Highlights
Tied Up
February 19, Game 1, S3-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4545
In S3-0, Kayamori is starting her dealership 16,000 behind 1st place Nakabayashi. With a mangan tsumo, she would be tied with Nakabayashi. Kayamori starts out the hand 3-shanten with a triplet of white dragons and 3s. In the first row, she makes a 456p sequence to get to iishanten. On turn 7, she creates a triplet of 6s and calls riichi on a 245s wait. If she gets the 4s, she would add sanankou to her hand for mangan minimum. The second trow doesn’t give her any of her winning tiles but in the third row, Kayamori gets the 2s and wins the hand. Kayamori wins the hand with Riichi/Tsumo/White Dragon/Dora 1 for 4,000 all, putting her even with Nakabayashi.
3 Sou
February 19, Game 1, S3-1
In S3-1, Hisato is in 4th place, 12,600 behind 3rd place Okada. With his dealership already past, he only has two hands to make the comeback.
Hisato starts out the hand 4-shanten with a well-connected red 5m and a likely tanyao. In the first row, he gets rid of most of his honours to get to 2-shanten. At the same time, dealer Kayamori also gets to 2-shanten with tanyao as well. With a 5s draw near the end of the second row, Kayamori is the first to tenpai and calls riichi on a 58p ryanmen.
Getting to iishanten with a very wide tile acceptance, Hisato pushes to try to gain points. In the third row, Kayamori makes a concealed kan of 4p, but it doesn’t yield any results. On HIsato’s draw, he gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 36s ryanmen. Immediately after, Kayamori draws and discards the 3s, dealing into Hisato. Hisato wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tanyao/Aka 1 for 8,000+300 plus one riichi stick to come within 3,300 of Okada going into the last hand.
Surpassing Your Teacher
February 19, Game 2, S2-2
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4547
In S2-2, Uotani is in 1st place and her former mahjong teacher Yu is the dealer in 4th place. Uotani has yet to be beaten by Yu in an M-League game.
Uotani starts out the hand 3-shanten with a ryanmen and two 9p dora in hand. Across from her, Yu is 2-shanten with a secured red 5m. Very quickly, Yu advances his hand. On turn 3, Yu gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 3s kanchan.
After Uotani throws her honour tiles, Uotani gets to iishanten safely. Uotani draws and discards more honours in the first row, then draws a 9m at the start of the second for a chance at tenpai. However, she rejects it in order to avoid throwing the dora. After multiple turns of dangerous pushing, Uotani draws a red 5s in the third row to get to tenpai and stays dama on an 8p kanchan. Within a few seconds, Yu draws and discards the 8p, dealing into Uotani. Uotani wins the hand with Iipeikou/Dora 2/Red Dora 1 for 8,000+600 plus one riichi stick, putting her over 40,000.
Up To Yu
February 19, Game 2
In S3-1, Yu is in 4th place, 15,500 behind 3rd place Uchikawa. With no more dealership for him, he will have to take advantage of the next two hands in order to raise his ranking.
Yu starts out the hand already iishanten with a secured dora 5p. With a ryanmen in hand, Yu ideally want to get a pair to have pinfu. He has a pretty wide acceptance, but is unable to secure on in the first row. On turn 7, Yu finally gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 58m ryanmen for mangan minimum. With a 567 in both pinzu and souzu, a 5m would give him sanshoku for at least a haneman.
To his right, Uchikawa is the dealer at 2-shanten, within reach of 2nd place. As the turns go by, Uchikawa gets closer and closer to tenpai. In the third row, Uchikawa makes a call to try for tenpai and discards the 8m, dealing into Yu. Yu wins the hand with Riichi/Pinfu/Tanyao/Dora 1 for 8,000+300, moving Yu into 3rd place.
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5543
In S4-0, Yu is 13,800 behind 2nd place Takamiya and holding a slim 1,100 lead over Uchikawa. Though difficult, a mangan direct hit, a haneman tsumo or a baiman ron is enough to end the day with positive points.
Yu starts out the hand 4-shanten with a loosely connected red 5m for value. In the first row, Yu picks up the 6p and his hand shifts to sequences, arriving at iishanten at the end of the row. As Yu waits, Uotani is enjoying her lead and looks to make it even bigger. On turn 7, Uotani gets to tenpai and stays dama on a 5s/7s shanpon.
Uotani’s hand could spell trouble for Yu since any direct hit would move him back into 4th place. However, Yu move forward. A few turns after Uotani gets to tenpai, Yu secures pinfu to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 47p ryanmen. If he draws it himself and gets one more han, he would have enough for a haneman.
Trying to escape 4th place is Uchikawa, sitting at iishanten. With Uchikawa betting on the green dragon his hand for a yaku, he will be forced to discard the 4p. In the third row, Uchikawa fills in his last kanchan and discards the 4p trying to take tenpai, dealing into Yu for a second hand in a row. With a flip of the uradora, Yu’s 2m pair, his only duplicate, becomes dora and upgrades him to a haneman. Yu wins the hand with Riichi/Pinfu/Dora 1/Aka 1/Ura 2 for 12,000 to finish the game with 27,300. He’s just 1,800 shy of 3rd place, but in a far better position than he was just two hands ago.
Straight Through
February 20, Game 1, E2-2
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2041
In E2-2, Taro is the dealer in 2nd place, 1,000 away from the 1st place players. With two riichi sticks and two honba, there’s a good opportunity to gain a lot of points.
Taro starts out the hand 3-shanten with a floating 9m dora and two tiles away from a pinzu ittsuu. On turn 4, Taro advances to iishanten and throws the stray 9m dora. On turn 8, he completes the ittsuu, guarantees pinfu and calls riichi on a 14s ryanmen, ready for at least a mangan. On his very next draw, he gets the 1s and wins the hand. Taro wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Pinfu/Ittsuu for 6,000+200 all plus two riichi sticks, sending him from below starting to over 45,000.
Ura Ura
February 20, Game 1, E2-4
In E2-4, Hagiwara is in 4th place, 100 behind 3rd place and 3,000 behind 2nd place Shiratori.
Hagiwara starts out the hand 3-shanten with a connected red 5m and a very likely tanyao. In the first row, Hagiwara is only able to get one step closer. In the middle of the second row, Hagiwara gets secures pinfu and advances to iishanten. As Hagiwara waits, Shiratori advances himself to tenpai and waits on a 4p kanchan.
Soon after, Hagiwara gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 25s ryanmen, guaranteed at least a mangan. In the third row, Hagiwara draws the 2m and wins the hand. With a flip of the uradora, Hagiwara’s 7p pair becomes dora and upgrades his hand. Hagiwara wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Tanyao/Aka 1/Ura 2 for 12,000+1,200.
Taro Two
February 20, Game 1, S2-0
In S2-0, Taro is in 1st place and almost double the score of 2nd place. Even so, Taro doesn’t stop pursuing for more.
Taro starts out the hand 2-shanten, but lacking in value. In the first row, Taro shifts his hand to have a 123 sanshoku for a chance at value. In the second row, he abandons it in favour of better waits. On turn 10, he draws a dora 4s and secures pinfu. As Taro looks for tenpai, Sugawara gets to tenpai first and calls riichi on a 25s ryanmen.
After pushing against Sugawara, Taro gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 25s ryanmen, the same wait as Sugawara. If the 2s or 5s is discarded, Taro will get headbumped and not win. Near the end of the hand, on the second-last tile in the wall, Taro draws the red 5s and wins the hand. Taro wins the hand with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Dora 1/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 6,000 all, bringing Taro just short of 65,000.
Furiten Yakuman Tenpai
February 20, Game 1, S2-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5055
In S2-1, Sugawara us in 4th place in the negatives and Hagiwara has a very narrow 2nd place.
At the start, Sugawara is 2-shanten for chiitoi (3-shanten for a standard hand) and Hagiwara is 3-shanten. In the first row, Hagiwara develops his hand with strong shapes and gets to iishanten, while Sugawara is still stuck with only an 8s triplet for advancement. On turn 7, Hagiwara gets to a yakuless tenpai and stays dama on a 69m/6p wait. Two turns later, Hagiwara draws a dora 8p and calls riichi on a 7p kanchan.
While Sugawara discards the isolated safe tiles in her hand, she ends up drawing triplets. At the end of the second row, Sugawara draws a green dragon triplet to have sanankou and get to tenpai on a 36p ryanmen. As she sits dama, Shiratori makes a riichi call on a 7m penchan.
On Sugawara’s very next turn, she gets a 4p to be tenpai on a 1p/4p shanpon. With the three concealed triplets and a shanpon wait, she would get suuankou if she manages to draw either of them. Unfortunately, she is unable to call ron if they come out from others because she is furiten from the 4p she discarded on turn 4.
Riichi vs. riichi vs. suuankou. On Hagiwara’s second-last draw, he picks up the 7p and wins the hand. Hagiwara wins the hand with Riichi/Tsumo/Dora 1/Ura 1 for 2,000+100/4,000+100 plus one riichi stick.
Shiratori South 4
February 20, Game 1, S4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4054
In S4-0, Shiratori is in 3rd place, 10,300 behind 2nd place dealer Hagiwara. To finish the game with a positive score, Shiratori needs a 3/40 direct hit, a mangan tsumo or a haneman ron.
Before we even see Shiratori’s hand, we get a glimpse of 4th place Sugawara’s hand. Missing only an east, a north and a green dragon, she is already 2-shanten for kokushi and has the potential to move herself into 2nd place.
When we do get to Shiratori, we see that he has a less than ideal 4-shanten with no good shapes and no value. In the first row, Shiratori miraculously creates sequences, getting to 2-shanten for both pinfu and a potential tanyao at the end of the row. At the same time, Hagiwara is iishanten with a very similar hand and Sugawara is iishanten after picking up the east. On turn 9, Hagiwara is the first to tenpai and calls riichi on a 36m ryanmen, guaranteed at least a mangan if he wins and hoping for the 3m for iipeikou.
Sugawara keeps pushing her kokushi and Shiratori keeps safely pushing his iishanten hand. At the start of the third row, Shiratori gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 58m ryanmen. Whether by direct hit or by tsumo, Shiratori needs to find one extra han to move into 2nd. Within one go-around, Shiratori finds it when Hagiwara draws and discards the 5m, dealing into Shiratori. Shiratori wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Pinfu/Tanyao/Aka 1 for 8,000 plus one riichi stick, finishing the game with +4.5.
Saki South 4
February 20, Game 2, S4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5056
In S4-0, Kurosawa is in 4th place, 9,800 behind 3rd place dealer Matsumoto. To move up, she needs a 3/40 direct hit, a mangan tsumo or a haneman ron (sound familiar?). After Hagiwara was passed in S4-0 the previous game, it’s time for Kurosawa to take revenge.
Kurosawa starts out the hand 2-shanten with two ryanmens and a floating 7s. On turn 2, she gets to iishanten, still needing to attach the 7s for value. After quite a few turns of waiting, Kurosawa gets to tenpai on turn 8. Since tanyao is her only yaku, he stays dama on 7s tanki, hoping for a direct hit off Matsumoto or a tsumo to move into 3rd.
Within the first go-around, 2nd place Futoshi gets to tenpai and calls riichi on 69s ryanmen, hoping for the 6s to get sanshoku and win the game.
Though this would normally spell trouble for Kurosawa’s chances, she is unfazed as she picks up the 7s on her draw and wins the hand. Kurosawa wins with Tsumo/Tanyao/Dora 2 for 2,000/4,000 plus one riichi stick, finishing the game in 3rd place.
Phoenix Flight
February 22, Game 1, E3-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4548
In E3-0, Tojo is in 2nd place, 3,400 behind 1st place Setokuma.
Tojo starts out the hand 3-shanten with a connected red 5s. In the first row, aims for tanyao with a potential 456s iipeikou. By turn 5, she is iishanten with pinfu thrown into the next as well. On turn 9, she secures the iipeikou to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 147p wait, the latter two giving her tanyao. In the middle of the third row, Tojo draws the 4p and wins the hand. Tojo wins the hand with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Tanyao/Iipeikou/Aka 1 for 3,000/6,000, taking the lead.
All The Reds
February 22, Game 1, S3-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p6051
In S3-1, Sarukawa is in 2nd place, 11,600 behind 2nd place Setokuma and 18,200 behind 1st place Tojo.
Sarukawa starts out the hand 2-shanten with a red 5m as part of a triplet. The first row advances Sarukawa by one step, giving him a 25s ryanmen for a potential good wait and a red 5p to replace his regular 5p. On turn 8, he picks up the red 5s for tenpai and calls riichi on a 2m kanchan. Late in the third row, he draws the 2m and wins the hand. With a flip of the uradora, Sarukawa wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Aka 3/Ura 1 for 6,000+100 all, jumping into 1st place.
Rio Grande
February 22, Game 1, S3-2
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4549
In S3-2, Tojo is in 2nd place and 6,200 behind 1st place Sarukawa after his big dealer haneman the previous hand.
From the start, Tojo is 2-shanten for chiitoi (3-shanten for a standard hand) with pairs of 6p, 1m, north and 9p. On turn 2, she pairs up the 7s to get to iishanten. Holding a 3s in her hand, she has the potential for the classic shortcut to haneman. On turn 4, Tojo pairs up the 5p to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 3s tanki.
With the 3s being both a very useful tile and the dora, Tojo can only expect to draw it herself. In the meantime, 4th place Hori is trying to gain points for himself. While throwing safe tiles, Hori started to make pairs and triplets. By the end of the second row, he had two triplets and three pairs, putting him iishanten for a potential suuankou. In the middle of the third row, Hori’s white dragons become a triplet and he calls riichi on a 2m/7m shanpon. With one 2m left in the wall, the dream of yakuman is still alive.
Immediately after Hori calls riichi, Tojo kills all hope by drawing the 3s and winning the hand. Tojo wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Chiitoi/Dora 2 for 3,000+100/6,000+200, retaking 1st place.
The End
February 22, Game 1, S4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s60_p2690
In S4-0, Hori is in the negatives with -100 and Tojo is in 1st place with 45,700.
With Hori’s first 14 tiles, he has triplets of north and 9s, as well as pairs of 7p and 7s. If the 7p and 7s become concealed triplets, he could be tenpai on a suuankou tanki to help him escape 4th.
But, that’s not all the excitement! With Tojo’s starting hand, she has a chance to call a double riichi on a 3s penchan, the very tile that brought her into the lead!
However, she is already in the lead and the 3s is a relatively bad wait. So, she chooses not to take the tenpai and fish for a better wait that she can dama with.
On turn 3, Tojo gets to a pinfu tenpai and stays dama on a 25m ryanmen. At the start of the second row, Hori discards the 2m and deals into Tojo. Tojo wins the hand for Pinfu for 1,000 to secure the game.
Rinshan
February 22, Game 2, E3-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4550
In E3-1, Kayamori is in 4th place after dealing into a mangan while in riichi two hands ago. Currently, she sits 7,100 behind 3rd place Shibukawa and 9,400 behind 2nd place Daisuke.
Kayamori starts out 3-shanten with a likely tanyao hand. On turn 2, she pairs up the red dragon, giving her another option for a yaku. On turn 5, she calls pon on the red dragon and gets to iishanten, holding a ryanmen and two pairs. At the start of the second row, Kayamori makes her 2p pair into a triplet and waits on a 47s ryanmen. Two turns later, Hagiwara discards the 2p. Holding a good wait and needing points, Kayamori calls kan. The kandora is flipped and the 6s in her hand becomes dora. With the rinshan draw, she picks…
…the 4s and wins the hand! Kayamori wins with Rinshan/Red Dragon/Dora 1 for 1,300+100/2,600+100 plus one riichi stick, bringing her up to 3rd place.
Not Pei Tanki
February 22, Game 2, S1-1
In S1-1, Hagiwara is in 2nd place, 8,600 behind 1st place dealer Daisuke.
Hagiwara starts out 3-shanten for both chiitoi and a standard hand, holding pairs of south, 2p and 5p, as well as a red 5s as part of a 56s shape. On turns 3 and 4, Hagiwara makes a pair and gets to iishanten. After a few more turns of waiting, Hagiwara gets to tenpai. She discards the north and calls riichi on a 5s tanki. On his very next turn, however, Hagiwara draws the last north, missing out on the ippatsu tsumo.
Still, Hagiwara has the red 5s. After turns of disappointment, Hagiwara draws the 5s near the start of the third row and wins the hand. Hagiwara wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Chiitoi/Aka 1 for 2,000+100/4,000+100 to move into 1st place.
Kayamori Climb
February 22, Game 2
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4551
In S2-0, Kayamori is still in 4th place, 1,200 behind 3rd place dealer Shibukawa, 19,500 behind 2nd place Daisuke and 23,300 behind 1st place Hagiwara.
Kayamori’s starting hand is comprised of two completed sequences, a secured red 5p and pairs of north and white dragon, putting her 2-shanten. Across from her is the dealer Shibukawa, holding all four of the 8p dora. On turn 5, Kayamori advances to iishanten, still needing a bit more value. Kayamori’s wish for value is answered through Shibukawa, who calls a kan of the 8p dora and making Kayamori’s norths into dora. In the second row, Kayamori draws a red 5s and makes the north into a triplet to get to tenpai on a 47s ryanmen. She calls riichi, guaranteed at least a haneman if she wins. On her very next turn, she gets the 7s and wins the hand. Kayamori wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Dora 3/Aka 2 for 4,000/8,000, moving her into 2nd place.
In S3-0, Kayamori is now just 3,300 behind 1st place dealer Hagiwara.
She starts out with a decent 3-shanten hand, holding a 4m triplet though lacking dora. Her hand develops quickly, drawing a dora 1s and creating sequences from thin air. On turn 4, she gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 4p/7p shanpon.
To her left, Hagiwara is working hard on his own fast hand. Having already called pon on the green dragon early on, he makes a second call on the south in the second row to get to tenpai on a 6s kanchan, ready for a dealer mangan. A turn later, he upgrades to a 36s ryanmen.
The two exchange draws and discards, hoping for their own success to help their team secure a playoff spot. Then, in the middle of the third row, Kayamori draws the 7p and wins the hand. With a flip of the uradora, Kayamori’s two 3s becomes dora to upgrade her hand to a mangan. Kayamori wins the hand with Riichi/Tsumo/Dora 1/Ura 2 for 2,000/4,000 to take her into 1st place going into the last hand.
Beast Mode
February 22, Game 2, S4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p6052
In S4-0, Daisuke is in 3rd place, 1,800 behind 2nd place Hagiwara and 10,500 behind 1st place dealer Kayamori. In order to take top spot, Daisuke needs a 3/50 direct hit, a mangan tsumo or a haneman ron.
Daisuke starts out with a very good hand, sitting 2-shanten with a red 5m and a pair of 7m dora, hitting the mangan tsumo requirement if her were to keep all of them. On turn 2, he gets to iishanten, but the red 5m is still floating. On turns 3 and 4, he pairs up the 5m then makes it into a triplet, putting him tenpai on a 25p ryanmen. With 4 han in his hand, he can get a direct hit a tsumo in order to win the game.
On turn 6, 4th place Shibukawa makes a concealed kan to try to get more dora for himself. With the kandora flip Daisuke’s two 4p become dora, upgrading his hand into a haneman and allowing him to win against anyone for 1st place. Soon after, Hagiwara draws and discards the 2p and deals into Daisuke. Daisuke wins the hand with Tanyao/Dora 4/Aka 1 for 12,000, completing the comeback.
Battle For The Ura
February 23, Game 1, E4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5544
In E4-0, Mizuhara is in 4th place, 1,200 behind 3rd place dealer Katsumata and 12,400 behind 2nd place Asami.
Mizuhara starts out at a distant 5-shanten, but she does have a completed sequence and a ryanmen in hand. Early on, it’s clear that she will have to fight against dealer Katsumata, who calls pon on the double east before the others have gotten a chance to get their first draw. At the end of the first row, Katsumata is the first to tenpai, waiting on a 2m kanchan.
In the second row, Katsumata draws the fourth east and calls kan. With his rinshan draw, he draws the fourth 7s and calls a concealed kan. The rinshan misses and now the green dragon and 3s are dora to everyone at the table.
At this point, Mizuhara is at iishanten with a secured red 5p and the ability to accept the 3s. Within two turns, Mizuhara gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 36s ryanmen, hoping for the dora.
Soon after, Asami joins in and calls riichi on a 3s kanchan. With both Mizuhara and Asami waiting on the 3s, their ability to win is dependent on who discards it. If Date discards it, Asami will win the headbump. If Katsumata discards it, Mizuhara will win it.
Right after, Katsumata draws the 3s. Being the dealer in 3rd place with no safe tiles, Katsumata simply tosses it. At the same time, Mizuhara and Asami call ron. As Asami goes to open her hand, she stops herself and watches as Mizuhara puts hers down. Though there are three uradora indicators for Mizuhara, only one of them hits, just missing the upgrade. Mizuhara wins the hand with Riichi/Pinfu/Dora 1/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 8,000 plus one riichi stick.
Arisa Arise
February 23, Game 2, E1-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3557
In E1-1, Date is the starting dealer and is already off to a good start after winning the first hand.
Date starts out 2-shanten with a secured red 5p, a pair of easts and the ability to accept the 5m dora. Right when south seat Kobayashi discards the east on his first turn, Date calls pon to get her to iishanten. On her very next draw, she gets to tenpai on a 58m ryanmen. Right after that, she draws the 5m dora and wins the very quick hand. Date wins with Double East/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 4,000+100 all.
Ready? Set? Go!
February 23, Game 2
In S1-1, Kobayashi is in 2nd place and 13,700 behind 1st place dealer Date.
Kobayashi starts out the hand by drawing the red 5p to get to 3-shanten. In the first row, he draws a dora 9s and improves his shapes to get to iishanten. However, his wait will most likely be bad however he gets to tenpai. In the middle of the second row, Kobayashi has a chance to be tenpai. He sacrifices the 9s dora and calls riichi on a 4p kanchan.
Right after, Rumi gets to tenpai as well and chases with a 14s ryanmen wait, the latter giving her tanyao for mangan.
The two riichi calls on the table slows everyone else down, making it a one-on-one battle. At the start of the third row, Rumi draws and discards the 4p and deals into Kobayashi. With the uradora flip, Kobayashi’s 8s pair becomes dora to upgrade his hand to a mangan. Kobayashi wins with Riichi/Aka 1/Ura 2 for 8,000+300 plus two riichi sticks, getting within reach of Date going into his dealership.
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5545
In S2-0, Kobayashi is now the dealer and 3,400 behind Date.
He starts out getting to 2-shanten with a secured red 5s and a pair of souths. On turn 3, he gets to iishanten, waiting on a 2m, 3s, 6s, 7s or south to get to tenpai. On turn 4, he replaces the 7s acceptance to a 1m acceptance, giving him more opportunities to utilize the south yakuhai. On turn 8, he gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 36s/south wait. On the ippatsu draw, Kobayashi picks up the 3s and wins the hand. Kobayashi wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Aka 1 for 4,000 all, putting him above 50,000.
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5546
In S2-1, Kobayashi starts out with yet another good starting hand. This time, he is already iishanten with a red 5s and pinfu secured, holding a chance for tanyao if he can get the 4m. On turn 3, he gets that 4m and calls riichi on a 58m ryanmen, guaranteed at least a mangan. On his very next draw, Kobayashi gets the 8m and wins the hand. With such a quick hand, Kobayashi wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Pinfu/Tanyao/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 6,000+100 all, bringing his score up to a nice 69,900.
Shortcut To Haneman
February 23, Game 2, S3-1
In S3-1, Sonoda is in 4th place and 3,300 behind 3rd place dealer Rumi.
Sonoda starts out the hand 3-shanten for both chiitoi and a standard hand with a red 5s as part of a sequence and a 5p yet to be secured. On turn 3, he pairs up the 5p dora. Pairing up the 3s on turn 4, Sonoda gets to iishanten for seven pairs. At the end of the row, Sonoda gets to tenpai and waits dama on a 5s tanki. While Sonoda waits, Both Rumi and Date makes calls, with Date getting to tenpai on a 14m ryanmen with only the latter giving a yaku. On Sonoda’s mext draw, he picks up the east. With two easts already out, he sets the perfect trap. He throws the red 5s and calls riichi, waiting on the last east. In Rumi’s hand, she holds the east, thinking that it would be a safe tile. During the ippatsu turn, she discards it and ends up dealing in. Sonoda wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Chiitoi/Dora 2 for 12,000+300, moving into 3rd placve going into his last dealership.
M-League Watch 