Highlights
Ippatsu Tsumo
January 22, Game 1, E1-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3035
In E1-1, Okada is in a 3-way tie for 2nd place after dealer Kurosawa won a mangan tsumo.
Okada starts out the hand 4-shanten with a secured red 5p for value. To her left, Aki is sitting at 2-shanten with two ryanmens (three when you count the 7899p shape). In the first row, Okada makes the 5p pair into a triplet and creates some pairs to get to 2-shanten. For Aki, she shifts her hand to tanyao to give her an easier yaku than riichi. In the second row, Aki makes a call to be the first to tenpai, waiting on a 25p ryanmen.
Soon after, Okada gets to tenpai as well, but has to choose whether to throw the 3p or Aki’s winning 2p. Since Okada can see all four of the 5p, she knows that the 3p can’t be used for a ryanmen and is safer. She takes the 3p and calls riichi, waiting on a 25m ryanmen. On her very next draw, she picks up the red 5m and wins the hand. Okada wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Dora 1/Aka 2/Ura 1 for 3,000+100/6,000+100, sending her up to 1st place.
Direct Hit
January 22, Game 1, S3-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5044
In S3-0, Kurosawa is still chasing after 1st place dealer Okada who is 9,400 ahead.
Kurosawa starts out the hand 3-shanten with a hand that is likely to be tanyao. In the first few turns, Kurosawa drew nearly perfectly and got to a ryanmen-ryanmen iishanten by turn 4. However, so did dealer Okada. On turn 5, Okada gets to tenpai for chiitoi and calls riichi on an 8p tanki.
Though Kurosawa takes a bit of action to avoid the ippatsu turn, she still maintains her good iishanten. It backfires on her immediately, but the hand is still intact. Near the end of the second row, Kurosawa forms a 345m iipeikou to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 25s ryanmen, guaranteed at least a mangan if she wins. In the middle of the third row, Okada draws and discards the 2s and deals into Kurosawa. Kurosawa wins the hand with Riichi/Pinfu/Tanyao/Iipeikou/Aka 1 for 8,000 plus a riichi sticks, switching placements with Okada going into the last hand.
Ura Upgrade
January 22, Game 2, E3-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5046
In E3-0, Setokuma is the dealer in 4th place, sitting 8,000 away from 1st place Matsugase.
Setokuma starts out the hand with an annoying 5-shanten hand, having no value and a single ryanmen for a good wait. The wall was very nice to Setokuma in the first row, filling in a kanchan, giving him a 2m pair and creating another ryanmen to get him to 2-shanten. In the middle of the second row, he fills in the last of his kanchans to get hit to tenpai. He calls riichi and waits on a 47m ryanmen, hoping for the 4m dora for mangan minimum. On his very next draw, he gets the 4m dora and wins the hand. With a flip of the uradora, his 2m pair becomes dora and upgrades his hand to a huge dealer baiman. Setokuma wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Pinfu/Tanyao/Dora 1/Ura 2 for 8,000 all, easily moving into 1st place.
Yakuman Tenpai!!?
January 22, Game 2, E3-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3036
In E3-1, everyone is trying to chase after Setokuma after he won the dealer baiman. Sitting the closest is 2nd place Matsugase at 24,000 behind.
From the start, we see Matsugase with pairs of 2s, 3s, 6s and 8s. If he can make off them triplets and get a pair of either the green dragon or the 4s, then he could have the rare yakuman ryuuiisou.
On turn 3, Matsugase draws the 7s, interrupting the ryuuiisou but does bring him closer to a chinitsu tenpai. As a result of the 7s, he skips an 8s pon when Takizawa discards it. On turn 4, Matsugase draws a 6s, potentially bringing him back on track for ryuuiisou. Right after, Hori gets to tenpai, discards the 2s and waits on a white dragon.
With Hori’s 2s discard, Matsugase calls pon and discards his pinzu ryanmen, confirming his pursuit for a flush hand. At the second row, Hori switches his wait to a 9p tanki. For Matsugase, he draws the 8s to make it a triplet and draws a single green dragon, putting him just one tile away from ryuuiisou tenpai. At the start of the third row, Matsugase picks up the green dragon. Matsugase is now ready for ryuuiisou, tenpai on a green dragon/3s shanpon. Counting tiles, all the green dragons are out and a 3s is stuck in Takizawa’s hand, leaving just a single 3s in the wall. All he needs is the one.
The action continues around the table, all players pursuing a win. A few turns after Matsugase gets to tenpai, Takizawa gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 47p ryanmen.
EX Furinkazan fans and yakuman hunters are hoping for the 3s. Konami Mahjong Fight Club fans are hoping for a 4p dora (or to not draw the 3s at the very least). Kadokawa Sakura Knights Fans are hoping to get out of last place. Sitting at iishanten with no safe tiles, Setokuma pushes the 9p and ends up dealing into Hori, ending the yakuman chance. Hori wins the hand with Chiitoi/Dora 2/Aka 1 for 8,000+300 plus one riichi stick, moving into 2nd place.
Ippatsu
January 23, Game 1, E1-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4533
In E1-1, Tojo is tied for 2nd place after the dealer Kobayashi won the first hand.
Tojo starts out the hand 4-shanten with a decent chance at tanyao. As Tojo fills in kanchans and makes ryanmens in the first row, Kobayashi the dealer does some calling. After calling pon on the green dragon and making a chii, Kobayashi gets to tenpai at the end of the row on a 47p ryanmen.
By this point, Tojo is iishanten with a ryanmen and 3-sided wait. On her next draw, she puts herself iishanten for either a 567 sanshoku or a 678 sanshoku. As Tojo makes her discard, Asami makes a call and gets to tenpai on a 5s kanchan, guaranteed a mangan if she wins.
At the start of Tojo’s second row (her discard area is emptier because everyone keeps calling), she draws the 8p and calls riichi on a 258s wait, hoping for the 8p for sanshoku. Immediately after, Kobayashi draws and discards the 8s and deals into Tojo. Tojo wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Pinfu/Tanyao/Sanshoku for 12,000+300.
Ippatsu
January 23, Game 1, E3-2
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2036
In E3-2, Asami is the dealer in 3rd place, 900 behind 2nd place Sarukawa and 10,200 behind 1st place Tojo. With two riichi sticks and two dora available to the next winner, a good hand will put Asami on top.
Asami starts out the hand 3-shanten with a pair of 2m dora. In the first row, Asami makes more good shapes, including some ryanmens. At the same time, Sarukawa moves forward with his fast hand. With a call on turn 5, Sarukawa is the first to tenpai on a 58s nobetan.
At the start of the second row, Asami gets to iishanten, waiting to fill in a 7p kanchan and a 58s ryanmen. A turn later, she converts that kanchan into a 147p 3-sided wait, making pinfu very likely. At the end of the row, she gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 3-sided wait. On her very next draw, Asami draws the 1p and wins the hand. Asami wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Pinfu/Dora 2/Ura 1 for 6,000+200 all plus two riichi sticks.
Chanta
January 23, Game 2, E4-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4534
In E4-1, Kayamori is in 4th place, 3,800 behind 3rd place Sugawara and 14,400 behind 2nd place Sonoda.
Kayamori starts out the hand with a very annoying 6-shanten hand, equally close to a standard hand, chiitoi and kokushi. In the first row, Kayamori throws out many middle tiles, leaving her with tiles near the edges. Pairing up the white dragon and the 9m dora, she does have potential. However, Nakabayashi is holding the other white dragons. By the end of the row, Kayamori is 3-shanten with a potential path to chanta. In the second row, Kayamori pairs up the east to push her hand closer. With a pon on the 9m dora, Kayamori gets to 2-shanten and paves the way for a mangan. In the middle of the row, she fills in a 7p penchan to get to iishanten, now waiting on three different tiles for tenpai. As she waits, Sonoda gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 56p wait.
With the riichi by Sonoda, Nakabayashi folds by throwing his white dragon pair. With the white dragon free, Kayamori calls pon to get to tenpai on a 3s penchan. in the middle of the third row, Sonoda draws and discards the 3s and deals into Kayamori. Kayamori wins the hand with Chanta/White Dragon/Dora 3 for 8,000+300 plus one riichi stick, taking Kayamori up to 2nd place.
Double Riichi
January 23, Game 2, S2-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p6039
In S2-0, Sugawara is in 2nd place and 3,200 behind 1st place Nakabayashi.
With Sugawara’s first 13 tiles, she is already iishanten and a 2m away from a 234 sanshoku. On her very first draw, she picks the 2m and calls a double riichi, guaranteed at least a haneman if she wins.
Though a riichi normally scares players away, the lack of information makes it hard for players to fold. With this lack of information, they push. In the first two rows, both Nakabayashi and Sonoda move their hand forward, both getting to iishanten by the end of the second row. At the same time, Sugawara’s 5p’s get picked up by others, leaving her with only one left in the wall. At the start of the third row, Nakabayashi gets to tenpai on a yakuless 6m/4s shanpon. After a chii by Kayamori to shift the wall, Sugawara is able to draw the 5p and win the hand. Sugawara wins with Double Riichi/Tsumo/Tanyao/Sanshoku/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 3,000/6,000, moving into 1st place.
Positive Position
January 23, Game 2, S4-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4535
In S4-1, Kayamori is in 3rd place and 6,700. For her to get to get sole 2nd place, she needs a 3/40 tsumo, a 2/50 direct hit or a mangan ron. If she is fine with tying Nakabayashi, she could also go for a 3/50 or 4/25 regular ron.
Kayamori starts out the hand 3-shanten with a secured red 5p and a likely tanyao for value. In order to get the points she needs, she will likely need to stay closed and call riichi. In the first row, she makes some ryanmens to have a chance at pinfu and creates a potential 456p iipeikou, both of them contingent on her keeping her hand closed. On turn 10, Kayamori draws the 7p. Though it stops the iipeikou, she is tenpai and calls riichi on a 25s ryanmen, already holding at least a mangan in value. All she needs to do is win.
To her right is 4th place Sonoda, also trying to escape from the bottom. He has no value at all, but uradora can do wonders. In the third row, Sonoda is desperate to get to tenpai. To take the widest iishanten, Sonoda discards the 2s and deals into Kayamori. Kayamori wins the hand with Riichi/Pinfu/Tanyao/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 8,000+300, finishing the game in 2nd place with 28,300 to give her team +8.3pts.
Double Riichi
January 25, Game 1, E3-0
In E3-0, Sarukawa is in 2nd place and 4,800 behind 1st place Kayamori.
With Sarukawa’s first 13 tiles, he is already iishanten, needing a 7p, 5s or 8s to get to tenpai. On his first draw, he picks up the 7p and calls a double riichi, holding pinfu and waiting on a 58s ryanmen.
As with many double riichi calls, the lack of information lets opponents push just a bit, but none of them were able to complete it. At the end of the second row, Sarukawa draws the 8s and wins the hand. Sarukawa wins with Double Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu for 1,300/2,600, enough for 1st place.
Monkey Magic
January 25, Game 1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p6040
In S3-1, Sarukawa is in 4th place, 8,300 from 3rd place and has a chance to claim 1,300 in bonus sticks.
Sarukawa starts out the hand 3-shanten with pairs of red dragons and white dragons. With a five souzu tiles there is a path to honitsu. In the first row, Sarukawa calls pon on both of them to get to iishanten. In the second row, he creates a 123s sequence to get to tenpai on a 47s ryanmen. Near the end of the row, Date tries to call riichi by throwing the 4s and deals into Sarukawa. Sarukawa wins the hand with Red Dragon/White Dragon/Honitsu for 8,000+300 plus one riichi stick, sending Sarukawa up to 2nd place.
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p6041
In S4-0, Sarukawa is in 2nd place and 4,100 behind 1st place dealer Taro. In order to finish the game in top spot, he needs a 2/40 direct hit, a 3/25 or 2/50 tsumo, or a 3/40 ron.
Sarukawa’s starting hand is 4-shanten with two ryanmens and a connected 6p for value. In order to upgrade the hand’s value, Sarukawa will likely have to stay closed. In the first row, Sarukawa made a pair of 9p and another ryanmen to get to 3-shanten. On turn 8, the dealer Taro gets to tenpai first and stays dama on a 58p nobetan, later shifting to a yakuless 14s nobetan. After drawing the perfect tiles, Sarukawa secures pinfu and gets to tenpai in the middle of the row. He calls riichi on a 36s ryanmen, needing either a direct hit, a tsumo or an extra han through ippatsu or ura. During the ippatsu round, Kayamori discards the 3s trying to maintain her iishanten and deals into Sarukawa. Sarukawa wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Pinfu/Dora 1/Ura 1 for 8,000, finish on top and lifting the team up by one rank.
Furiten Ippatsu Tsumo
January 25, Game 2, S2-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4536
In S2-0, Uotani is in 2nd place, 9,500 behind 2nd place Daisuke and 11,800 behind 1st place Hisato.
Uotani starts out the hand 3-shanten for both chiitoi and a standard hand with a secured red 5s for value. In the first row, she makes a pair of norths and quite a few sequence shapes, getting her to iishanten. In order to get there, however, she will need to fill in the 3s penchan. At the start of the second row, she fills in her three-sided wait first, leaving her with a penchan. With time and opportunites to grow, she gets rid of it to fish for a better wait elsewhere. Two turns later, she gets a 7m to create a 6m kanchan. Since a 2p or a 5p would also give her sanshoku, she stays dama in hopes of getting the value that the team needs. As Uotani waits, Hisato gets to tenpai and waits on a 3m tanki, staying dama.
After Hisato gets to tenpai, Uotani draws the 6m. She has the ability to call a win now for a total of 2,000, but chooses not to. Instead, she makes the bold decision to call a furiten riichi on a 258p wait with the 2p and 5p giving sanshoku.
On her very next draw, she gets the 2p and wins the hand. Uotani wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Pinfu/Sanshoku/Aka 1 for 3,000/6,000, six times the value of the tsumo she could have won a turn earlier.
Aka
January 25, Game 2, S4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3549
In S4-0, Hisato is in 2nd place and 1,900 behind 1st place Uotani. Any direct hit, a 1/40 tsumo or a 2/30 ron would be enough to finish first.
Hisato starts out the hand 4-shanten with a few sequence candidates. In order to form the value that he needs, he will need to stay closed and get either pinfu or a 123 sanshoku. In the first row, he keeps the potential for both pinfu and sanshoku, but still needs to fill in a 2s kanchan and a 3p penchan to get either of them. As Hisato stays closed, the rest of the table is calling. In the middle of the second row, Futoshi calls a chii to get to tenpai on a 69p ryanmen.
Soon after, Uotani gets to tenpai on a 36m ryanmen.
Having previously thrown the 1m to remain in a safer position, Hisato has lost his sanshoku potential. At the end of his second row, he fills in his last bad shape, the 3p penchan, to get to pinfu tenpai, holding the value he needs. He calls riichi and waits on a 58p ryanmen. During the ippatsu round, Futoshi draws the 8p and switches to a 5p/8p shanpon. If either comes out from Daisuke, then Futoshi will win. If it comes out of Uotani, Hisato will win. In the middle of Hisato’s third row, he picks up the red 5p and wins the hand. Hisato wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 2,000/4,000, finishing the game in 1st place.
Sail Away
January 26, Game 1, E2-2
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5535
In E2-2, Mizuhara is in 2nd place and 3,400 behind 1st place Ooi. With two riichi sticks and two honba, any win will let her go up a rank.
Mizuhara starts the hand already 2-shanten with a pair of green dragons and a 4m away from iipeikou. The first row doesn’t provide anything for her, allowing her opponents to catch up. Near the start of the second row, she advances to iishanten, still needing to resolve her potential value group. In the middle of the second row, she draws the green dragon and calls riichi on a 14m ryanmen, wanting the latter.
During the ippatsu round, Ooi gets to tenpai but stays dama on a yakuless 4s kanchan. On his next draw, he pairs up the 8s dora and calls riichi on an 8s/south shanpon.
After multiple turns of drawing and discarding, Mizuhara finally draws the takame 4m in the middle of the third row to win the hand. Mizuhara wins the hand with Riichi/Tsumo/Green Dragon/Iipeikou/Ura 1 for 4,000+200 all plus three riichi sticks, putting her above 40,000.
Yu Turn
January 26, Game 2, S3-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5536
In S3-0, Yu is in 3rd place, 15,800 behind 2nd place Hori and 17,500 behind 1st place Matsumoto. Yu wants to get into a better position now to more easily challenge for top spot going into his final dealership.
Yu starts out the hand with a very nice 2-shanten hand with a pair of souths and two secured 7m dora. With a simple pon of the souths, he would already have at least a mangan. On turn 6, he draws the south to get himself to iishanten. Just a turn later, he gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 58s ryanmen. To his left, 4th place dealer Katsumata is desperately trying to raise his score, in his pursuit for tenpai, he discards the 8s in the 3rd row and deals into Yu. Flipping one Uradora, Yu wins the hand with Riichi/Double South/Dora 2/Ura 1 for 12,000, putting Yu just 5,500 away from 1st place.
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