M-League 2023-24 Finals: The Teams

The M-League 2023-24 Finals begin on May 6! Today, we’ll take a look at which teams will be playing, how they got here and what they will need to do to succeed.

1st: U-Next Pirates

Regular Season: +887.6pts (1st, 34/23/20/19)

After finishing in 5th place last season, the U-Next Pirates kept the same team to give it another go, knowing that they will be forced to change their lineup if they don’t make it to the playoffs.

At the start, they had a good positive result hovering around +200.0pts to +300.0pts. Around Christmas, the outlook was even more positive with Yu winning his fifth game in a row, beating the old M-League record for most wins in a row.

In January, their record kept going up. By mid-month, they broke the +500.0pts mark. Mizuhara did well in particular and was the month’s MVP.

Though they had a short drop a few weeks after, they returned to their winning ways. After strong fights by Yu, Mizuhara and Nakabayashi, the three of them finished the individual standings in 1st, 3rd and 4th, respectively. For the team, they smashed the M-League record and finished the regular season with a score of +887.6pts.

Semifinals: +549.2pts (Net +105.4pts, 4/7/7/2)

It was a frustrating start of the U-Next Pirates going into the semifinals, getting a double 4th on the second day of the semis and failing to get a 1st place in their first 8 games. Finally, at the midpoint of the semis, Nakabayashi was able keep Taro away and got the team’s first 1st. A few days later, he would get another one. This time, he won 9 hands to match the M-League record of most hands won in a game. The rest of the semifinals had mediocre 2nds and 3rds, but it also meant they didn’t lose too many points because of 4ths.

On their very last day, they were trailing the EX Furinkazan by 84.3pts. With Kobayashi and Yu playing the final games of the semifinals, they managed to get a daily double. By the end of the semifinals, the team went 16 games without a 4th and finished in 1st place.

Going into the Finals: +274.6pts

After being absent from the finals for 4 years, the U-Next Pirates have returned. And during that run 4 years ago in the 2019-20 season, the U-Next Pirates won the championship.

Unlike their run in the semifinals, 4th place avoidance is not enough. Lingering nearby is the persistent EX Furinkazan. Ideally, the team gets 1st in every game. However, a more tangible goal is to merely place above the EX Furinkazan in every game. With placement differences being worth at least 20.0pts, doing this for every game will let them comfortably move above.

However, they must not be complacent. Keep the Kadokawa Sakura Knights and Akasaka Drivens in check, making sure that they don’t get too close.

Though Nakabayashi is was the top player on the team during the semifinals, the cancelled riichi incident left him a bit rattled. In fact, he ended up getting a fever after his game. It may be wise to let him lay back a bit and trust MVP Yu, 3rd place Mizuhara and team captain Kobayashi to do the bulk of the work.

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2nd: EX Furinkazan

Regular Season: -16.6pts (5th, 25/23/21/27)

After making the finals and then failing miserably, they wanted to redeem themselves by bettering their result from last season.

In the first three weeks, they dropped pretty hard. After playing just 11 games, they were down to -240.5pts. In the next 8 weeks after that, they started to make some solid gains. In four of those weeks, they had triple-digit gains and by the end of Week 11, they were just a hair from +300.0pts.

As much as they wanted to break that +300.0pts barrier, they were just unable. With four 4ths on Week 12, they lost -246.3pts, the biggest loss in a single week this season. The losses kept going and going, ending off February in 9th place with a score of -410.2pts.

With just one month to go, they really needed to turn things around. They kicked it into high gear. Playing 16 games during the month, they gained +393.6pts and got 4th place only once. Heading the charge was Katsumata, who managed to make it all the way to 2nd place in the individual standings. With their intense final dash, they finished the regular season in 5th place with a score of -16.6pts.

Semifinals: +512.2pts (Net +520.5pts, 10/5/4/1)

After their run in the March, things did slow down in April. In almost every game they played, they gained points. On April 12, Katsumata and Aki had back-to-back wins. On April 23, the Nikaido sisters had back-to-back wins as well, marking the first time the duo did the daily double. On April 29, they had yet another daily double. Going into the last day, they were going 18 semifinal games without a 4th place. It started off with an unfortunate 4th place by Matsugase to break the streak. However, Aki was able to get the incredible recovery by winning her game with a score of 86,400, the highest score these semifinals. After gaining a whopping +520.5pts and having a record of 10/5/4/1, they go into the finals in 2nd place, a far cry from the 9th place they were at just two months ago.

Going into the Finals: +256.1pts

In the 2020-21 season, the EX Furinkazan had an ultimatum: If they did not make the top 3, one player will be removed. If they don’t make the semifinals, all of them are gone. With this in the minds, the team managed to win the whole thing. Going into these finals 3 years later, two players from the original team remain.

With the past two month going at max speed, they have to make sure that they don’t lose it in these last 16 games. The EX Furinkazan is the only team in these finals to make it last season. This also means that they are the only team to experience a 16-game finals (first implemented last season). This will give the slight advantage of knowing how to pace themselves compared to the others. They’ve already experienced going into the finals in 1st and ended up finishing 4th. Learn from last season and success will follow.

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3rd: Kadokawa Sakura Knights

Regular Season: +247.2pts (3rd, 28/23/19/26)

After missing the finals last season, they kept the same roster and looked to repeat their championship win two seasons ago. If they don’t make the playoffs this season, they will have to say goodbye to someone.

The first five weeks of the season didn’t go so well and they dropped to the very bottom of the standings. With the need to keep their team together, they started to turn things around. In just six weeks, they went from 9th to 1st, from -150.0pts to +300.0pts.

From that point, they hovered around +300.0pts, flowing just above and just below the line. As they lingered there, the other teams started to catch up. In Weeks 19 and 20, they had their big break, gaining almost 200.0pts over those two weeks to put the team above +550.0pts and holding a more than 100.0pts lead over the next team.

Unfortunately, things started to drop from there. Over the next 3 weeks, they lost almost -400.0pts, including a -196.4pts loss in a single week. They were able to recover a bit during the last four weeks, but the damage was done. Still, they managed to make it to the semifinals in 3rd place.

Semifinals: +86.8pts (Net -36.8pts, 3/7/6/4)

In their first four games, they ended with two 4ths and not a single 1st, dropping the team into 6th place early. However, like in the regular season, an early drop is just the catalyst to spring back to life. In their next four games, they had a 2/2/0/0 record to bring them back up to 3rd place. From there, they stayed around the same score. When they got a 3rd, they balanced it with a 2nd. When they got a 4th, they got a 1st soon after. By the end of the finals, they remained in 3rd place.

Going into the Finals: +43.4pts

The Kadokawa Sakura Knights return to the finals after missing a year. The last time they were in the finals in the 2021-22 season, they won the championship.

Playing the most number of games of any player in the semifinals, Hori has proved his ability to endure. In the seven games he played, he avoided 4th place in all of them. He will be the one to rely on when the team gets into a tough position.

Despite playing in just three games, Uchikawa dealing in only once in the semifinals is a good indication that he is a strong candidate for point preservation. Okada has the experience of playing on the championship winning team two seasons ago and Shibukawa is a strong overall player playing in his first finals. If the team can optimize the strengths of each individual player, they will succeed as a team.

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4th: Akasaka Drivens

Regular Season: +345.3pts (2nd, 26/25/22/23)

With the team forced to change their team, they brought in two new players, Watanabe Futoshi and Asami Maki.

In the first 8 weeks, they started off a bit positive and then dropped down to below -100.0pts. By the end of those 8 weeks, they wre solidly in 7th place and more than 100.0pts away from 6th.

Then they started gaining. Over the next five weeks, they gained points, ending up near +300.0pts and in 1st place around Game #100. After that, they spent most of their time between +150.0pts and +300.0pts, flip-flopping up and down.

On February 26, 2024, something magical happened. Taro sat down and expected to play a normal game. Then he kept winning and winning and winning. At the peak, he had a score of 127,100. He finished the game with a score of 112,800, beating the M-League record by 100. In that week alone, they gained +222.8pts, the most by a single team at the time. They were also the third team to break the +500.0pts barrier this season.

Though they lost a good amount of it after, their score of +345.3pts was good enough to put them 2nd in the standings.

Semifinals: +37.8pts (Net -134.9pts, 4/5/4/7)

The team had a rough start in their first three games, getting only 3rds and 4ths and putting them just 31.6pts away from falling to the bottom. With a big win in the last hand, Futoshi was able to get the team’s first 1st place in about 3 years.

Though Taro struggled quite a bit, having an 83.33% 4th place rate, the rest of the team was able to make up for most of it. Futoshi was able to avoid 4th in all his games and Sonoda was net positive. The team managed to hold onto the final spot and finished in 4th.

Going into the Finals: +18.9pts

Five years ago in the 2018-19 season, the very first season, the Akasaka Drivens went into the finals in 4th place and was the first team to win the championship. This year, there are looking to be the first team to do it twice.

With Taro struggling recently, much of the focus should be put on newcomer Futoshi and veteran team captain Sonoda. Both players were positive in the regular season and the finals, and Futoshi sits in the top 5 in the semifinal individual standings.

However, Asami must not be forgotten, despite a difficult semifinals, she had the 4th-best hand win rate in the league during the semifinals. If she can channel back that energy while reducing her deal-in rate, the team can drive forward to a championship win.