M-League 2023-24 Semifinals: The Teams

The semifinals are starting next week on Monday, April 8! Today, we’ll take a look at the teams that will be advancing to the semis and figure out what they will need to do to succeed.

1st: U-Next Pirates

Regular Season: +887.6pts (34/23/20/19)

After missing out on the finals last season, the U-Next Pirates kept their team the same going into the 2023-24 season, knowing that they would be forced to change their roster yet again if they failed to make the playoffs this year.

In the first half of the season, the team had a bit of a bumpy ride at the start, but things started to calm down going into December. The team stalled, but their score was still between +200.0pts and +300.0pts.

On Christmas Day, there was great positivity for the U-Next Pirates. Playing in the second game of the day, Yu was sent out for the team. Having won his last four games, he had the chance to be the first player in M-League history to get five wins in a row. After gaining points in more than a third of the hands, Yu was able to get his fifth and claim the title for most wins in a row. With all those wins, Yu was easily the month’s MVP with a +330.4pts gain in that month alone

Going into the new year, the team slowly but surely gained points. Even if it was just +0.6 or +21.2pts, they were maintaining consistency. For six weeks in a row, they had positive gains and ended off briefly breaking the +500.0pts mark on January 19. Mizuhara would eventually be January’s MVP with +188.8pts gained during the month.

From there, the team had a brief downturn. On Week 19, they were the worst performer with a -68.5pts. Timed with the same week that the Kadokawa Sakura Knights were the top performers, the U-Next Pirates lost their top position and fell into 2nd place. After another week of negatives for the Pirates and an ideal week for the Sakura Knights, the Pirates were now trailing 1st place by over 200.0pts, being closer to 4th than they are to 1st.

Things started to look up again in mid-February. They got 2nds in Week 21, then triple-digit gains a week later. Showing good promise is Kobayashi, finally getting his best score of the season of 64,800 and winning his first game in over a month. With that they were back above +500.0pts and in 1st place.

In the second-last week of the regular season, easily sitting in 1st place, they decided to widen their lead even further. On March 18, the Pirates were the winners of the day with a total gain of +83.7pts. On March 22, Kobayashi and Nakabayashi had big back-to-back wins (including a 79,300 by Nakabayashi to be the best score by a Pirate this season) for a big +159.5pts gain on the day. With a huge +243.2pts gain that week, they had the best single week of any team that season. The big gain pushed them to +754.3pts, the highest any team has gotten in the history of M-League. By the end, the team finished with +887.6pts and in the individual standings, the Pirates were 1st, 3rd and 4th.

Going Into The Semifinals: +443.6pts

The joke is that the U-Next Pirates are the worst team ever since they lost 443.8pts in just over a week. It may feel like their lead is being obliterated from the scores being cut in half, but their work during the regular season puts them in the best position of any team.

The team is solid. Mizuhara, Yu and Nakabayashi were all in the top 4 of the standings, while Kobayashi has historically done a good job in the playoffs. This includes Kobayashi’s performance in the final game of the 2019-20 season to win them the championship. With the experience of Kobayashi and positive momentum of the rest of the team, moving on to the next round will be a breeze.

However, they can’t merely sit back and relax. Championships are earned, not given. Back in the 2021-22, they finished the season at the top of the standings and ended the semifinals in 6th place, failing to advance in the finals. Their lead is much bigger this time, but carelessness will spell disaster. With the strength and focus, they can continue to make their impact on their opponents and be in an even better position going into the finals.

---

2nd: Akasaka Drivens

Regular Season: +345.3pts (26/25/22/23)

After the team dropped Murakami Jun and Maruyama Kanako and picked up Asami Maki and Watanabe Futoshi, the team geared up for a new and improved Akasaka Drivens.

In the first half of the season, the team bounced up and down, jumping around from +100.0pts to -150.0pts. After reaching their lowest point, they started to gain again and went five straight weeks of positive results. By the midway point of the season, they were in 2nd place with +243.6pts.

As 2023 turned into 2024, they continued to drive forward. Taro, who had had some trouble in the first half of the season, was able to get two wins for the team. With those wins, he brought himself in the positives, made the team the best performers of the week and took the team into 1st place.

As happens with many teams at the top, the had a sudden drop. Just a week after they were the best performers, they had four 3rds in a row and erased all their gains the week prior. They would end up extending that 3rd place streak to 6 games and dropping down to 4th place.

After stalling through the rest of January and the first half of February, they had their big break in late February. In Weeks 22 and 23, they earned a total of +352.2pts, rocketing back up to 1st place and being the third team to break the 500.0pts barrier this season. During this span, Taro won a game with a record-breaking 112,800, the highest final score in the history of M-League. By the end of February, Asami would be the month’s MVP with a +146.8pts gain.

The team looked to keep the Pirates away in the last few weeks, hoping to stay at the top of the standings and maybe snag an individual award. Unfortunately, things didn’t go their way. Sonoda had a 4th place to put him out of the running, Taro was simply too far away and a 4th from Futoshi dropped him out of 1st place in the MVP award. Still, they finished the season in 2nd place with the first positive regular season in their team’s history.

Going Into The Semifinals: +172.7pts

For the first time since the 2020-21 season, the Akasaka Drivens are in the playoffs. They must not squander this opportunity.

The team is in a strong position near the top of the standings, but not far enough away to not sweat. Unlike the teams near the bottom, targeting their opponents isn’t really on their radar. Instead, they should just play normally, taking advantage of any desperation of the other teams. If they are going to target someone, they should try to hit the 1st place U-Next Pirates and end their reign.

Despite having a rough time at the start of the season, Taro seems to have found his stride. He has done well in previous playoffs and was the main driver in the team’s championship win in the inaugural season. Therefore, he should be the player front and centre for their pursuit for another one. With Futoshi’s 4th place avoidance abilities and general overall skill from Sonoda and Asami, they can claim the title that they won five years ago.

---

3rd: Kadokawa Sakura Knights

Regular Season: +247.2pts (28/23/19/26)

The Kadokawa Sakura Knights had a bit of a dip at the start of the season, being at the bottom of the standings after the fifth week. Fortunately, they weren’t that far out of the race and still had plenty of time. From that point on, they went up and up and up, reaching above +300.0pts around the start of December to be in 1st place. By the season’s midpoint, they were at +353.4pts with all four of their players positive.

After falling a bit at the end of December, things went back up again in January. In every single week, they gained points. In Week 19, they had their big breakthrough of a +116.7pts gain to be the top performers of the week and move into 1st place. They were the best performers a week after that to put the team above +550.0pts and extend their lead over the Pirates by over 200.0pts.

Then things took a turn for the worst. In 8/12 of their next games, they placed 4th, losing them -388.8pts. They were the worst performer in two of those weeks and were now less than 100pts away from 5th place.

March’s mission was to recover what was lost and aim for MVP. During the first full week of the month, Hori had the best win for the team of 74,000 and the team was the best performer of the week despite only playing two games. Okada and Hori were both within range of the MVP award and Okada was entrusted with much of it, playing four games in a row in the last three weeks. Unfortunately, she mainly stalled and was unable to make any ground. The team finished in a solid 3rd place with a score of +247.2pts.

Going Into The Semifinals: +123.6pts

The Kadokawa Sakura Knights continue their semifinals streak, having made the semifinals in all five of their seasons of existence. They have historically done well in the semifinals, though they had a major collapse last season and failed to make the finals for the first time.

They have the same lineup this season, but they have had a year to reflect on their mistakes. Based on their results in the regular season, it seems that they have learned their lesson. However, the semifinals are much higher pressure with much closer scores. They will want to aim for the top, but they also need to be conscious of how far the are from the border.

Though we would like to see an Uchikawa comeback, now may not be the best time. Uchikawa has struggled this season and was the biggest dropper in last season’s semifinals. Instead, the HoriShibu pair should be the ones sent out, both players doing decent well in the regular season and recent tournaments. Both Okada and Uchikawa have a role to play in the team’s success, but they must make sure not to exhaust them.

---

4th: Konami Mahjong Fight Club

Regular Season: +46.9pts (20/26/32/18)

After placing in 2nd place and winning their first prize money last season, the team aimed to one-up that result and finally win the championship.

Right out of the gate, the team the team was off to an incredible start. Three straight weeks of triple-digit gains and being the best team of the week. With the 60% 1st place rate and a +358.7pts total score, they had a score that some teams would never reach in their history.

The team was able to peek their head above the +400.0pts line, but they didn’t get much higher than that. They fell around to +250.0pts around the end of October and were eventually passed by the U-Next Pirates, but they still had a strong positive. Even as they bounced between +150.0pts and +250.0pts until the mid-season, they were always in the top 4 and within reach of 1st place.

This trend continued for the team, but there was something peculiar with Date Arisa. After getting her second loss back on November 23, she managed to avoid 4th place in every game. From 16, 17, 18, 19 games, she still had only two losses. On March 4, 4th place avoidance leader Futoshi had his third 4th and another avoidance by Date brought her to 90.00%, sitting at the top of the 4th place avoidance standings.

With two weeks left to go in the regular season, the team had a big drop. Two 3rds and two 4ths (by normally powerhouse Hisato) caused the team to drop by triple digits and move down to within points of the negatives. Luckily, the team was able to make a small gain in the last week to maintain their positive position, finishing the season in 4th place with a score of +46.9pts.

When it was announced that Date wasn’t going to play in the last game, it also meant that she secured the 4th place avoidance award with her 90.00% rate. Joining her highest hanchan score award of 105,500 in the 2021-22 season and her +320.2pts MVP award from the 2022-23 season, Date is the first player in M-League history to win all three individual awards.

Going Into The Semifinals: +23.5pts

The Konami Mahjong Fight Club is one of only two teams to have made the playoffs in every year since the inaugural M-League season (the other being the Shibuya Abemas), meaning they have the experience.

However, they have had the habit of losing points in the semis. In the four semis that they have participated in, they have only gained points during them once. Last season, they fell from 1st to 4th, barely hanging onto that last playoff spot. They sit in a more precarious position this season, sitting a 4th away from moving to the bottom. Positional placement and knowing where they sit in the standings is key to making sure that they do not get passed at the last minute.

Date hasn’t played an M-League game since March 4. It did mean that she would take the 4th place avoidance award, but it also caused her teammates to work harder than usual and lose a few points. With the award secured, the team’s top player should come back and fight fiercely for the team again.

---

5th: EX Furinkazan

Regular Season: -16.6pts (25/23/21/27)

Last season, the EX Furinkazan was in the top spot going into the finals last season. Unfortunately, they got only a single 1st during the finals and finish in 4th place and out of the prize money. THis year, they are trying to redeem themselves.

In the first few weeks of the season, they had a rought time and couldn’t have a positive week. By the end of Week 3, they were at the bottom of the standings. From there, they started their climb. From the end of October and through November, they had multiple weeks with triple-digit gains. In the month of November alone, they gained +382.4pts and they were at the top of the standings.

In Week 12, tragedy struck. Four straight games of four straight 4ths, including back-to-back negatives by Matsugase. In just that one week, they went from 2nd to 6th place. By the mid-season, they were still down in the dumps in 5th place, but they had the positive of Katsumata being at the top of the individual standings.

Things started to go down further going into 2024. Week after week, they kept dropping and dropping and dropping, a slow and painful death. In January and February, they only had a single week with a positive gain, and even then it was just +3.0pts. By February 23, they were in 9th place, almost 100.0pts below 8th place.

With just 5 weeks left in the season, they needed to turn things around. With more than a 200.0pts gap between them and a playoff spot, they desperately need some wins. In the last week of February (plus the first day of March), Matsugase finally got his first win since November and helped the team get a triple-digit gain to move them up to 7th place. Two weeks later, Matsugase got another 1st place and Katsumata had two of them to gain the team +174.7pts and moving them into 6th place with a more than 100.0pts gap over 7th.

Sitting in a playoff spot, they had a few goals in mind. First is to keep it. Second is to try to aim even higher. The third is to try to get Katsumata the MVP award. Playing only two games in the penultimate week, Katsumata won in his one game and helped the team get closer to 5th place.

With a win by Rumi on the final Monday, they moved even closer. Thursday showed the MVP pursuit of Yu and gave Katsumata the goal to reach. With a 131.8pts gap between Katsumata, the stage has been set. He will need two 1sts with an average score of 45,900, a difficult but not impossible task. He exceeded expectations in the first game with a big 60,200 1st place. He only needed to win one more game with a score of 31,700 to become the league’s MVP. Katsumata managed to finish with a score of 38,100, but a dealer rampage by Shibukawa in the south round meant that Katsumata was 2nd place and just missed the MVP award, finishing 2nd overall.

Still, Katsumata did an amazing job during March, being the month’s MVP with a +278.8pts gain and didn’t deal in a single time in the 74 games he played that month. In addition the team passed the Shibuya Abemas to finish in 5th place.

Going Into The Semifinals: -8.3pts

Despite their rough mid-season, the EX Furinkazan has truly proven that they are a resilient team that can make comebacks when they need to. They proved it in their 2020-21 championship win and they proved it just now in their pursuit for a playoff spot.

Even so, they sit in the elimination zone to start the semifinals. Though they have good comeback abilities, it’s much better to be in a playoff position to start with. If the team can manage to gain big points early and continue their momentum from the end of the regular season, they can breathe a bit easier near the end of the semifinals and put the pressure on their opponents to make the comeback.

Matsugase had a rough start of the season, but he has really made the return in 2024, not having a 4th place since January 22. With his normally strong performance all around, the semifinals may be time to put him back in the spotlight.

---

6th: Shibuya Abemas

Regular Season: -22.1pts (21/27/26/22)

After four years of finishing in 3rd place and calling themselves the “bronze collectors”, they finally made it to the top in the 2022-23 season by winning the championship. This season, they aim for a repeat, having new manager Tsukamoto Yasutaka behind them.

They didn’t go off to a good start at the beginning, falling down to the bottom of the standings after the first two weeks. After staying in the triple-digit negatives through mid October, things started to turn around. For three straight weeks, they had big positive results, being the positive for three straight weeks and moving all the way up to 2nd place.

From there, things started to fall apart. A big triple-digit negative dropped them down two ranks, then they kept falling. By the end of 2023, they were back in the triple-digit negatives and in 7th place.

In the first full week of January, the team planned to make their comeback. With a big dealer baiman and three wins, the team earned +153.0pts to bring them back into the positives. After a quick dip and rise, they made their next big impact in mid-February to bring them back into the triple-digits and briefly move them into 4th place overall.

Around the end of the season, they wanted to finish strong and potentially have a chance at making Matsumoto the league MVP. Unfortunately, the unrelenting Pirates were having none of it and gave Matsumoto a 3rd and a 4th on March 22 to effectively end his MVP hopes. Adding salt to the wound, the EX Furinkazan moved ahead of the team and the Shibuya Abemas finished the season in 6th place with a score of -22.1pts.

Going Into The Semifinals: -11.0pts

The good news is that the team has made it into the semifinals. The bad news is that they start the semifinals in elimination territory.

It has been firmly established that the Shibuya Abemas is one of the strongest teams in the league, given their past success. From the results of this season, they may have had a bit more trouble, but they still have their strong and balanced team. All players should play, all players should trust each other and all players will succeed.

Starting in 6th place isn’t a lost cause. In the five completed seasons that M-League has existed, the team that has taken the last playoff spot has gone on to win it all (6th place Pirates in 2019-20, 6th place Sakura Knights in 2021-22, and the 4th place Akasaka Drivens in the 2018-29 season when there weren’t any semifinals). Some may actually call this a blessing and a sign that they were meant to win again. As always, hard work will always pay off and a little luck doesn’t hurt.

---