Thursday (November 14)

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Game 1

Ippatsu

November 14, Game 1, E2-1

In E2-1, Sarukawa is in a 3-way tie for 2nd place after Asami called riichi and brought the first hand to a draw. As a result, there is a honba and a riichi stick in the pot.

Sarukawa starts off the hand 3-shanten with quite a few middle tiles. In the first row, he nurtures the tanyao and the possibility of pinfu until he gets to iishanten at the end of the first row. Around the same time, Date gets to iishanten as well. On turn 8, Date is the first to tenpai and calls riichi on a 58p ryanmen.

Right after, Sarukawa gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 36p nobetan.

On Sarukawa’s very next draw, he draws the 6p and wins the hand. Sarukawa wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Tanyao for 2,000+100/4,000+100 plus two riichi sticks, moving into 1st place.

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Dora Dora Dora Aka Aka

November 14, Game 1, E4-0

In E4-0, Asami is in 3rd place, 6,200 behind 2nd place Aki and 12,400 behind 1st place Sarukawa.

From the very beginning, Asami has an incredible hand with a white dragon dora triplet and a connected red 5m. Already set for mangan, she just needs one more han for a haneman. However, she will have some work to do as she is 4-shanten from a standard hand.

In the first few turns, she pairs up the 9m and calls pon to get to get to 2-shanten. Later in the row, she pairs up the 5p and completes a 345m sequence to get to tenpai and waits on a 4p/5p shanpon. With the red 5p still alive, so is the possibility of a haneman.

Just two turns later, Asami draws that red 5p and wins the hand. Asami wins with White Dragon/Dora 3/Aka 2 for 3,000/6,000, pushing her into top spot.

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Sanzou

November 14, Game 1, S2-2
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2088

In S2-2, Asami is the dealer in 1st place, but followed closely by Sarukawa who is just 2,600 behind. A riichi stick and two honba are in the pot.

Sitting 3-shanten at the start, Asami has a connected red 5p with a pair of souths. With almost every draw, she moves her hand forward. Creating simple sequences, her hand shifts towards both tanyao and a 345 sanshoku. By turn 4, she starts to break up her south pair. On turn 5, she gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 36s ryanmen. If she wins on the 3s, she will have a haneman.

At the end of the second row, Asami draws the ideal 3s and wins the hand. Asami wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Tanyao/Sanshoku/Dora 1/Aka 1 for a big 6,000+200 all plus a riichi stick.

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Date

November 14, Game 1

In S3-0, Date is the dealer in 4th place, 11,300 behind 3rd place Aki. With a dealership, she can go just about anywhere.

Date starts out at 3-shanten with a connected 4p dora, a red 5s and a pair of easts. The first row gives Date four ryanmens, but she wasn’t able to advance her hand. In the second row, She fills in two ryanmens and advances to iishanten.

On turn 8, Sarukawa puts pressure on the table by calling riichi on a 258m/8p wait.

Immediately after, Aki gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 4p dora kanchan.

Wanting to get out of 4th place, Date keeps pushing. At the end of the second row, Date calls a 567s chii and gets to tenpai on a 9m/east shanpon. With no other yaku, Date is only allowed to win on the east. Right after, Sarukawa draws and discards the east and deals into Date. Date wins the hand with East/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 5,8000 plus two riichi sticks.

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Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3592

In S3-1, Date is now 2,500 behind 3rd place Aki and 4,000 behind 2nd place Sarukawa.

Date starts out with a 3-shanten starting hand with a connected red 5m. In the first row, she draws a red 5s for value and leans towards tanyao for her yaku. At the end of the row, she gets to iishanten, needing to fill in a 47m ryanmen and a 7s kanchan.

Right after, 2nd place Sarukawa tries to stop the table’s progress by calling riichi and waiting on a 23s wait.

During the ippatsu round, Date pushes ahead and increases her tile acceptance from three types to eight. Two turns later, Date gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a wide 467s wait. On her very next turn, Date draws the 7s and wins the hand. Date wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Tanyao/Aka 2 for 6,000+100 all, moving her above 30,000 and into 2nd place.

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Results

Game 69

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Game 2

Sanzou

November 14, Game 2, E2-0

In E2-0, Sugawara is in 3rd place, 4,800 behind 2nd place dealer Matsugase and 6,400 behind 1st place Takizawa.

Sugawara starts out with a decent 3-shanten hand with a secured red 5p and a floating 2s dora. With a 123 sequence in both pinzu and manzu to go along with the 2s, she has the potential to go for sanshoku. In the first row, she creates a 47m ryanmen for progress and draws a 1s to get her closer to sanshoku.

On turn 5, Sonoda makes the first move by calling riichi and waiting on a 58p ryanmen.

In the middle of the second row, 1st place dealer Matsugase follows up with a 58p ryanmen riichi of his own. If Sugawara discards it, Sonoda will win. If Takizawa discards it, Matsugase will win.

Because of the two riichi calls, Sugawara knows that she has to go faster. With Matsugase riichi tile, Sugawara calls a 456m chii and waits on a 3s penchan. On Matsugase’s next turn, he draws and discards the 3s and deals into Sugawara. Sugawara wins the hand with Sanshoku/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 3,900 plus two riichi sticks, moving her to within just 500 of 1st place.

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Takki Time

November 14, Game 2, E3-1

In E3-1, Takizawa is in 2nd place after just being passed by Sugawara. To take back the lead, he has to close a 7,300 gap.

Takizawa starts out the hand by fills in a penchan to get to 3-shanten. With a 6s dora secured, he also has some value to work with. Over the first four turns, he creates a handful of good shapes in pinzu and gets to a good-wait-guaranteed iishanten. At the start of the second row, Takizawa gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 147p wait. If he wins with the 1p, he will get ittsuu.

At the end of the second row, Sugawara discards the 7p trying to take tenpai and deals into Takizawa. With his pair hitting the uradora, Takizawa wins the hand with Riichi/Pinfu/Dora 1/Ura 2 for 8,000+300, moving into 1st place.

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Sonoda Spike

November 14, Game 2, S1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2089

In S1-0, Sonoda is in 3rd place, 9,700 behind 2nd place Matsugase and 14,200 behind 1st place dealer Takizawa.

Sonoda starts out with a 3-shanten hand with a secured red 5s. In the first row, Sonoda pairs up the green dragons and makes some ryanmens. By the end of the first row, Sonoda gets to 2-shanten.

In the second row, he makes his 8s pair into a triplet and gets to iishanten. Though Sonoda is making good progress, Matsugase is the first to tenpai and calls riichi on a 2m kanchan.

Near the end of the second row, Sonoda draws the dora 5p to get himself to tenpai and calls riichi on a 3s kanchan. During the ippatsu round, Matsugase draws and discards the 3s and deals into Sonoda. Sonoda wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 8,000 plus one riichi stick to move into 2nd place.

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First Chance

November 14, Game 2, S4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2591

In S4-0, 1st place and 4th place are separated by 14,600. This means that a haneman tsumo would get 4th place Sugawara into 1st place. Sitting in 3rd place is Matsugase, who is 9,400 behind 2nd place dealer Sonoda and 11,200 behind 1st place Takizawa.

Before Matsugase even gets his first draw, Sugawara calls pon on the west to go for honitsu. With one red dora in hand, she has a route to move ahead of Matsugase who is just 3,400 ahead. When we get to Matsugase, we see him at 3-shanten, but lacking in value. In the first row, Matsugase leans closer to both pinfu and tanyao. On turn 5, Matsugase gets to iishanten, but still doesn’t have pinfu secured.

In the second row, Matsugase gives himself a chance at iipeikou, but requires some specific draws to get it. With Matsugase’s 6m discard, Sugawara calls pon to keep her honitsu going. Two turns later, Matsugase gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 36s ryanmen. Matsugase will need to draw the 3s himself to get iipeikou and tsumo, plus one more han to get the haneman he wants for 1st place.

During the ippatsu round, Sugawara pairs up the 5m to get to iishanten. With nowhere to go but up, she keeps pushing. While ahead, both Takizawa and Sonoda have a chance to take or keep 1st. At the end of the second row, Takizawa gets to seven pairs tenpai and waits on a green dragon tanki. Winning the hand will secure him his 1st place.

Right after, Sugawara pairs up the north to get to tenpai on a 5m/north shanpon. With Honitsu/Toitoi/Aka 1 guaranteed, drawing a north to add a yakuhai will actually give her haneman and a surprise 1st place.

In the middle of the third row, Sonoda gets to tenpai on a 3s kanchan. If he wins, he will move into 1st, but the game will not end since he is the dealer.

On Takizawa’s turn, he draws a 1p. It makes a triplet and doesn’t help the seven pairs, but it’s too dangerous to discanrd and he folds. With a north draw by Sonoda, he folds as well. On Sugawara’s last draw, she draws the 3s. She discards it and deals into Matsugase. Unable to get the two uradora for haneman, Matsugase wins with Riichi/Pinfu/Tanyao/Iipeikou/Ura 1 for 8,000, finishing the game in 3rd place.

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Results

Game 70

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