Friday (November 22)

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Game 1

Yu Start

November 22, Game 1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5594

In E1-0, the Pirates are playing again after a week break and Suzuki Yu is starting for the team.

Yu starts off the hand 4-shanten with penchans and a kanchan, but has a secured red 5m for value. In the first row, Yu is able to make pairs of 6m, 1s and 7p, but keeps the flexibility to go with a standard hand.

To his left, Hinata is doing quite well with a wide tanyao 2-shanten. Near the end of the second row, Hinata is the first to tenpai and calls riichi on a 5p kanchan.

During the ippatsu round, Yu draws a 4s dora to fill in a kanchan and get to iishanten. For an ideal wait, Yu wants to draw a 4m or 7m to have mangan potential.

Going into the third row, Hori the dealer joins in and waits dama on a 7p kanchan. Unfortunately, all of them are stuck.

On turn 14, Yu draws the 4m to finally get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 47m ryanmen, with the 4m giving iipeikou.

With the danger of two riichi calls and a bad shape, Hori decides to fold his hand. Two turns after calling riichi, Yu draws the perfect 4m and wins the hand. Yu wins the hand with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Iipeikou/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 3,000/6,000 plus Hinata’s riichi stick.

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In E2-0, Yu start out 4-shanten for seven pairs (5-shanten for a standard hand), including a pair of 7p dora. In the first row, Yu adds more potential value with a red 5p and pairs up the red dragon for a potential yaku. At the end of the first row, Yu calls pon on the red dragon and advaces to 2-shanten.

In the second row, Yu pairs up the 8p next to the 7p, causing him to discard the red 5p for maximum efficiency. Filling in a 2s kanchan a turn later, Yu gets to iishanten. While Yu looks for that next step t tenpai, Hinata gets there first and calls riichi on a 36p ryanmen.

With Hinata’s riichi discard, Yu calls a 789m sequence to get to tenpai on a 7p/8p shanpon.

As Hinata and Yu both draw and discard, the dealer Asami builds her hand. In the middle of the third row, Asami gets to tenpai and calls a chasing riichi, throwing the red 5m and waiting on a 58p ryanmen.

Three players are waiting on pinzu, only one can win. On Asami’s ippatsu round, she draws and discards the 7p dora, dealing into Yu. Yu wins the hand with Red Dragon/Dora 3 for 8,000 plus two riichi sticks.

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Hinata

November 22, Game 1, E4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4085

In E4-0, Hinata is in 2nd place and 23,000 behind 1st place dealer Yu.

When we see Yu’s starting hand, he is already iishanten and looks to have a quick hand. As for Hinata, she is much farther at chiitoi 4-shanten (5-shanten for a standard hand). However she has very good value with a pair of 4m dora, a pair of easts and both the red 5s and red 5p. Within the first few turns, Hinata is able to draw a third 4m dora. When the east comes out, Hinata calls pon to advance to 3-shanten.

With Hinata’s pon, The wall shifts for Yu and he is able to fill in his 7s penchan. He calls riichi and waits on a 47m ryanmen.

With lots of value, Hinata keeps pushing. In the second row, Hinata discards the red 5s to get to iishanten. After breaking an 8s pair and completing a 456p sequence with the red 5p, Hinata gets to tenpai and waits on a 58m ryanmen.

On her very next turn, Hinata draws the 5m and wins the hand. Hinata wins with East/Dora 3/Aka 1 for 2,000/4,000 plus Yu’s riichi stick, cutting Yu’s lead by more than half.

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Maki Won’t Lose

November 22, Game 1

In S2-0, Asami is the dealer in 4th place, 8,600 behind 3rd place Hori and very far away from the top two ranks. But of course, she’ll rise above it.

Asami starts out the hand 2-shanten with a dora 4m and a route to tanyao. On turn 3, she draws a 3m to make a 25m ryanmen. On turn 5, she makes a triplet of 4p to get to iishanten. At the end of the row, she draws a 2m to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 7s kanchan.

With nobody holding a good hand, everyone folds and Asami is left to the fate of the wall. Two turns into the third row, Asami draws the 7s and wins the hand. Asami wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Tanyao/Dora 1/Ura 1 for 4,000 all, moving her into 3rd place.

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Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2091

In S2-1, Asami is now just 9,700 behind 2nd place Hinata and 16,100 behind 1st place Yu. With the honba Asami can win a mangan tsumo and move into 1st place.

Asami starts out with a 4-shanten hand with a connected dora 7p and a red 5m. In the first row, Asami does very well to create sequences. Making a 567m sequence and a 234s sequence, Asami gets to a perfect iishanten at the end of the first row.

At the start of the second row, Asami fills in one of her ryanmens and calls riichi on a 69p ryanmen, guaranteed at least a mangan. With a tsumo, she would move into 1st. Near the end of the row, Asami draws the 6p and wins the hand. Asami wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 4,000+100 all, moving into 1st place by 300.

In just two hands, she has defied gravity, going from the very bottom to the top.

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Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s70_p2314

Skipping to S4-0, Asami is back in 2nd place and trailing 1st place Yu by 7,100. To finish in 1st place, Asami needs a 3/30 direct hit, a 3/40 tsumo or a mangan ron.

Asami starts off the hand filling a 7s penchan and getting to 3-shanten. With the red dragon pair as the only clear source of value, she will either have to stay closed or force a honitsu. After drawing a few more souzu in the first row, Asami decides to aim for the honitsu with a hedge on chanta. By the end of the row, she is 3-shanten for honitsu and still waiting to make the red dragon a triplet.

At the start of the second row, Asami calls pon on the 9s to advance to 2-shanten. Soon after, she calls pon on the 3s to get to iishanten. WIth the two calls, she needs to draw either a closed triplet of red dragon or west to have enough value.

At the end of the second row, Asami pairs up the 1s and gets to tenpai on a 1s/red dragon shanpon. Both of the other 1s are discarded and a red dargon is stuck in Yu’s hand. Since Yu will not discard it, Asami is only waiting on the single red dragon left in the wall.

The wall shortens and Asami is running out of time. Then, on Asami’s second-last draw, she manages to get that last red dragon! Asami wins with Honitsu/Red Dragon for 1,300/2,600 to win the game by 700.

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Results

Game 79

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Game 2

Nakabayashi Start

November 22, Game 2, E1-0

In E1-0, Nakabayashi is playing for the U-Next Pirates, trying to get the 1st place that was take from Yu in the very last hand.

Nakabayashi starts out with a good 2-shanten hand, but has an 89m slowing her down. After discarding terminals and honours, Nakabayashi draws the dora 3s to connect to a floating 4m. With six blocks, Nakabayashi breaks his terminal block and gets to tanyao iishanten.

After drawing a red 5p to make an extra pair and then calling pon on the 2m, Nakabayashi gets to tenpai on a 25s ryanmen. Immediately after, Uchikawa discards the 5s and deals into Nakabayashi. Nakabayashi wins the hand with Tanyao/Dora 1/Aka 2 for 8,000.

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Back To Start

November 22, Game 2, E2-0

In E2-0, Uchikawa is in 4th place after dealing into Nakabayashi for a mangan. A mangan win will get him back to his starting score.

Uchikawa starts out the hand at 3-shanten with a secured red 5m and a pair of yakuhai wests. In the first row, Uchikawa draws and connects a red 5p to get to 2-shanten. In the second row, calling pon on the west gets him to iishanten. A turn after that, Uchikawa is the frst to tenpai and waits on a 47p ryanmen.

With Uchikawa’s discard, Futoshi calls a 789m chii to join his 789s chii. All he needs is a 7p to complete the sanshoku. Right after, he draws a 7p and gets to tenpai on a 69s ryanmen. With the 9s, he will have a mangan.

Seeing the danger around him, Shiratori tries his best to avoid it. With a floating 6s and 9s in his hand, as well as a pair of 4p and a 7p, Shiratori has a bunch of landmines in his hand.

As the turns go on, Shiratori has fewer and fewer tiles to guess with. With the very last draw, he draws the 7p and more than half of his hand deals in. With the 4p being safe against a chanta threat, suji on the 14p ryanmen side and one chance with the 47p ryanmen, Shiratori discards the 4p and deals into Uchikawa.

Uchikawa wins the hand with West/Houtei/Aka 2 for 8,000, getting Uchikawa back to his starting score.

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Back To Start

November 22, Game 2, E3-0

In E3-0, Shiratori is in 4th place after dealing into Uchikawa for a mangan. A mangan win will get him back to his starting score.

Before Shiratori even gets his first draw, he calls pon on the non-yakuhai west. When we see his hand, we can see that he is 2-shanten with a secured red 5m and a pair of green dragon. He doesn’t have a yaku secured, but has the options to go for either a 123 sanshoku or the green dragon yakuhai. Near the end of the row, Shiratori calls the green dragon and aims for a potential honitsu for extra value.

Drawing multiple close manzu tiles, Shiratori gets to tenpai in the middle of the second row and waits with a wide 1346m wait.

To his right, 1st place dealer Nakabayashi is also going for a honitsu, but in pinzu. Two turns after Shiratori gets to tenpai, Nakabayashi calls a 789p sequence and waits on a 14p/white dragon wait. Both players have four remaining in the wall.

Near the end of the second row, Shiratori draws the 1m and wins the hand. Shiratori wins with Honitsu/Green Dragon/Aka 1 for 2,000/4,000, getting Shiratori back to his starting score.

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Futoshi First

November 22, Game 2, E4-1

In E4-1, Futoshi is in 4th place, but is just 6000 away from 1st place Nakabayashi.

Nakabayashi starts out the hand 3-shanten for seven pairs (4-shanten for a standard hand) with a connected dora 3s and a red 5p. In the first row, Futoshi simply goes efficiently because of the 9p pair stuck in her hand. He makes good progress in his hand (including drawing a red 5s) and gets to iishanten before the first row is done.

Around him, his opponents are trying to keep Futoshi below them. After opening to speed up his hand, Shiratori gets to tenpai in the second row and waits on a 7s/8p shanpon.

Right after, Nakabayashi gets to tenpai with his manzu honitsu and waits on a white dragon/south shanpon. With no manzu in his discards and a pon of the 9m, Nakabayashi’s intentions are clear to the table.

On Futoshi’s turn, he finally gets to tenpai and waits dama on a 47s ryanmen, guaranteed a mangan if he wins.

On Shiratori’s turn, he draws the 3m. Not wanting to risk it against Nakabayashi, Shiratori tries to fold with the 7s and deals into Futoshi.

Futoshi wins the hand with Pinfu/Dora 1/Aka 2 for 8,000+300, moving him into 1st place.

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Menhon

November 22, Game 2, S3-1

In S3-1, Uchikawa is in 3rd place, 7,400 behind 2nd place Futoshi and 9,700 behind 1st place dealer Nakabayashi.

From the very start we were taken aback by Nakabayashi’s starting hand, already iishanten and holding three of the 4m dora.

When we see Uchikawa’s hand, he is 3-shanten with a connected red 5s. Through the first row, Uchikawa keeps drawing more and more souzu, transforming his hand into a honitsu. By turn 5, Uchikawa is rid of all his off-suits and still has a closed hand. At the end of the first row, draws a 7s. Though he has a chance to go for chinitsu (and possibly nine gates), Uchikawa chooses to take the tenpai he is given and waits on an east/2s shanpon.

Near the end of the second row, Uchikawa draws the 2s and wins the hand. Uchikawa wins with Tsumo/Honitsu/Aka 1 for 2,000+100/4,000+100.

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Fighting For First

November 22, Game 2, S4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2092

In S4-0, Futoshi is in 3rd place, 300 behind 2nd place Nakabayashi and 3,000 behind 1st place dealer Uchikawa. To finish in 1st place, Futoshi needs a 1/50 or 2/25 direect hit, a 2/40 or 3/20 tsumo, or a 2/50 or 3/25 ron.

Futoshi starts out the hand at 3-shanten with a bunch of sequences, but is lacking any assurance in value. In the first three turns, he draws a red 5m and advances to 2-shanten. As Futoshi goes to get his turn 4 draw, he accidentally knocks down the wall and reveals two tiles.

Because two tiles were revealed, Futoshi was given a yellow card, the wall was reconstructed and the game continued.

With the game continuing, Futoshi creates an 8m triplet at the end of the first row to get to iishanten. On turn 8, Futoshi gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 36m ryanmen. With a tsumo or a direct hit, it would be enough. With a ron off anyone other than Uchikawa, he would need an extra han.

A few turns later, Nakabayashi gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 47p ryanmen. With any win, he will move into 1st.

Because of the riichi stick from Nakabayashi, Futoshi can also win off anything and take 1st place.

Sitting in 4th place is Shiratori, 16,500 behind 3rd place Futoshi, 16,800 behind 2nd place Nakabayashi and 19,500 behind 1st place dealer Uchikawa. Having already been aiming for a haneman, a baiman tsumo now with the riichi sticks would actually move him into 1st place, an incredible surprise comeback.

Near the end of the second row, Shiratori gets his sixth pair and calls riichi on an east tanki. If he can get Riichi/Tsumo/Chiitoi/Dora 2/Ura 2, he will have 1st place. One east remains in the wall.

Three players in tenpai, three players with a chance to win. Then, at the start of the third row, Futoshi draws the 3m and wins the hand. Futoshi wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 2,000/4,000 plus two riichi sticks, giving him 1st place and completing the Akasaka Drivens’ daily double.

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Results

Game 80

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