Highlights
Suji Trap
February 5, Game 1, E1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s60_p2611
In E1-0, Takamiya is the starting dealer and trying to get the team closer to the top 2 leaders.
Takamiya starts out the hand 4-shanten with a pair of valueless souths. In her first few turns she draws two dora 4p, securing one of them as part of a 456p sequence. On turn 5, she discards the extra 4p to get to iishanten, holding the souths as her pair. In the middle of the second row, she gets to tenpai and calls riichi on an 8s kanchan. Having thrown the 5s in the first row, the suji trap is set. Within the first go-around, Nakada discards the 8s and deals in. Takamiya wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Dora 1/Ura 1 for 12,000.
Revenge
February 5, Game 1, S4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p6047
In S4-0, Nakada is the dealer in 3rd place and 2,900 from falling into 4th place. With her dealership starting, it’s her chance to start climbing out.
Nakada starts out the hand 4-shanten with a secured red 5p. To her right is Takamiya, 3-shanten from the start with calling options. In the first row, Nakada improves her shapes but is still sitting at a standard 4-shanten (3-shanten for chiitoi). With an immovable 9p pair, Nakada will have to stay closed. As for Takamiya, she advances to 2-shanten and has a strong possibility to call for tanyao. In the middle of the second row, she does exactly that to be tenpai on a 47s ryanmen.
Though Takamiya is the first to tenpai, Nakada’s hand has been progressing well. At the point of Takamiya’s call, Nakada had picked up another red 5m and was at iishanten. When the draw comes around to Nakada, she gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 36p ryanmen. During the ippatsu round, Takamiya draws and discards the 6p and deals into Nakada. Nakada wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Aka 2 for 12,000, the exact same amount that Takamiya hit her with in E1-0.
Shousangen
February 5, Game 2, S1-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3551
In S1-1, Takizawa is in 3rd place and 7,000 behind 2nd place Hagiwara.
Takizawa starts out the hand with a pair of green dragons, a pair of white dragons and a single red dragon, paving the way for a shousangen or even a daisangen. Early in the first row, Takizawa calls a chii to get to iishanten for a standard hand and 2-shanten for shousangen. With a call of the green dragon soon after, Takizawa firmly rejects the 2-han tenpai to pursue the valuable haneman. Drawing the white dragon near the end of the first row, Takizawa gets to tenpai and waits on a red dragon tanki.
Across the table from him, 1st place Nakabayashi is in iishanten and wanting to move the game forward. With a chii, he gets to tenpai on a 7p kanchan.
Sitting in last place is Sarukawa, wanting to get his team out of 9th place. After getting a few pairs, he gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a north dora tanki.
With the riichi from Sarukawa, Nakabayashi folds his hand, leaving Sarukawa and Takizawa to face each other one on one. In the third row, Sarukawa draws and discards the red dragon, dealing into Takizawa. Takizawa wins the hand with Green Dragon/White Dragon/Honitsu/Shousangen for 12,000+300 plus two riichi sticks, sending Takizawa into 2nd place and Sarukawa into the negatives.
Common Flush
February 6, Game 1, E2-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4045
In E2-1, Ooi is tied for 2nd place, 6,000 behind 1st place dealer Asami.
Ooi starts out the hand 4-shanten with a pair of easts and a loosely connected 1m dora. In the first row, he shifts his hand towards a manzu honitsu, creating a white dragon pair and call pon on it and getting rid of his off-suit tiles. At the end of the row, he pairs up the 1m dora to get to 2-shanten. In the second row, he creates a sequence and calls pon on the easts to get to tenpai on a 69m ryanmen, guaranteed a haneman if he wins. Two turns later, he draws the 9m and wins the hand. Ooi wins with East/White Dragon/Honitsu/Dora 2 for 3,000+100/6,000+100
Riichi Battle
February 6, Game 1, E3-0
In E3-0, Asami is 12,400 behind Ooi after being passed the previous hand.
Asami starts out the hand. 3-shanten with a pair of easts and a connected red 5m. To her left, Matsugase has a fast hand going, getting to iishanten by turn 2. By turn 5, Matsugase is tenpai on a 4s kanchan. At the start of the second row, he has a nakasuji trap set up decides to call riichi.
By this point, Asami is also iishanten with a the easts already a triplet. Drawing an 8s dora and being close to tenpai, she pushes forward. Near the end of the row she gets to tenpai and calls riichi on an 8s dora tanki.
The riichi action on the table isn’t done yet. During the ippatsu round, Uotani gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a wide 14m/2p wait.
Three players in riichi, three ways the hand can go. In the middle of the third row, Uotani draws and discards the dora 8s and deals into Asami. Asami wins the hand with Riichi/East/Dora 2/Aka 1 for 8,000 plsu two riichi sticks.
Straight Forward
February 6, Game 1, S3-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4046
In S3-1, Ooi in 2nd place and trailing 1st place Asami by 25,200.
Ooi starts out the hand 2-shanten, a 4m and a 9m away from a manzu ittsuu and holding a floating 9p dora. On turn 5, Ooi draws the red 5m, a tile that ups his value and advances him to iishanten. On turn 6, he draws the 9m, still giving him ittsuu potential. He discards the floating 9p dora to give himself the widest acceptance. On turn 7, he draws the 4m to secure ittsuu and calls riichi on a 69s ryanmen, guaranteed at least a mangan if he wins.
To his left, 4th place dealer Uotani is desperately trying to move up, pushing hard with her yakuless hand. In the middle of the second row, she gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 4p/8m shanpon.
Though Uotani has hope to escape the difficult situation, her hope is short-lived as she draws the 9s on her ippatsu turn and deals into Ooi. Ooi wins the hand with Riichi/Pinfu/Ittsuu/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 12,000+300 plus two riichi sticks, bringing Ooi closer to Asami and Uotani into the negatives.
Mangan-Mangan
February 6, Game 2
In E1-0, Ooi is playing his second game of the day, his fourth game in a row for the team
Ooi starts out the hand 3-shanten with a pair of the dora 5s (including the red 5s), guaranteeing at least a mangan if he can win with them. However, with a 3p penchan, he is forced to stay closed unless he can get rid of it. In the first row, he makes due with his circumstances, getting to iishanten while still holding the bad shape. In the second row, he spends much of his time waiting, switching around safe tiles until he can get something that advances. At the start of the third row, he finally fills in the 3p penchan and calls riichi on a 47m/5s wait.
During the ippatsu round, Ooi is pursued by Aki who calls riichi on a 14p ryanmen.
Despite the wide acceptance from both of them, it looked like neither of them are able to draw their winning tile. On Aki’s second-last draw, she picks up a fourth 8s and calls a concealed kan. On her rinshan draw, she gets Ooi’s winning 4m and deals in. Ooi wins the hand with Riichi/Dora 2/Aka 1 for 8,000 plus Aki’s riichi stick.
In E2-0, Ooi’s starting hand looks like a manzu honitsu with a secured 4m dora. He dedicates his first five turns discarding pinzu and souzu, making it obvious hat he is going for. During that time, he picks up another 4m dora to add value to his hand. At the end of the row, he calls pon on the west to get to 2-shanten. In the middle of the second row, Ooi calls a chii and gets to tenpai on a 58m ryanmen. In the third row, Ooi draws the 5m and wins the hand. Ooi wins with Honitsu/Dora 2 for 8,000, his second mangan in a row
South 4
February 6, Game 2, S4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4047
In S4-0, Ooi is in 2nd place, 6,600 behind 1st place dealer Sonoda. In order to finish the game in 1st, Ooi needs a 3/30 direct hit, a 3/40 tsumo or a mangan ron.
Ooi starts out with a luck hand with two red fives and a floating green dragon dora. If he can either pair of the green dragon or keep his hand closed for riichi, he has a pat to success. In the first row, Ooi abandons the lone green dragon to put his focus on riichi with a potential pinfu or tanyao. On turn 5, he is iishanten, almost guaranteed to have one other han besides riichi. At the start of the second row, he successfully secures tanyao and calls riichi on a 258m wait. If he wins on the 5m or 8m, he will also add pinfu to the mix. To his left, Aki is trying to get out of 4th place. With Ooi’s riichi call, she can now win anything to move into 3rd place. She avoids the ippatsu turn with a white dragon discard, but otherwise keeps her sights set. In the third row, she discards the 2m trying to maintain iishanten and deals into Ooi. Ooi wins the hand with Riichi/Tanyao/Aka 2 for 8,000, winning the game.
Death By Dama
February 8, Game 2
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5050
In E3-0, Kurosawa is the dealer in 3rd place, 1,300 behind 2nd place Kobayashi and 11,000 behind 1st place Rumi.
Kurosawa starts out the hand 3-shanten with a secured red 5m, a connected 6p dora and a very likely tanyao. In the first row, Kurosawa secures tanyao but is only able to get to 2-shanten. In the same timeframe, Kobayashi is able to get to tenpai on a yakuless 7m tanki, having a lot of different tiles to improves his shape. In the second row, Kurosawa fills in a 6m kanchan to secure a 567m iipeikou. With the shape completed, she is mangan tenpai on a 7p kanchan and chooses to stay dama. Within a turn of getting to tenpai, Uotani discards the 7p and deals into Kurosawa. Kurosawa wins the hand with Tanyao/Iipeikou/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 12,000, sending her up to 1st place.
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2540
In E3-1, Rumi is in 2nd place after just being passed by Kurosawa. Rumi starts out the hand beautifully at 3-shanten with a pair of 4s dora and two secured red fives, guaranteeing at least a mangan if she manages to win. In the first row, she pushes herself to iishanten with a chance at pinfu and iipeikou. On turn 9, she widens her iishanten and gives herself two different ways to get to get iipeikou. On her next draw, she secures a 789m iipeikou and gets to haneman tenpai, staying dama on a 47s ryanmen. Within the go-around, Uotani discards the 7s and deals into Rumi. Rumi wins the hand with Pinfu/Iipeikou/Dora 2/Aka 2 for 12,000+300, retaking 1st place and pushing Uotani into the negatives.
Going Forward
February 8, Game 2, S1-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5540
In S1-1, Kobayashi is in 3rd place, 19,800 behind 2nd place Kurosawa and 4,000 away from falling into 4th place.
Kobayashi starts out the hand 2-shanten with three ryanmens, making a good wait very likely. In his first four turns, he adds even more ryanmen potential and replaces his north pair with a 7m, shifting his hand to tanyao. If he stays closed, he can have a mangan with the potential to upgrade to a haneman. On turn 7, Kobayashi draws the red 5s and calls riichi on a 36p ryanmen, hoping for the 3p to add iipeikou or to draw either of them for haneman minimum. At the end of the second row, Kobayashi draws the 6p and wins the hand. Kobayashi wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Tanyao/Aka 2 for 3,000+100/6,000+100 plus one riichi stick.
Okada Opportunity
February 9, Game 1, S3-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3041
In S3-0, Okada is the dealer and holding a narrow 400 lead over 2nd place Futoshi.
Okada starts out the hand by drawing the red 5m to put her 3-shanten and a 3m away from iipeikou. In the first row, Okada makes a triplet of 3s and a pair of 9m to get to a ryanmen-ryanmen iishanten. To her left, Futoshi is aggressively calling to end Okada’s dealership, getting to tenpai in the first row on a cheap 7p kanchan. In the second row, Okada draws a fourth 3s and calls a concealed kan. With her rinshan draw, Okada gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 36m ryanmen, wanting the former for an extra han. At the end of the row, Futoshi draws the dangerous 6m and chooses to fold. At the start of the third row, Okada gets the takame 3m and wins the hand. Flipping two uradora, Okada wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Iipeikou/Aka 1/Ura 2 for 6,000 all.
Shiratori Sanshoku
February 9, Game 2, E3-1
In E3-1, Shiratori is the dealer in 2nd place, 7,000 behind 1st place Takizawa.
Shiratori’s starting hand is already 2-shanten for both chiitoi and a standard hand. His first few turns are focused on creating potential sequences, throwing away the dora 9s to do so. By the end of the row, he has a ryanmen-ryanmen iishanten. He isn’t able to progress his hand any further in the second row, but he does shift his hand to have a potential 567 sanshoku, needing only a 5s to achieve it. At the start of the third row, Shiratori gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 58s ryanmen. During the ippatsu round, Takizawa picks up the 5s. Sitting at iishanten with no safe tiles, Takizawa throws the 5s and deals into Shiratori. Shiratori wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Sanshoku for 12,000+300 plus one riichi stick, moving into 1st place.
Windy
February 9, Game 2, E4-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3552
In E4-1, Takizawa is in 2nd place, 3,800 behind Shiratori and trying to recapture his top position.
With Takizawa’s first fourteen tiles, he has pairs of south and west, as well as singletons of east and north. With big dreams, it’s possible for him to get shousuushii or even daisuushii.
In the first row, Takizawa draws more and more manzu in his hand, giving him the option for honitsu as a standard yaku to pursue. On turn 5, he draws a third west. On his next draw, he pairs up the north. The dream is possible, but there is only one east left in the wall. In the second row, Takizawa call pon on the north to get to iishanten. Two turns later, he makes a triplet of 9m. Understandably giving up on the dream, Takizawa throws the east and takes a 7m/south shanpon for tenpai. Soon after, Hori draws and discards the 7m and deals into Takizawa. Takizawa wins the hand with Toitoi/Honitsu for 8,000+300 moving into 1st place.
Ura Ura
February 9, Game 2, S1-1
In S1-1, Hori is all the way down in 4th place, 18,300 behind 2nd place Taro.
Hori starts out the hand 3-shanten with no value except the ability to accept a 3s dora. In his first six draws, he creates multiple sequence candidates but doesn’t get any value. On turn 8, Hori draws the dora 3s to advance to iishanten. As Hori waits, Taro gets his hand ready and calls riichi at the end of the row, waiting on a 25s ryanmen.
During the ippatsu round, Hori draws the red 5p, coaxing him to push and guaranteeing him a good wait at tenpai. As Hori keeps waiting, Shiratori gets to tenpai as well and waits dama on a 5m tanki.
Soon after, Hori finally gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 58m ryanmen. With the riichi from Hori, Shiratori folds his hand, leaving Taro and Hori in a one-on-one battle. On Hori’s second-last draw, he picks up the 5m and wins the hand. With the flip of the uradora, Hori’s 5p pair becomes dora and upgrades his hand to a haneman. Hori wins the hand with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Dora 1/Aka 1/Ura 2 for 3,000+100/6,000+100 plus two riichi sticks, just enough to move ahead of Taro for 3rd place.
Shiratori Switch
February 9, Game 2, S3-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4048
In S3-0, Shiratori is the dealer in 2nd place, 10,000 behind 1st place Takizawa.
From the start, Shiratori is 4-shanten with a pair of green dragon doras. In the first few turns, he creates a bunch of pairs and sequence candidates, putting him 2-shanten. On turn 5, Takizawa discards the green dragon, allowing Shiratori to call pon and get to iishanten. A turn later, Shiratori gets to tenpai and waits on a 7m/7p shanpon for a guaranteed mangan. Near the middle of the second row, Takizawa discards the 7p while advancing to iishanten and deals into Shiratori. Shiratori wins the hand with Green Dragon/Dora 3 for 8,000, switching positions with Takizawa.
Takizawa Triumph
February 9, Game 2, S4-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3553
In S4-1, Takizawa is in 3rd place, 5,700 behind 2nd place Hori and 10,000 behind 1st place Shiratori. With two riichi sticks and a honba on the table, Takizawa needs a 3/30 direct hit, a 3/50 tsumo or a mangan ron for 1st place.
Before Takizawa can even get his first draw, Hori calls a pon on the north, skipping Takizawa’s hand and advancing his own hand to 2-shanten. When we do get to see Takizawa’s hand, he is 2-shanten but lacking any value. In the first row, Takizawa keeps getting his tiles stolen or his turn skipped, having only two discards in his discard area by the time Shiratori is done his first row. In the middle of his first row, Takizawa has shifted his hand with an ittsuu chance, needing a 1p to secure it. A turn later, Takizawa gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 147p wait. With Riichi/Pinfu as the only guaranteed yaku, Takizawa wants either the 1p or a direct hit with ura for 1st place. Otherwise, any other win would just be a chance for 2nd place.
By this point, Shiratori has already called twice and has no safe tiles. He has a floating 7p in his hand, but throwing it on the ippatsu turn would be too bold. He dodges during the ippatsu round, but still has a bomb in his hand. As he advances to iishanten, the 7p is still floating dangerously in his hand. In the middle of Shiratori’s third row, he draws the 1p. He discards it and deals the takame into Takizawa. Takizawa wins the hand with Riichi/Pinfu/Ittsuu for 8,000+300 plus two riichi sticks, winning the game.
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