Highlights
Shortcut to Haneman
March 18, Game 1, E3-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4556
In E3-0, Daigo is playing for the Sega Sammy Phoenix, sitting 12,400 behind 1st place. In their next 8 games, the Sega Sammy Phoenix need to reach 6th place or be eliminated.
Daigo starts out the hand 2-shanten for chiitoi with four pairs and a single 9s dora. On turn 2, he pairs up the 9s dora to get to iishanten. By turn 3, Daigo is tenpai and waiting dama on an 8m tanki. After waiting two turns, Daigo switches to a green dragon tanki and calls riichi. During the ippatsu round, dealer Daisuke throws his green dragon pair trying to advance safely and deals into Daigo. Daigo wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Chiitoi/Dora 2 for 12,000, bringing him just 400 shy of top spot.
Just Out of Reach
March 18, Game 1, E4-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s60_p2802
In E4-1, Daigo is the dealer sitting in 1st place while Daisuke is in 4th place trying to catch up the the rest of the group.
Daigo again starts out the hand 2-shanten for chiitoi while Daisuke is 2-shanten for a standard hand with a potential tanyao. Early on, Daisuke is able to get to tenpai, but sits dama on a yakuless 7p penchan. At the end of the row, he improves his wait and calls riichi on a 78p wait.
By this point, Daigo has made a fifth pair, but also converted two of his pairs into triplets. With his hand right now, he is iishanten for a potential suuankou, the hand that could save the team. But while hope is seen, we see the inevitable tragedy that is the lone 8p in his hand. Even if he gets into tenpai, he will end up dealing in. Sure enough, in the second row, Daigo makes his third triplet. As he calls riichi, he discards the 8p and deals into Daisuke.
Daisuke wins the hand with Riichi/Tanyao for 2,600+300 plus one riichi stick, bringing Daigo down to 3rd place in the process.
Birthday Boy
March 18, Game 1, S3-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4061
In S3-0, Ooi is in 3rd place, just 2,000 behind 1st place Daigo. With his birthday just the day before, he wants to win the game for a late birthday present.
Ooi starts out the hand 3-shanten with two ryanmens and a connected 7s dora. In the first row, the two ryanmens go untouched and he instead builds a sequence elsewhere to get to iishanten for a guaranteed pinfu. On turn 8, he gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 14m ryanmen.
During the ippatsu turn, Yu chases and calls riichi on a 3m kanchan.
Though Yu has a narrower wait, Yu actually has more winning tiles than Ooi, having two against Ooi’s one by the middle of the second row. However, Ooi only needs the one. At the end of the second row, Yu draws and discards the 1m and deals into Ooi. Ooi wins the hand with Riichi/Pinfu/Dora 1/Ura 1 for 8,000 plus one riichi stick, moving into 1st place going into the last hand.
Shortcut to Haneman
March 18, Game 2, E1-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5553
In E1-1, Mizuhara is playing for the Pirates, trying to take back the MVP position after it was taken by her teammate Yu. In this game, she sits tied for 3rd place after being noten in the first hand.
Mizuhara starts out the hand 3-shanten for chiitoi (4-shanten for a standard hand) with a floating west dora. In the first row, she pairs up the west and makes her 6m pair into a triplet, making her 2-shanten on both hand types. After pairing up the south and 5p early in the second row, Mizuhara gets to tenpai and waits dama on a 4p tanki. A turn later, she switches to a 3m tanki and calls riichi , sitting with a suji trap.
To her right, Kayamori is trying to save her team from elimination. Being iishanten and her team in dire straits, Kayamori pushes her hand. At the end of the row, she gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 7m penchan.
In the middle of the third row, Mizuhara draws the 3m and wins the hand. Mizuhara wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Chiitoi/Dora 2 for 3,000+100/6,000+100 plus one riichi stick, easily moving into 1st place.
To the Limits
March 18, Game 2
In E3-0, Sugawara is in 4th place, 3,200 behind 3rd place Ooi, 8,400 behind 2nd place Kayamori and 19,600 behind 1st place Mizuhara. After Daisuke got a 4th place in the previous game,
Sugawara starts out 4-shanten with a pair of yakuhai souths and a secured red 5s. In the first row, Sugawara is only able to call pon on the south to advance to 3-shanten. During the same span, Ooi calls pon on the west and a 123p chii to get to tenpai on a 7m kanchan.
Over the next few turns, Suguwara pairs up the east dora and fills in a ryanmen to get to iishanten. In the middle of the second row, Kayamori calls pon on the red dragon to beat Sugawara to tenpai and waits on a 58p ryanmen.
In the middle of her second row, Sugawara calls pon on the 5s to finally get to tenpai and waits on a 36p ryanmen, guaranteed a mangan if she wins. Late in the third tow, Kayamori draws and discards the 3p and deals into Sugawara. Sugawara wins the hand with South/Dora 2/Aka 1 for 8,000 to move her into 2nd place.
After the next hand went to a draw, Sugawara continues her pursuit of 1st place in E4-1. She sits as the dealer with a 10,100 gap to overcome.
Sugawara starts out the hand 3-shanten with a secured 9m dora and just an 8s away from a 789 sanshoku. In her first few draws, she makes up a pair of 5s and draws a red 5m to get to iishanten, still needing that 8s for sanshoku. On turn 5, Kayamori discards an 8s, but Sugawara doesn’t call chii. Immediately after, Sugawara gets to tenpai and waits dama on an 8s kanchan. During the ippatsu round, Mizuhara draws a useful 8s dora to leave just one in the wall for Sugawara. At the end of the second row, Kayamori draws and discards the very last 8s and deals into Sugawara. Sugawara wins the hand with Sanshoku/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 12,000+300, now sitting on top.
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s60_p2804
After being passed by Mizuhara again, Suguwara gain looks for 1st place, needing to get at least 5,000.
From the start, Sugawara is already 2-shanten with triplets of 5s and south. On turn 2, she pairs up the 2m to get to iishanten, looking to either fill in the 7p kanchan or make either of her pairs into a triplet. On turn 5, she draws a third 1s to get to tenpai and waits dama on a 7p kanchan. If she draws the 6p or 8p, she can be tenpai for a suuankou. With a 2m draw, she will be tenpai for suuankou tanki.
In the second row, Kayamori discards the 7p and deals into Sugawara. With Sanankou/South, she has 3 han. As for fu,
- Win: 20
- Closed Ron: 10
- 1s Concealed Triplet: 8
- South Concealed Triplet: 8
- 5s Concealed Triplet: 4
- Kanchan: 2
For a total of 52 fu, rounded to 60. With 3/60 it’s a rare 3-han mangan without any kans. The fu calculation was confusing enough that the referee had to chime in to correct the score.
Direct Hit
March 18, Game 2, S2-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5554
In S2-0, Mizuhara is the dealer and sitting 3,00 behind 1st place Sugawara.
Mizuhara starts out her dealership with an annoying chiitoi 4-shanten hand (5-shanten for a standard hand). However, she does have a pair of red dragons and the 5m double dora. Early on, Mizuhara calls pon on the red dragon to secure a yaku, even though she is only 3-shanten with a bunch of bad kanchans. Through the rest of the first row, she manages to fill in two of those kanchans and gets to iishanten by the end of it. After fiddling with her shapes in the second row, Mizuhara gets to tenpai on a 5p kanchan.
Sitting across from her is the ever-persistent Sugawara sitting with a wide iishanten. At the end of the second row, Sugawara gets to pinfu tenpai and calls riichi on a 25m ryanmen. However, she is furiten after discarding the 2m in the first row.
While there is a dangerous riichi on the table, Mizuhara is able to draw safe tiles and keep her tenpai. In the third row, Sugawara draws and discards the red 5p and deals into Mizuhara. Mizuhara wins the hand with Red Dragon/Dora 1/Aka 2 for 12,000 plus one riichi stick, a direct hit on her rival this game.
Catching Up
March 18, Game 2
In S4-1, Sugawara is the last dealer in 2nd place. She did well to be the only one tenpai in the previous hand, but she still has a 25,800 gap she needs to overcome.
She starts out the hand with a nice 2-shanten hand with three ryanmens, almost guaranteeing her a good wait. However, the south pair in her hand kills any pinfu chance and the sole 1p dora she has isn’t guaranteed. With the three ryanmens in her hand, Sugawara is able to quickly advance. On turn 2, she draws the 2p to secure the 1p as part of a sequence. On turn 3, she fills in another ryanmen to get to tenpai. She calls riichi and waits on a 58s ryanmen. Two turns later, she gets the 8s and wins the hand. Sugawara wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Dora 1 for 2,000+100 all plus one riichi stick.
In S4-2, the gap between Sugawara and Mizuhara is just 16,400.
Sugawara starts out with a 4-shanten hand with a pair of green dragons, a secured red 5p and a handful of stay honours. After getting rid of all of them on turn 4, she is miraculously at iishanten with a secured red 5m to boot. As Sugawara waits for tenpai, Mizuhara gets to tenpai in the middle of the second row and calls riichi on a 69s ryanmen, hoping to end the game before Sugawara has a chance to catch up.
With 1st place within sight and no chance of falling into 3rd place, Sugawara just keeps pushing. In the third row, she draws a third green dragon to get to tenpai and waits dama on a 36m ryanmen, preferring the 3m for iipeikou. On Sugawara’s second-last draw, she picks the 3m from the wall and wins the hand. Sugawara wins with Tsumo/Green Dragon/Iipeikou/Aka 2 for 4,000+200 all plus a riichi stick. Because of that riichi call from Mizuhara, Sugawara is now in 1st place by 2,400.
Mizuhara Starting South
March 18, Game 2, S4-3
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s60_p2805
In S4-3, Mizuhara is in 2nd place, just 2,400 behind 1st place Sugawara. The game has been going back and forth between the two and Mizuhara has a chance to be the victor in the end.
Mizuhara starts out already 2-shanten with the potential for either tanyao or a distant ittsuu. After filling in the ryanmen on turn 2, Mizuhara has to choose between tanyao and ittsuu on turn 3. Though tanyao allows for wider possibilities, ittsuu will guarantee enough value should she stay closed. Wanting that value, Mizuhara chooses to go for ittsuu.
Near the end of the first row, Mizuhara gets to tenpai and stays dama on a 7s penchan.
To her right, Kayamori has been making calls to scrounge up as many points as she can while in last place. With pons of the yakuhai north and green dragon, as well as aiming for honitsu with a dora 5p, Kayamori gets to tenpai on a 14p nobetan. Though there is a hope for Kayamori, the mahjong gods can be cruel. At the start of her third row, Kayamori draws the 7s. Having no choice but to discard it, she deals into Mizuhara.
Mizuhara wins the hand with Ittsuu only for 2,600+900, enough to win the game by 1,100 and move back into 1st place in the MVP race.
Penchan Power
March 19, Game 1, S2-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3049
In S2-1, Okada is in 2nd place and 12,100 behind 1st place Honda.
Okada starts out the hand 3-shanten with pairs of yakuhai west and south, as well as a connected dora 9s. Across from her is the dealer Aki at 2-shanten with a pair of white dragons. In the first three turns, Okada fills in two manzu kanchans to advance to iishanten. On turn 4, she draws a third west to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 7s penchan.
During the ippatsu round, Aki gets to tenpai as well and calls riichi on a 9s tanki.
Counting tiles, there are three left in the wall for Okada and just one for Aki. In the middle of the second row, Okada draws the 7s and wins the hand. Okada wins with Riichi/Tsumo/West/Dora 1/Ura 1 for 2,000+100/4,000+100 plus one riichi stick, coming within 700 of 1st place.
Perfect Timing
March 19, Game 2, E1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3563
In E1-0, Hisato is playing for the Konami Mahjong Fight Club and sitting in the lucky south seat.
Hisato starts out the hand 4-shanten with not much in terms of value. To his right is Hori, holding a secured 4p and sitting 2-shanten. In the first row, Hisato gets to 2-shanten with two potential ryanmens while Hori is iishanten with two new red fives and a guaranteed good wait. Near the middle of the second row, Hori gets to tenpai first and waits dama on a 69p ryanmen, guaranteed at least a mangan.
In the middle of the second row, Hisato pairs up the east to get to iishanten and give him potential value. In the third row, he draws the dora 4p and calls riichi on an east/west shanpon. Immediately after, Hori draws and discard the east and deals into Hisato. Hisato wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/East/Dora 1/Ura 1 for 8,000.
Honda Highlight
March 19, Game 2, S4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5062
In S4-0, Honda is the last dealer in 3rd place, 200 behind 2nd place Hisato and 27,500 behind 1st place Katsumata. With their team standings rival currently poised to get 1st place this game, Honda needs to make every effort to gain points and potential overtake Katsumata.
Honda starts out the hand at 3-shanten with a pair of 6p dora and a secured 5m, holding the ingredients for a dealer mangan. In the first row, he makes a triplet of 8s and advances to iishanten, needing only a penchan and a kanchan to be filled. In the middle of the second row, he fills in the 3p penchan and calls riichi on a 2s kanchan.
To Honda’s left is 4th place Hori, sitting 18,300 behind 3rd place Hisato. With a haneman direct hit or a baiman tsumo, he can move up in rank. After pushing through the ippatsu turn, Hori gets to tenpai on the very next turn and calls riichi on a 25p ryanmen. With Riichi/Pinfu/Tanyao/Dora 2 guaranteed, all he needs is to draw the red 5p on his very next draw to get the baiman. Otherwise, he will need to hope on uradora.
Honda gives Hori no time to hope as he draws the winning 2s immediately after Hori calls riichi. Honda wins the hand with Riichi/Tsumo/Dora 2/Aka 1 for 4,000 all plus Hori’s riichi stick, cutting Katsumata’s lead to just 10,500.
Revenge
March 19, Game 2, S4-2
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3050
In S4-2, Hori is in the negatives in 4th place and 19,300 behind 3rd place Hisato. To finish the game not in last place, he needs a haneman direct hit, a baiman tsumo or a sanbaiman ron.
Hori starts off with an annoying 4-shanten with just a dora 3m for value. In contrast, Hisato is 3-shanten with a pair of 3m dora and Honda is already 2-shanten with a dora 3m and a red 5s. Despite starting a bit behind, Hori is able to advance decently by drawing a red 5p and advances to iishanten. Despite this good progress, Hori is still lacking value, even for a simple mangan. To make things harder, Hisato gets to tenpai at the end of the first row and calls riichi on a 3m/1s shanpon.
With Honda within reach of 1st place and Hori having nothing to lose, both players push. At the start of the second row, Hori has a chance to take a 2m kanchan wait, but lets go of it to go for more value. After getting rid of the north pair, Hori has another chance to be tenpai on a 3p kanchan, but again chooses not to take it. A turn later, he has yet another chance with a 147m furiten wait, but continues to refuse. He waits patiently, looking for the right combination and the right moment. Adding more pressure on the table, Honda gets to tenpai at the end of the second row and calls riichi on a 4m kanchan, having enough value for 1st place.
During the ippatsu round, Hori draws a red 5m, a tile of value that can also get him out of furiten. At the start of the third row, he gets to tenpai as he secures pinfu. With Riichi/Pinfu/Tanyao/Dora 1/Aka 2 guaranteed, all he needs is to hit Hisato directly or to draw it himself and get a +1 han. During the ippatsu round, Hisato draws the 7m. The worst nightmare for Konami fans and the greatest gift for Sakura Knights fans, Hisato is forced to discard the 7m and deals into Hori. With a flip of the uradora, the hand is upgraded to baiman as the icing on the cake. Hori wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Pinfu/Tanyao/Dora 1/Aka 2 for 16,000 plus two riichi sticks, finishing the game in 3rd place.
Chinitsu
March 21, Game 1, S1-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4557
In S1-1, Uotani is in 3rd place, 3,400 behind 2nd place Asami and 5,100 behind 1st place Honda.
Uotani starts out the hand 4-shanten for chiitoi (5-shanten for a standard hand) with a lone red 5p, a pair of 1m and a triplet of 5m. In the first, Uotani started to draw more and more manzu, moving her hand towards a flush. On turn 5, she calls pon on the 2m to get to a standard hand 3-shanten. In the second row, it seems like trouble is on the horizon when Sarukawa calls a chii to get to a 3p kanchan tenpai. However, he ends up drawing an 8m at the end of the second row and chooses not to tempt the potential flush. After not much progress in the second row for Uotani, she calls pon on the 1m in the middle of the third row to get to iishanten. Soon after, dealer Asami makes her mark and calls riichi on a 5m kanchan.
During the ippatsu round, Uotani gets to tenpai on a wide 4679m wait. On Asami’s ippatsu draw, she picks up the 7m and deals into Uotani. Uotani wins the hand with Chinitsu for 8,000 plus one riichi stick.
Monkey Magic
March 21, Game 1, S2-0
In S2-0, Sarukawa is in 3rd place, 6,400 behind 2nd place dealer Honda and 10,600 behind 1st place Uotani.
Sarukawa starts out with a really nice 2-shanten hand with two ryanmens, a secured red 5m and a floating dora 2m. He has the basic groundwork for a mangan, with the potential to upgrade to a haneman. On turn 3, he fills in one of the ryanments to get to iishanten. A turn later, he gets to tenpai and waits on a 2m dora tanki. He stays dama, looking to exchange the bad wait into a wider pinfu. In the second row, he finally gets there and calls riichi on a 369p wait.
With Sarukawa’s discarded 2m dora, Honda takes advantage it and calls pon getting to iishanten for a Green Dragon/Dora 3/Aka 1 hand. At the end of the second row, Honda gets to tenpai and waits on a 5s kanchan.
Unfortunately for Honda, he would end up drawing the 6p in the middle of the third row and deals into Sarukawa. Sarukawa wins the hand with Riichi/Pinfu/Tanyao/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 8,000, moving Sarukawa into 2nd place.
Pure Madness
March 21, Game 1, S4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5063
In S4-0, there are a few big battles going on. Sitting as the dealer is Uotani, sitting in 1st place and trying to get as many points as she can for her team in 9th place. Sitting in 2nd place is the Beast’s Sarukawa, 4,600 behind Uotani and also trying to get points for his team in 7th place. Sitting in 3rd is Honda, 14,200 from the lead and fighting for his team in the playoffs. Finally, Asami is in 4th place, needing 5,000 to escape the bottom.
From the start, there seems to be hope for all players. Uotani has a pair of easts, Asami has a hand set for tanyao with two red fives, Honda has a triplet of wests and Sarukawa has a triplet of norths. Interestingly, everyone is at 3-shanten except for Sarukawa who is one step behind. In the first row, all of the players take one step forward. In particular of note is Honda, who has the possibility to pivot between toitoi and chiitoi.
In the second row, Honda makes a triplet of 2m, his third triplet in his hand. With his hand, he is iishanten for a potential suuankou, possibly even a suuankou tanki. With one 6p still in the wall, the dream is possible. In the middle of the third row, he gets the 6p! Ready for a potential suuankou tanki, he has to choose between a 457p wait (where the 5p gives the yakuman) or a 5m tanki. Not settling for anything cheaper, Honda takes the 5m tanki and hopes for the yakuman. Three 5m remain in the wall.
Immediately after, Sarukawa draw a 5m to fill in his own kanchan and calls riichi on a 58s ryanmen. With just two han secured, he needs one more to take 1st place.
One player dreams of 1st place, another dreams of 1st place with a yakuman. Trying to reduce Sarukawa’s potential value, Uotani calls chii on Sarukawa’s riichi tile to break the ippatsu. On Honda’s draw, he gets a 9m. Not the tile he needs, but a safe tile to throw. Then, on Sarukawa’s next draw, he picks up the 8s and wins the hand. Sarukawa wins with Riichi/Tsumo/North/Ura 1 for 2,000/4,000. With this one hand, he defeats two of his rivals, kills a yakuman and gets his team one step closer to the playoffs.
Ippatsu
March 21, Game 2, E1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2051
In E1-0, Sonoda is playing for the Akasaka Drivens afterAsami had an unfortunate loss the previous game.
Sonoda starts out the hand 3-shanten with just a pair of easts for value. In the first row, he fills in a kanchan and builds a penchan to get to 2-shanten. On turn 7, he fills in the penchan to get to iishanten. As he looks for any of the four tiles to get him to tenpai, Hagiwara gets there first and calls riichi on a 69s ryanmen.
During the ippatsu round, Sonoda makes a triplet of 4s. Though it isn’t the ideal east triplet for value, it does put him into tenpai and he calls riichi on a 58m ryanmen. On his very next draw, Sonoda draws the 5m and wins the hand. With a flip of the uradora, the 5m becomes the dora to upgrade his hand to a mangan. Sonoda wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Ura 1 for 2,000/4,000 plus one riichi stick.
100
March 21, Game 2, S4-1
In S4-1, Sugawara is in 4th place and hoping not to undo the work that Sarukawa did the previous game. Sitting 11,900 behind Uotani with a riichi stick and a honba on the table, Sugawara needs a 3/40 direct hit, a haneman tsumo or a haneman direct hit to move out of 4th.
Sugawara starts out with a 2-shanten hand with a pair of green dragons and a lone 2m dora. In order to get to the 3 han she wants, she will need to stay closed and preferably complete the green dragons and connect the 2m. On turn 4, she draws a 3m to connect the dora and create a 14m ryanmen, getting her to iishanten. As the green dragon comes out from Uotani, Sugawara stays firm and doesn’t call it. On turn 6, she makes a triplet of 6s.
It’s the wrong tile for tenpai, but there’s not much space to improve the Riichi/Dora 1 hand. One thing she does have going for her is the desperate situation that the Phoenix are in, making a direct hit more likely. Even without it, there is still a chance to get three uradora. Taking the risk, Sugawara decides to call riichi and wait on the 14m ryanmen wait, hoping to get a direct hit and one more han for the comeback.
Right after, on the ippatsu turn, Uotani gets to tenpai. Sitting in her hand all alone is a 1m, needing to be discarded for a chance at more points. She knows that it’s dangerous, but the team is in a desperate position. Left with little choice, Uotani attempts to call riichi and throws the 1m.
With a ron, Sugawara reveals her hand. Though there’s no uradora, she already has enough. Sugawara wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Dora 1 for 5,200+300 plus a riichi stick. Sugawara finishes with 19,100, Uotani finishes with 19,000. By just 100, Sugawara has finished in 3rd place.
Placement
March 22, Game 1, S3-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4062
In S3-1, Matsumoto is in 4th place, 300 behind 3rd place Hisato and 6,200 behind 2nd place Okada. With his team a 4th place away from moving into the negatives and his dealership already passed, he has just two hand to get the team a positive result.
Matsumoto starts out the hand 3-shanten with a secured red 5m and a loosely connected dora 5p. While discarding his loose honours in the first row, he secured the dora 5p and gets to iishanten. On turn 6, he has a chance to be tenpai on a yakuless shanpon or kanchan, but denies it to look for a better and wider wait. A turn later, he gets to tenpai and waits dama on a 58m ryanmen for mangan minimum. He could call riichi in pursuit of the MVP award, but M-League is a team competition and staying dama gives a higher chance of a better team result. A turn later, Matsumoto draws the 8m and wins the hand. Matsumoto wins with Tsumo/Tanyao/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 2,000+100/4,000+100, moving into 2nd place going into the last hand.
K
March 22, Game 2
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5557
In E2-1, Nakabayashi is playing for the Pirates and carrying the momentum of Kobayashi’s win in the first game. Currently, he is just 100 away from 1st place and has a chance to claim the 2,300 in bonus sticks on the table.
Nakabayashi starts out the hand 4-shanten some mediocre shapes but a secured red 5m. To his right is 4-shanten Matsumoto with some better shapes and across from Nakabayashi is Takamiya at 2-shanten with very good shapes and a pair of green dragons. In the first row, Takamiya achieves a perfect iishanten, Nakabayashi draws a red 5s and gets to 2-shanten, and Matsumoto gets to iishanten with the potential to pivot to chiitoi. In the middle of the second row, Matsumoto draws the dora 9m to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 36s ryanmen.
During the ippatsu round, Takamiya gets to tenpai as well and calls riichi on a 69s ryanmen. With the 6s being a wait for both, there is a chance that Matsumoto will headbump Takamiya.
With the all the 6s being stuck between Okada and Matsumoto, it only leaves two 9s and one 3s in the wall. Sitting at iishanten, Nakabayashi has a chance to win the now 4,300 in bonus sticks if he can win. Just two turns after his rivals called riichi, Nakabayashi gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 36p ryanmen. With five han secured, he just needs one more to upgrade to a haneman. Immediately after, Matsumoto draws and discards the 3p, dealing into Nakabayashi. Nakabayashi wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Pinfu/Iipeikou/Aka 2 for 12,000+300 plus four riichi sticks, bringing Nakabayashi above 40,000.
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5558
Skipping to E4-2, Nakabayashi is now the dealer and doing well with 45,600. If Nakabayashi can get a big win this game, he could be part of a Pirates MVP podium.
Nakabayashi starts out with a big starting hand, starting iishanten with his first 13 tiles with a secured 1m, a secured red 5s and a triplet of green dragons. By turn 2, he is already tenpai on a 6p kanchan. On turn 3, he draws a fourth green dragon and calls kan.
With a flip of the kandora, his 5s pair becomes dora to upgrade his hand to a mangan. The miracles keep coming with the rinshan draw as he upgrades his hand to a 69p ryanmen. He calls riichi, guaranteeing at least a haneman if he wins. Seven winning tiles remain in the wall.
Sitting across from Nakabayashi is Takamiya in 2nd place. During the ippatsu round, Takamiya draws a 9p to advance her hand to 2-shanten. On her next turn, she draws the 6p for iishanten. By the end of the row, Takamiya is tenpai and chases with a dora 2m kanchan.
Two tiles remain for Takamiya, four for Nakabayashi. At the start of the second row, Takamiya draws and discards the 9p and deals into Nakabayashi. With the uradora flip, Nakabayashi’s green dragon quad becomes a dora to upgrade his hand to a 10-han dealer baiman. After a bit of calculation confusion, Nakabayashi hand is scored as Riichi/Green Dragon/Dora 3/Aka 1/Ura 4 for 24,000+600 plus Takamiya’s riichi stick, moving Takamiya from 2nd to the negatives.
In E4-3, Nakabayashi has a big lead and now has 71,200, his highest M-League score yet. There is an opportunity to get more.
Nakabayashi starts out the hand 3-shanten with a secured 5m dora for value. The first row gifts him a pair of easts and alternate pairs. At the end of the row, he calls pon on the east to secure a yaku. He breaks up one of his pairs to get to iishanten, but the 3m penchan in his hand is dead in other people’s hands. In the second row, he draws a red 5s and connects it with a 6s, allowing him to get rid of his penchan and ensure a good wait. With a chii at the end of the second row, Nakabayashi is mangan tenpai on a 47s ryanmen. On his very next turn, he gets the 4s and wins the hand. Nakabayashi wins with Double East/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 4,000+300 all, taking Nakabayashi above 80,000, the Pirates’ best score this season.
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