand 4-shanten with the makings of tanyao. In the first row, her hand naturally shifts to tanyao and adds potential avenues for both pinfu and iipeikou. Near the start of the second row, Tojo gets to iishanten with multiple options for tenpai. At the same time, Taro gets to tenpai but is yakuless with a 7m kanchan. Near the end of the row, Tojo gets to tenpai s well and calls riichi on a 25m ryanmen, hoping for the 5m for iipeikou. Near the middle of the third row, Tojo gets the 5m and wins the hand. Tojo wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Tanyao/Iipeikou/Aka 1 for 3,000/6,000.
Half Flush
January 5, Game 2, S2-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4527
In S2-1, the competition for 1st place is still hot with 1st place dealer Taro leading 2nd place Tojo by 13,500.
From the start, Taro’s hand is of heavy interest, holding pairs of 3s, 4s, 6s and green dragon, as well as a lone 8s. With such a start, he could go for an M-League first ryuuiisou yakuman.
To his right is Tojo with two dora 4p and a pair of red dragons, having a path to a half flush.
In the early moments of the hand, Taro is able to call pon on the 3s and make the 4s a triplet, quickly advancing the yakuman chance. A turn later, he pairs up the south. Though it gets in the way of the yakuman, it does ensure that he gets at least a mangan. However, if he draws the 8s, he can go all in on ryuuiisou.
Tojo is progressing her own hand well as well, drawing the red 5p and calling pon on the 4p dora to guarantee at least a haneman. Before the end of the row, Taro makes a closed kan of the 4s, giving Tojo another dora. Soon after, Tojo gets to tenpai on a 47p ryanmen with only the one 4p left unseen to her. Wanting to improve her wait, she switches to a 5p/red dragon shanpon a turn later, hoping for the red dragon for baiman.
A few turns later, Taro is able to call pon on the 6s. Though he has the option to heavily gamble for yakuman, he does the sensible thing and takes the mangan tenpai on a green dragon/south shanpon.
Immediately after Taro gets to tenpai, Tojo draws the 5p and wins the hand. Tojo wins with Honitsu/Dora 4/Aka 1 for 3,000+100/6,000+100, enough to move Tojo into 1st place.
M-League Watch 
Just finished watching a digest of the January 4, Game 2, S4-0 game. Was surprised by Nakabayashi’s call despite the point difference. Thank you for the explanation behind his actions! So many things to consider when playing in a league. Holy moly. 😆