Standings

As with every final week, I will be going through the teams in standings order

Finish at the top of the regular season standings in 1st place is the U-Next Pirates. What an amazing and record-breaking season it has been for the Pirates. From start to finish, the team kept on winning and gaining points. With a score of +887.6pts, they smash the old record of +703.1pts by the EX Furinkazan of highest score ever. With 34 wins, they beat the old record of 29 wins for the most wins in a regular season. With their individual standings, they take 1st, 2nd and 4th. This is the second time that the U-Next Pirates have topped the regular season standings (the first being during the 2021-22 season), making them the first team to do the feat twice. The U-Next Pirates have proven that they are a force to be reckoned with and will be a formidable foe in the semifinals.

Coming in 2nd place is the Akasaka Drivens. They changed up their roster this season with the addition of Futoshi and Asami and it ended up creating a big positive result. Whenever they dropped, they got back up and pushed themselves further. Around the mid-season, they got to 1st, they returned there weeks later and broke the 500.0pts barrier. Though they struggled near the end, they still held on with their 2nd place finish. On the individual side, Taro broke the record for the highest hanchan in M-League and has taken home the team’s first individual medal. The team will be sure to charge forward going into the semifinals, their first time in three years.

Kadokawa Sakura Knights take the 3rd spot in the overall standings. After missing the finals last season and falling to the bottom in the first three weeks, it seemed like it would be a repeat. However, they didn’t give up. Week after week, they gained and gained and gained. By the 10th week, they wer on top. They were the first team to break the 550.0pts barrier this season. Though they faltered near the end, they held on to take a spot in the semifinals, continuing their perfect streak of playoff attendance.

Konami Mahjong Fight Club are 4th. For the sixth year in a row, the Konami Mahjong Fight Club is heading to the playoffs! For almost the entire season, they were in the positives. More than 6 weeks at the start of the season, they were in 1st. They continued their positive ways and stayed in the top four. Date fought for her second MVP award in a row and ended up in a very respectable 5th place. Instead, Date won the 4th place avoidance award with a 90.00% avoidance rate and is the first player to win all three of the individual awards. The team goes into the playoffs, hoping to finally win a championship.

Making a surprise 5th place finish is the EX Furinkazan. They did quite well in the first half of the season and even peeked their head into 1st place. Then they started falling, to the point that they went to 9th place with just 16 games to go. They kicked it into high gear and pushed themselves to the limit. Katsumata kept winning and winning, pushing himself to closer and closer to the top of the individual standings. He ended up falling just short in 2nd place, but is by far the most impressive performance ever, going 74 hands without a single deal-in at the end of the season. The team has proven that they will go to war to get a win, making them a frightening opponent to face in the semifinals.

Taking the last playoff spot is the Shibuya Abemas. Though it is the first time that the team has finished a season negative, they continue their streak of being in the playoffs six years in a row! Matsumoto was the top player for the team with an even +100.0pts and the most games for the team. Though the team may be a bit behind, their will to continue their streak and become the first team to win two championships in a row will push them forward.

Below the border in 7th place is the Beast Japanext. It was the team’s inaugural season and there was a lot of hype. The team started out big with multiple ura 3 wins and big dealer hands by Daisuke. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to sustain it. They ended up losing most weeks and had the lowest rentai rate in the league. There were some positives, like Daisuke gettinig 3rd place in the highest hanchan category and Nakada getting 4th in the 4th-place avoidance category. They were against some tough competition and their trouble winning was understandable. With their nerves calmed and their experience this season, I expect to see the Beast roaring back next season.

In 8th place is Team Raiden. After coming in 3rd and getting their first prize money ever the previous season, they wanted to continue that momentum and win some again. Sadly, they were not able to strike. They managed to get into 2nd place early on in the season, but fell back down. Then they went up to 6th place at the start of January, but the fell back down again. All their players were negative by the season’s end. It’s been a tough season, but we have seen some improvements from team captain Hagiwara, getting his best result since the inaugural season. If the whole team continues to improve, their will attain better results in the next season.

And finally, sitting at the bottom of the rankings in 9th place, we have the Sega Sammy Phoenix. They had a new roster with a new coach and renewed hope. Unfortunately, things didn’t go their way this year. During the whole season, they were in the negatives. By the end of the season, all their players were negative. However, there were some good moments for the team. In February, the team fought back and managed to to make up about 300.0pts, showing the team’s resilience. With their season over, they have a few months to reflect, train and harness that resilience before they get right back into it next season.

On the individual side, Suzuki Yu had the highest total score of any individual player with +437.7pts, Suzuki Taro had the highest hanchan score and the M-League record of 112,800, and Date Arisa had the best best 4th place avoidance rate this season of 90.00%

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And that’s the end of the regular season! Congratulations to the U-Next Pirates, Akasaka Drivens, Kadokawa Sakura Knights, Konami Mahjong Fight Club, EX Furinkazan and Shibuya Abemas for advancing to the semifinals. But the action isn’t over. We still have 30 games of the semifinals and 16 games of the finals before we decide who is the ultimate winner. Can the other five teams catch up to the dominating U-Next Pirates? Which teams are next on the chopping block? When will we see another double yakuman tenpai? As always, we’ll just have to wait and see! See you back here on April 8!

Intro | Highlights | Results | Standings