Highlights
Big Deal
March 11, Game 1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4553
In E4-1, Tojo is the dealer in 4th place, 5,800 behind 3rd place Asami, 11,600 behind 2nd place Takizawa and 14,600 behind 1st place Okada.
Tojo starts out the hand at 4-shanten for chiitoi (5-shanten for a standard hand) with nothing of value. After getting rid of her stray honours and terminals in the first row, she starts to create sequences and good shapes. However, within that time, Takizawa gets to tenpai for chiitoi and waits on a 4m dora tanki.
By the end of the first row, Tojo is already iishanten, but still has no value. In the middle of the second row, she gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 47m ryanmen, hoping for the for to add dora to her hand. However, there is a chance that she would be headbumped should Asami or Okada discard the 4m.
During the ippatsu round, Asami joins in and calls riichi on a 36s ryanmen for mangan minimum.
On Tojo’s ippatsu draw, she draws the 4m dora and wins the hand. Tojo wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Dora 1/Ura 1 for 4,000+100 all plus one riichi stick, moving her up to 1st place.
In E4-2, Tojo starts out with another 5-shanten hand, but she has two ryanmens and a red 5m in hand. In the first row, she is able to draw and pair up the 8p dora to get her to mangan range, but is stuck at 3-shanten. In the second row, she makes ryanmens and opens up her hand to speed it up. As Tojo waits for tenpai, Okada gets there first and waits on a 4p/6p shanpon.
Soon after, Asami gets to tenpai and calls riichi on an 8p dora kanchan.
During the ippatsu round, Tojo finally gets to tenpai and waits on a 7s kanchan, a safe tile against Asami. When Okada draws the 8p dora, she folds her hand. After a few more turns of drawing and discarding, Asami picks up the 7s and deals into Tojo. Tojo wins the hand with Tanyao/Dora 2/Aka 1 for 12,000+600 plus one riichi stick, bringing her above 40,000.
Chinitsu
March 11, Game 1, E4-3
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3047
In E4-3, Okada is in 2nd place and 16,400 behind 1st place Tojo.
Okada starts out the hand 4-shanten and just two tiles away from a manzu ittsuu. In the first row, Okada gets those two tiles and an extra manzu, pushing her hand towards a flush. Though Okada’s hand is optimistic, Takizawa has a mangan ready hand and calls riichi on a 47p ryanmen on turn 5.
With the stray honours in Okada’s hand, she is able to keep pushing. After drawing a 5m and calling pon soon after on the red 5m, Okada gets to iishanten. Like many of the hands before, Asami joins in on the riichi fun and calls riichi on a 69m ryanmen.
Immediately after, Tojo draws the 6m to get to tenpai and waits on a 4m/6m shanpon. Immediately after that, Takizawa draws and discards the 4m and deals into Okada. Okada wins the hand with Chinitsu/Aka 1 for 12,000+900 plus two riichi sticks.
900
March 11, Game 1, S4-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4554
In S4-1, Okada is in 2nd place and trailing 1st place dealer Tojo by 11,500. To take top spot, Okada needs a 3/50 direct hit, a mangan tsumo or a haneman ron.
Okada starts out the hand 3-shanten with just a pair of souths as potential value. On turn 2, she draws a red 5m to get her to 2-shanten. On turn 3, she gets to iishanten and puts herself a 1p and 3s away from a 123 sanshoku. If she can keep it closed, it would be enough for a mangan tsumo. On turn 4, she draws the dora 4s and abandons the sanshoku to get the guaranteed dora. On her next draw, she gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 14p ryanmen, having enough value for a direct hit or tsumo. At the start of the second row, Okada draws the 1p and wins the hand. Okada wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 2,000+100/4,000+100, winning the game by 900.
Dora Dora Dora Aka Aka
March 11, Game 2, E2-0
In E2-0, Futoshi is in 4th place early after dealing into Hisato in the first hand for 2,600.
Futoshi starts out the hand 4-shanten with a red 5p and a pair of 6s dora, paving the way for a mangan minimum hand. On turn 4, Futoshi makes the 6s into a triplet. By the end of the row, he is 2-shanten. At the start of the second row, Futoshi forces tanyao, going back a few steps to go for the faster hand. A turn later, he completes a 123p sequence, impeding his pursuit for tanyao. He takes the next few turns to get rid of the 123p sequence and build elsewhere. After drawing the red 5s and calling pon on the 5p, Futoshi gets to tenpai on a 7m kanchan. On his very next draw, he gets the 7m and wins the hand. Futoshi wins with Tanyao/Dora 3/Aka 2 for 3,000/6,000, moving into 1st place.
4th to 1st
March 11, Game 2, E4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3561
In E4-0, Hisato is in 4th place, 8,900 behind 1st place Futoshi.
Hisato starts out 4-shanten with two ryanmens and a completed sequence. Getting rid of the terminals and honours, Hisato gets to iishanten at the end of the row with a guaranteed pinfu. At the start of the the second row, Hisato draws a red 5p and shifts to aim for more han and a potentially wider wait. As Hisato looks to get to tenpai, Futoshi gets there first and calls riichi on a 3m kanchan.
During the ippatsu round, Hisato gets to tenpai and calls richi on a 346p wait. With constant tsumogiri, it seemed like the hand would go to a draw. Then, near the end of the hand, Okada discards the 6p trying to accept tenpai and deals into Hisato. Hisato wins the hand with Riichi/Pinfu/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 8,000 plus one riichi stick, just enough to move into 1st place.
No More Ura San
March 12, Game 1, S1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2549
In S1-0, Matsugase is in 2nd place and 600 behind 1st place Nakabayashi. With the EX Furinkazan in 7th place in the standings and Matsugase sitting at the bottom of the individual rankings, Matsugase desperately wants a win.
Before Matsugase even gets his first draw, Nakabayashi calls pon on the yakuhai north to pursue his flush hand. When we do get to see Matsugase’s hand, he is 3-shanten with triplets of 6m and 7p. On turn 3, Nakabayashi makes another call then gets to iishanten on his next turn. From every direction, it looks like Matsugase is the only one not able to advance, sitting at 3-shanten while everyone is iishanten. In the middle of the second row, Nakabayashi is the first to tenpai and waits on a 7s penchan. A turn later, he draws the red 5s and improves to a 47s ryanmen.
By this point, Matsugase is at iishanten and holding a ryanmen. In the middle of his row, Matsugase makes a third triplet to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 58m ryanmen.
For Hinata, she is sitting in 3rd place and just within riichi of the other two. After a few turns of dodging, Hinata is able to get to tenpai and stays dama on a 69m ryanmen, the 9m dora being safe to both riichi players.
By the time Hinata is tenpai, there are only a dozen tiles left in the wall. Setokuma has a chance to be tenpai at ten tiles left, but he avoids it to stay safe. Tile by tile, the wall gets shorter. As each player gets their last draw, it seems like it would go to a draw. Then, on the very last tile in the wall, Matsugase draws the 8m and wins the hand. With a flip of the uradora, his 5s triplet miraculously becomes dora and upgrades his hand to a baiman! Matsugase wins the hand with Riichi/Tsumo/Haitei/Sanankou/Ura 3 for 4,000/8,000 plus one riichi stick, a well-needed win for both him and the EX Furinkazan.
Breaking the Silence
March 12, Game 2, S3-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5059
In S3-0, the game has been very quiet so far. The biggest hand won so far was 2,700. With just these small shifts, 4th place Honda is just 5,800 behind 1st place Katsumata.
Honda starts out the hand 3-shanten with a dora 8p and a pair of easts (though aren’t his seat or round wind). On turn 2, he draws another 8p dora to advance his hand. After drawing more simple tiles, Honda decides to get rid of the exhausted east and pursue tanyao. By the end of the row, he is 2-shanten. Just two turns later, he is tenpai with an 8p/7m shanpon. Just as Honda gets to tenpai, Ooi discards the 8p dora to accept iishanten and deals into Honda. Honda wins the hand with Tanyao/Dora 3 for 8,000, moving him up to 1st place going into the last hand.
Gyakuten
March 12, Game 2, S4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2550
In S4-0, Katsumata is in 2nd place and 2,200 behind 1st place dealer Honda. To be the sole 1st place, Katsumata needs a 1/40 direct hit, a 1/50 tsumo or a 2/40 ron. Matsugase won the first game. It’s time for Katsumata to win the second.
Katsumata starts out the hand 3-shanten with the ability to accept the 3m dora. Around the table, Honda is 2-shanten and Yu has the makings of a manzu honitsu. On turn 2, Honda is already iishanten. On turn 5, Honda draws to tenpai and stays dama on a 7m kanchan, having many different ways of improving the hand.
As Honda waits, Katsumata slowly but surely improves his closed hand. By the end of the first row, he is 2-shanten with a chance at a 567s iipeikou. To his right, 4th place Ooi is trying to quickly advance his own hand by calling pon on the green dragon and pursuing a manzu honitsu like Yu. Ooi calls a closed kan of the east to make Yu’s 2m pair into dora. Yu makes a triplet of of wests. Ooi draws the fourth green dragon a few turns later. With the kandora, Yu’s wests become dora.
Seeing that he doesn’t have much time, Katsumata decides to take a risk and call chii and be tenpai on a 36m ryanmen. With just tanyao in his hand, the only way he can get 1st is by Honda discarding the 3m dora, Katsumata drawing the 3m, or being tenpai at the end while Honda is noten.
At the end of the second row, Yu starts to move his hand that has been stuck for a bit. With a pon on the 8m, Yu gets to iishanten for haneman.
Katsumata only needs the 3m. At the end of his second row, Katsumata manages to snag the 3m and win the hand. Katsumata wins with Tanyao/Dora 1 for 500/1,000, winning the game by 800.
No More Ura San
March 14, Game 1, E1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3562
In E1-0, Hisato is sitting in the dealer seat, looking to get some extra points before the end of the regular season.
Hisato starts out the hand 4-shanten with not much value to note. With almost every draw, Hisato manages to advance. He pairs up the green dragon and fills in some sequences. At the start of the second row, Hisato makes a 1m triplet to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 7s penchan.
Across from Hisato is Sonoda sitting at 2-shanten with a secured red 5s. With some good draws, Sonoda is able to fight against the dealer riichi with either useful or safe draws. Near the end of the second row, Sonoda gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 9s/6p shanpon.
As the wall got shorter, the hand seemed like it would go to a draw. Then, in the fourth-last tile in the wall, Sonoda draw and discards the 7s and deals into Hisato. With the uradora flip, Hisato’s 1m triplet becomes dora and upgrades it to a mangan. Hisato wins with Riichi/Dora 1/Ura 3 for 12,000 plus one riichi stick.
Patience
March 14, Game 1, E4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2551
In E4-0, Matsugase is in 2nd place and 20,700 behind 1st place Hisato.
Matsugase starts out the hand 2-shanten with a loosely connected 4p dora and a hand likely to form sequences. In the first row, Matsugase fills in a ryanmen and pairs up the 5s and gets to tenpai on a 3p kanchan. He chooses not to call riichi, giving himself a chance to upgrade to a 567p sanshoku.
In the meantime, Hisato makes a call to speed up his hand. Needing to show him down, Matsugase decides to call riichi on an 8p kanchan at the start of the second row. On his very next draw, he draws the 8p and wins the hand. Flipping one uradora, Matsugase wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Dora 1/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 3,000/6,000.
Takame
March 14, Game 1, S1-1
In S1-1, Hisato is back in the dealer seat and needing to defend his 5,700 lead over 2nd place Matsugase. There is 2,300 in bonus sticks on the table waiting for the next winner.
Hisato starts out 4-shanten and an 8m away from a 678m iipeikou. In the first row, Hisato draws some pairs to give him the ability to pivot between a chiitoi and a standard hand. By the end of the row, he is 2-shanten for both. In the second row, he confirms a standard hand by breaking a pair to secure a ryanmen. As Hisato looks to advance, Sonoda calls a 234s chii and gets to tenpai on a 7s kanchan.
After getting rid of his penchan, Hisato ensures both pinfu and tanyao in her hand. Near the end of the second row, Hisato gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 58m ryanmen, hoping for the latter to get iipeikou. During the ippatsu round, Setokuma tries to call riichi by throwing the 8m and deals into Hisato. Hisato wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Pinfu/Tanyao/Iipeikou for 12,000+300 plus two riichi sticks.
Points Are Points
March 14, Game 1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5060
In S4-0, Setokuma is the dealer in 3rd place, 3,700 ahead of 4th place Sonoda and 41,400 behind 2nd place Matsugase. Though 2nd place is quite a ways off, getting any points now will help Team Raiden in their pursuit of a playoff spot.
Setokuma starts out the hand with an annoying 5-shanten with a floating dora 1s. Setokuma spends the first row getting rid of honours and the loose dora. By the end of it, she is 2-shanten with two ryanmens. To his left, Sonoda makes a concealed kan while in iishanten and makes the 6p in Setokuma’s hand into dora. With a call of the north, Sonoda has a chance to be tenpai, but refuses it to aim for 3rd place. A few turns later, he gets to tenpai with North/Toitoi and waits on an 9p/8m shanpon.
Soon after, Setokuma gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 36s ryanmen.
During the ippatsu round, Hisato joins in and waits on a 69p ryanmen.
Near the end of the hand, on the second-last tile of the wall, Setokuma draws the 6s and wins the hand. Setokuma wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Dora 1 for 2,600 all.
In S4-1, Setokuma starts out by securing the 4p dora and advancing to 3-shanten. The first row is only able to advance Setokuma one step, but he gets secures tanyao in the process. Around him, all his other opponents get to 2-shanten as well. By turn 13, all players are at iishanten. The first player to get to tenpai is Hisato, who waits for chiitoi on a 6p tanki.
Soon after, Sonoda gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 36s ryanmen.
During the ippatsu round, Setokuma gets to tenpai and stays dama on a 36m ryanmen. On Setokuma’s second-last draw, he gets the 3m and wins the hand. Setokuma wins the hand with Tsumo/Pinfu/Tanyao/Dora 1 for 2,600+100 all plus one riichi stick.
Ippatsu
March 14, Game 2, E1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5061
In E1-0, Kurosawa is playing for Team Raiden and trying to pull the team out of 9th place.
Kurosawa starts out the hand 3-shanten with a pair of easts, souths and 7s dora. Though the hand seems like it would be easy to advance, dealer Katsumata has a faster hand. By the end of the first row, Katsumata is tenpai on a 58s rynamen for mangan minimum.
By this point, Kurosawa is 2-shanten and shifting towards a souzu honitsu. After creating a ryanmen in the second row, Kurosawa simply goes for the most efficient route and advances to iishanten. In the middle of the second row, Kurosawa gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 36s ryanmen. On her very next draw, he gets the 6s and wins the hand. Kurosawa wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Dora 2/Aka 1 for 3,000/6,000 plus one riichi stick, taking the early lead.
Menhon
March 14, Game 2, E2-1
In E2-1, Katsumata is in 4th place after being hit by the dealer penalty in the first hand. He sits 4,000 behind 3rd place Takizawa, 7,000 behind 2nd place dealer Taro and 20,000 behind 1st place Kurosawa.
Katsumata starts out the hand already iishanten, having the choice to aim for a very close manzu honitsu. After drawing a manzu on turn 2, he dives headfirst for the more valuable prospect. On turn 4, Katsumata gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 25m ryanmen, with the 5m giving iipeikou. With the early riichi, nobody has the appetite to push extremely hard against it. However, hands started to develop naturally. By the middle of the third row, all three of his opponents are at iishanten. Near the end of the hand, Kurosawa gets to tenpai, but has to throw the 2m dora to take it. With Team Raiden at the bottom of the standings, she discards it and tries to call riichi and deals into Katsumata. Katsumata wins the hand with Riichi/Honitsu for 8,000+300 plus one riichi stick, bringing him up to 2nd place and just 2,400 behind Kurosawa.
Katsumata Comeback
March 14, Game 2, S4-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2552
In S4-1, Katsumata is in 2nd place and 10,600 behind 1st place Kurosawa. With two riichi sticks and a honba on the table, Katsumata needs a 3/40 direct hit, a mangan tsumo or a haneman ron to finish the game in 1st.
Matsugase starts out the han by drawing the red 5m for a fairly wide 2-shanten. With two ryanmens, a pair of souths and a red 5p double dora as well, the path to mangan is straightforward. On turn 2, Katsumata fills in one of the ryanmens to get to iishanten. WIthin the go-around, he calls pon on the south and gets to tenpai on a 25s ryanmen. Early in the second row, Kurosawa discards the 2s and deals into Katsumata. Katsumata wins the hand with South/Dora 1/Aka 2 for 8,000+300 plus two riichi sticks, taking the game and extending the EX Furinkazan’s lead in 6th place.
Escaping 4th
March 15, Game 1, S3-2
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p6059
In S3-2, Nakada is is in 4th place, 12,000 behind 3rd place dealer Uotani, 17,200 behind 2nd place Shibukawa and 18,800 behind 1st place Matsumoto. With two riichi sticks and two honba on the table, Nakada needs a limit hand to be able to move up a rank.
Nakada startds out the hand 3-shanten with three ryanmens and the ability to accept the 5s dora. There is hope in her hand, but she trails behind 2-shanten Shibukawa in terms of progress. In the first row, despite having a bunch of kanchans, Shibukawa quickly advances and gets to tenpai on turn 4, calling riichi on a 6s kanchan.
With the best at the bottom and no folding fodder, there is not much reason for Nakada to fold. The same applies to Uotani the dealer, trying to save the Phoenix from missing the playoffs for the second year in a row. After a pon on the 2p, Uotani gets to tenpai at the end of the second row on a 7m kanchan, holding the red 5s double dora for value.
By this point, Nakada is iishanten with both the dora 5s and the red 5p secured. After cutting a pair of green dragons, Nakada gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 7s penchan. During the ippatsu round, Shibukawa drops the 7s and deals into Nakada. Nakada wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Dora 1/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 8,000+600 plus three riichi sticks, bringing her up to 3rd place and within 400 of 2nd.
Hatsu Off
March 15, Game 1, S4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4555
In S4-0, Uotani is in 2nd place, 6,800 behind 1st place Matsumoto and just 400 ahead of 3rd place Nakada.
Uotani starts out the hand already iishanten for chiitoi, including a pair of the 4s dora. With riichi and two more pairs, she can take the game. Uotani starts off by getting rid of her middle tiles since honours and tiles closer to the edge are less likely to be used by her opponents. On turn 5, Uotani pairs up the west and calls riichi on a green dragon tanki, waiting for the two left unseen.
Also moving aggressively is 3rd place Nakada, needing any win to move into 2nd place and a mangan to move into 1st. During the ippatsu round, Nakada gets to tenpai and calls a chasing riichi on a 5m/south shanpon. If she can get Riichi/Tsumo/Double South or Riichi/Tsumo/Aka 1/Ura 1, she will take top spot. Unfortunately, the south pair is in Uotani’s hand, so Nakada’s only hope is the 5m dora.
Shibukawa pushes the hand to try to get out of last, Nakada and Uotani draw and discard and Matsumoto simply folds her hand. Matsumoto draws the green dragon, leaving Uotani down to just one tile left. Then, at the end of the second row, Uotani draws the very last green dragon and wins the hand. Uotani wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Chiitoi/Dora 2 for 3,000/6,000 plus one riichi stick, winning the game and providing hope for the Phoenix.
Tabletop Hitman
March 15, Game 2, E2-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4060
In E2-0, Matsumoto is doing his double duty for the team and hoping to get a better result than his second place the previous game.
Matsumoto starts off by pairing up the green dragon to move his hand to 4-shanten. In the first row, he makes a 2 pin triplet and a bunch of ryanmens to get himself to iishanten. On turn 7, he improves further to get to a ryanmen-ryanmen iishanten. In the second row, Matsumoto draws a red 5p to make a 5p triplet. When the 4p comes out near the end of the second row, Matsumoto tries to pursue both toitoi and honitsu at the same time by calling pon. In the third row, Matsumoto pairs up the 6p to get to tenpai and waits on a 6p/green dragon shanpon. If he wins with the green dragon, he will have haneman. If he draws the 6p, he will have haneman. If he draws the green dragon, he will win with baiman.
Immediately after, Uchikawa gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 3m penchan.
The wall grew shorter and shorter, leaving each player with one more draw. Then, on Matsumoto’s last draw, he draws the 6p and wins the hand. Matsumoto wins with Toitoi/Honitsu/Sanankou/Aka 1 for 3,000/6,000.
Dora Dora Dora Aka Aka
March 15, Game 2, E3-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p6060
In E3-0, Sarukawa is the dealer in 2nd place, 16,000 behind 1st place Matsumoto.
From the start, Sarukawa is 3-shanten with a pair of 3p dora and a secured red 5s, paving the way for mangan. On turn 3, Sarukawa draws a floating red 5m to potential up his hands value. Through the rest of the row, Sarukawa draws a third 3p dora and connects the red 5m to get him to iishanten, now with the potential for a haneman. As Sarukawa waits, Uchikawa gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 4s kanchan.
During the ippatsu round, Daigo gets to tenpai as well and calls riichi on a 7m tanki.
Killing two birds with one stone, Sarukawa calls chii on Daigo’s discarded 6s to break the ippatsus and get to tenpai on a 4m kanchan. In the middle of the second row, Daigo draws and discards the 4m and deals into Sarukawa. Sarukawa wins the hand with Tanyao/Dora 3/Aka 2 for 18,000 plus two riichi sticks, moving him all the way up to 1st place.
M-League Watch 