Standings

The top gaining team this fifth is the Shibuya Abemas. After wallowing at the bottom of the standings, the Shibuya Abemas are starting to make their move. In each game, they managed to gain some points and finished it off with a tight 1st place by Shiratori. Despite the good progress, the team is still 196.7pts below the cutoff. Making it harder for them is the fact that they are facing the Kadokawa Sakura Knights in only two games and the Akasaka Drivens in only two games (the only team they face for all four is the dominating EX Furinkazan). If they can make some tactical hits and big 1sts, they will give themselves a chance at a spot.

The last gaining team this fifth is the EX Furinkazan. It continues to be an amazing semifinals run for the EX Furinkazan. After 16 games, they are still without a 4th place and have a 43.75% 1st place rate. During this fifth, the most impressive thing was the RumiAki daily double on Tuesday, the first time that the sisters won a game on the same day. With one more push, the team has a chance to overtake the U-Next Pirates and start the finals in the top spot.

Akasaka Drivens are the first dropping team. A big 1st place by Futoshi was the highlight of these past few games, but two 4ths by Taro meant that the gain was erased. Sitting in the middle of the standings, they have a target on their back and the teams at the bottom will be going after them aggressively. Luckily for them, they only have to face the two bottom teams twice instead of four times (though they will be facing the 1st place U-Next Pirates in all of their games). If they make sure that they aren’t careless and keep their guard up, they can be sure that they will advance to the final stage.

Next is the U-Next Pirates. The U-Next Pirates continue their 4th-place avoidance streak, extending it to 12 games, but are unable to gain points. Their closest game for a big win was on Tuesday when Yu was leading going into the last hand, but was beat by Rumi by 700. With four games left, their advancement to the finals is almost certain. Their goal now will be to push their prospective finals opponents down while raising their own score. If they can do that, they can start the finals with a 100.0pts or higher lead.

The Kadokawa Sakura Knights are next in the performance rankings. Despite a strong 1st place from Hori, two 4ths by the rest of the team dropped them a bit closer to the elimination line. Though a 200.0pts may seem large, direct conflicts with both the Konami Mahjong Fight Club (4 games) and Shibuya Abemas (2 games) may cause trouble. So long as they are aware of these two, they can start planning for the final 16 game faceoff.

Finally, we have the Konami Mahjong Fight Club. It continues. After the disappointing 4th place by Takamiya, a 1st place by Date to recover some of those points gave the team and their fans hope. However, Date would end up losing Friday’s game and the team ended up at the very bottom of the standings. Sitting 282.1pts below the cutoff, it is almost mandatory for the team to get four 1sts. They are also facing an issue with Takizawa recovering from COVID-19. Facing the 4th Kadokawa Sakura Knights in all four of those games, a very precise shot at them could make their job a bit easier. If they can hit that bullseye, the team may be revived and have a shot at winning the plate.

This Fifth’s M-League Stats

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And that’s all for this fifth! By the end of the next week, our four finalists will be decided. Can the U-Next Pirates, EX Furinkazan, Akasaka Drivens and Kadokawa Sakura Knights all defend their current positions? Can the Shibuya Abemas and Konami Mahjong Fight Club surprise us and steal a spot? Will a yakuman be in store for us? As always, we’ll just have to wait and see!

Intro | Highlights | Results | Standings