Tuesday (October 29)

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Game 1

Yakuman Tenpai!

October 29, Game 1, E2-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3587

In E2-0, Takamiya is the dealer in 4th place, sitting 8,800 behind 1st place Uchikawa.

Takamiys starting hand is 3-shanten for seven pairs (4-shanten for a standard hand) with pairs of 4m, 7s and 2p. The first row provides her with a pair of 4m and a triplet of 3s to give her the choice between toitoi and chiitoi.

On turn 7, her 2p pair becomes a triplet, bringing her to iishanten. If she draws the 7s, 9s or 4m herself, she will be tenpai for a potential suuankou yakuman.

As she waits, Matsugase gets to tenpai first and calls riichi on a 47m ryanmen wait.

On Takamiya’s turn, she gets the 9s. With a riichi, she waits on a 4m/7s shanpon. If she draws either of them, she will have a yakuman. Two remain in the wall.

Fans are sitting on the edge of their seats, hoping that she will break the 17-month yakuman drought.

In the middle of the third row, Uchikawa draws the last 7s. Only the single 4m remains in the wall. All she needs is one.

On the second-last tile in the wall, Yu dashes the hopes of yakuman hunters as he draws the final 4m, ending the dream.

With Takamiya drawing and discarding the final tile, the hand ends in a draw with just Matsugase and Takamiya tenpai. Yakuman hunters will have to wait another day.

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Yakuman Tenpai!!

October 29, Game 1, E3-3
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2589

In E3-3, Matsugase is in 4th place and 7,500 behind 1st place Takamiya.

With Matsugase’s first 14 tiles, he has 10 unique terminals and honours (with one of them being a pair), Sitting 2-shanten from thirteen orphans, Matsugase only needs a south, west and 9p.

Through the first few turns, we see as three of the souths are discarded, leaving only one for Matsugase. On Matsugase’s fourth turn, he draws a north, putting him just one away from a yakuman tenpai. On his very next turn, he draws the 9p. With few safe tiles to choose from and nobody expecting an early kokushi, Matsugase calls riichi and waits on the final south in the wall.

After the close call just a few hands earlier, yakuman hunters are reinvigorated yet again. However, Matsugase’s opponents may have something to say about that. Not afraid of the yakuman potential, they discard terminals and honours. By the middle of the second row, Takamiya and Yu are both iishanten. With a 2s pon, Takamiya gets to tenpai and waits on a 36p ryanmen.

On Matsugase’s turn, he draws and discards the 6p.

Dealing into Takamiya for Tanyao/Dora 2 for 3,900+900 plus two riichi sticks, Matsugase’s yakuman chance is now a painful deal-in. Yet again, yakuman hunters will have to keep waiting.

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Dama Direct

October 29, Game 1, S3-0

In S3-0, Yu is in 2nd place and 1,300 behind 1st place Takamiya.

Yu starts out with an annoying 5-shanten hand, but has a secured dora 4p and a loosely connected red 5m. After discarding exclusively terminals and honours in the first row, he is a bit closer at 3-shanten.

On turn 7, he creates a ryanmen and guarantees himself a good wait despite still being at 2-shanten. With a few more good draws, Yu gets to tenpai in the middle of the second row and stays dama on a 47m ryanmen, guaranteed a mangan if he wins.

Immediately after, 1st place Takamiya discards the 7m and deals into Yu. Yu wins the hand with Pinfu/Tanyao/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 8,000. With the direct hit off a rival, Yu has a good lead going into the final hand.

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Results

Game 51

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Game 2

Akina Advantage

October 29, Game 2, E1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s70_p2205

In E1-0, Mizuhara is in the starting north seat, trying to carry the momentum after Yu’s win in the first game.

Mizuhara starts out with a strong starting hand, sitting 3-shanten with four ryanmens, basically guaranteeing her a pinfu. Though pinfu is a hand of patience, her hand composition is very good for tile acceptance. By turn 5, she is iishanten.

After most the second row as a bust, Mizuhara finally gets to tenpai at the end of the row and calls riichi on a 14s ryanmen. On her very next draw, she gets the 4s and wins the hand. Mizuhara wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Pinfu/Dora 1 for 2,000/4,000.

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Honitsu

October 29, Game 2, E2-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3086

In E2-0, Shibukawa is the dealer and tied for 2nd place, 10,000 behind 1st place Mizuhara.

Shibukawa’s starting hand is a mix pinzu and stray honours. Though it looks like it could be a hnoitsu, the 8s pair sticks out and none of the honours have a friend. After drawing a pair of green dragons and a flexible 4p in the first three turns, Shibukawa starts to cut the 8s to fully pursue the flush. After drawing a third green dragon and calling a 789p chii, Shibukawa gets to iishanten at the end of the first row, waiting on seven different types of tiles for tenpai.

At the start of the second row, Shibukawa draws a third 1p to get to tenpai and waits on a 23p. If he gets the 3p, he will have an ittsuu and will upgrade the hand to a mangan.

In the middle of the row, Date calls chii with Shibukawa’s discarded red 5m to get to tenpai on a 6p kanchan.

When it comes back around to Shibukawa, he draws the ideal 3p and wins the hand. Shibukawa wins with Honitsu/Ittsuu/Green Dragon for 4,000 all, moving into 1st.

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Akina Ahead

October 29, Game 2, E3-2
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s70_p2206

In E3-2, Mizuhara is in 2nd place and 3,000 behind 1st place Shibukawa. A riichi stick and two honba are in the pot.

Mizuhara starts off with a 3-shanten hand (for both standard and pairs), holding pairs of 4p, 6p and 8p. In the first five turns, Mizuhara makes an 8p triplet and a 123s sequence to get her to iishanten, though she still has no value. On turn 6, she draws a 4s and shifts her hand to pinfu.

At the start of the second row, she draws a red 5m and gives herself a ryanmen-ryanmen iishanten. A turn later, she gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 36m ryanmen. Six remain in the wall.

Two turns later, Mizuhara gets the 6m and wins the hand. Mizuhara wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Tanyao/Aka 1 for 2,000+200/4,000+200 plus a riichi stick, brining Mizuhara’s score above 40,000.

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Mizuhara Mayhem

October 29, Game 2

In S4-2, Mizuhara is the dealer in 1st place, 4,800 ahead of 2nd place Shibukawa. With two riichi sticks and two honba, Mizuhara ideally wants to win the hand and prevent Shibukawa from making a comeback.

Mizuhara starts out the hand at 3-shanten with a connected red 5m.

The first row starts to provide Mizuhara with a bunch of pairs. Even though she started with only one pair at the start of the hand, she ends up with five pairs at the end of the first row.

In the second row, Mizuhara gets to tenpai and waits on a 5m tanki, though none are left in the wall.

With a pon by Date, she discards a 5m trying to get to an effcient iishanten and ends up dealing into Mizuhara. Mizuhara wins the hand with Chiitoi/Aka 1 for 4,800+600 plus two riichi sticks, bringing Mizuhara above 40,000.

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Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5588

In S4-3, Mizuhara starts out by filling in a kanchan and getting herself to iishanten. With two red dragons and a pair of white dragons in the hand, the hand has a chance to be quick and big. On turn 3, she gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 47s/white dragon wait. Just one more han would give her a mangan minimum.

Just three turns later, Mizuhara draws the 7s and wins the hand. Mizuhara wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Aka 2 for 4,000+300 all, pushing Mizuhara above 55,000.

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In S4-4, Mizuhara starts out with pairs of west, 1p, 5p and 8s, putting her 2-shanten for chiitoi. On turn 3, she makes a pair of 4s to get to iishanten. On turn 5, Mizuhara draws a pair of 7s and get to tenpai on a 6s tanki, staying dama.

Soon after, Shibukawa gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 14m ryanmen.

At the start of the second row, Mizuhara draws a 1s. With it being a good wait and having quite a big lead, Mizuhara decides to take the risk and call riichi on a 1s tanki. At the end of the second row, Mizuhara draws and discards the 4s, setting up a suji trap. A few turns later, Date discards the 1s and deals into Mizuhara. Mizuhara wins the hand with Riichi/Chiitoi for 4,800+1,600 plus one riichi stick, bringing Mizuhara above 60,000.

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Results

Game 52

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