Friday (November 29)

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Game 1

Kurosawa

November 29, Game 1, E4-0

In E4-0, Kurosawa is in 3rd place, 500 behind 2nd place dealer Shibukawa and 1,200 behind 1st place Ooi.

Kurosawa starts out the hand at 4-shanten, leaning towards sequences. In the first row, she draws a red 5m for value and creates a 678p sequence for iishanten. To get pinfu, she will need to draw the 8s or build elsewhere.

In the second row, Kurosawa draws a 2p to connect to a 3p, giving her a ryanmen-ryanmen iishanten and guaranteeing her pinfu. On turn 9, she draws the 4p and calls riichi on a 47m ryanmen. At the end of the row, she draws the 4m and wins the hand. Kurosawa wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 2,000/4,000.

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Yu

November 29, Game 1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5597

In S1-0, Yu is in 4th and would need to more than triple his score to even make it to 1st place. Starting his last dealership, this is his last real chance to make good progress.

Yu starts out the hand at an annoying 5-shanten hand with no value to be seen. Sequences start to fall into place, getting connecting middle tiles. By the end of the first row, he is 2-shanten.

Going through the second row, Yu is still missing his pair but has multiple options for good waits. On turn 10, he gets to iishanten.

To his left, Ooi makes the first move and calls riichi on a 36s ryanmen.

Two turns after, Yu chases Ooi with a 36m ryanmen. On his very next draw, Yu gets the dora 6m and wins the hand. Yu wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Pinfu/Dora 1/Ura 1 for a big 6,000 all plus a riichi stick. With that single win, Yu jumps up to 2nd place.

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Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s70_p2346

In S1-1, Yu is now in 2nd place and 5,100 behind 1st place Kurosawa.

Yu starts out with a much better starting hand this time, being 3-shanten with another sequence-based hand. Though, the first row only gets Yu to 2-shanten. For the pinfu potential, he still needs to form a block and fill in a 5m kanchan.

On turn 7, Yu gets the 5m and advances to iishanten. In the middle of the row, Yu draws the dora 6s to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 47s ryanmen.

Looking right Ooi has been working hard to balance pushing and folding. Over the past few turns, Ooi has been going in and out of tenpai, holding yakuless waits and bad shapes. With no real way to challenge Yu, Ooi chooses to fold. In the third row, though, he starts to run out of safe tiles. On the very last turn of the hand, he has nothing. Seeing three 5s visible to him, the 7s seems like the safest tile, yet still dangerous since it’s right next to the dora. After taking more than two minutes to think, Ooi takes the chance with the 7s and ends up dealing into Yu.

Yu wins the hand with Riichi/Pinfu/Houtei/Dora 1 for 12,000+300, moving into 1st place.

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Conquering Pirates

November 29, Game 1, S4-4

In S4-4, there are two riichi sticks and four honba waiting for the next winner, a total of 3,200 in bonuses. For 4th place Ooi, any win will be enough to close the 3,900 gap on 3rd place dealer Shibukawa. For 2nd place Yu, he has a wider 5,900 gap to fill. To win the game, he needs any direct hit, a 2/40 tsumo, or a 2/50 or 3/25 ron.

Yu starts out the hand the hand 4-shanten with no sign of value. There’s no good route to get to 3 han, let alone 2 or 1 han. On nturn 3, Yu pairs the double south to get to 3-shanten. Assuming he can make ito a triplet, he still needs one more han to an easy path to 1st place. Keeping his option open, he holds onto stray tiles that can connect to the red fives or the dora 8p. Through the rest of the first row, Yu calls pon on the south and moves to 2-shanten.

In the second row, Yu makes some advances, but continues to lack value, whether for the tsumo or the general ron. Whil he tries to find it, Ooi makes his own progress, calling a 678s chii and aiming for tanyao.

In the middle of the second row, Yu draws the red 5s, the perfect tile. Now sitting tenpai, Yu waits on a 6m kanchan, waiting to win.

On Ooi’s turn, he draws an extra 6m. The only way that he won’t discard it is if he confirms it as his triplet or his pair.

Right after, Shibukawa gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 5s kanchan, guaranteed at least a mangan if he wins. With a direct hit off Yu, Shibukawa can move into 2nd place.

With a path to 1st place Yu simply (well, not simply) pushes dangerous tiles. For Ooi, he keeps advancing and his 566m shape looks more and more like a deal-in. At the start of the third row, Ooi calls a chii and discards the 6m trying to take a 47m ryanmen, dealing into Yu.

With a ron, Yu wins the hand with Double South/Aka 1 for 3,900+1,200 plus three riichi sticks, finishing the game in 1st place.

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Results

Game 87

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Game 2

Hori

November 29, Game 2

In E2-0, Hori is in 2nd place with his starting score, 3,600 behind 1st place dealer Setokuma.

Hori starts out the hand 5-shanten, but tanyao seems like the clear path to take. Hori quickly draws connecting middle tiles, forming sequences in all suits and getting to iishanten before the row is done. To his right, Kobayashi calls twice to get to iishanten as well.

In the middle of the second row, Hori is the first to tenpai and calls riichi on a 58m/2p wait.

Right after, Kobayashi gets to tenpai and waits on a 25m ryanmen.

Hori has four remaining tiles while Kobayashi has two. At the end of the second row, Hori draws the 2p and wins the hand. Hori wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Tanyao/Aka 1 for 2,000/4,000, moving into 1st place.

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In E3-0, Hori the dealer starts out with a very strong 2-shanten hand with a secured red 5p. If Hori fills in the 2m kanchan, he will be guaranteed pinfu. On turn 4, he draws the 2m and advances to iishanten. needing to complete a 47s ryanmen and a 58m ryanmen.

Despite the good wait, Hori is unable to draw what he wants. With a pon on the green dragon, Shiratori is the first to tenpai and waits on a 47s ryanmen.

At the end of the second row, Kobayashi gets to tenpai next and calls riichi on a 25s ryanmen.

During Kobayashi’s ippatsu round, Kobayashi draws the 4s to finally get to tenpai. He calls riichi and waits on a 58m ryanmen. Right after, Kobayashi draws and discards the 8m and deals into Hori. Getting the uradora, Hori wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Pinfu/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 12,000 plus Kobayashi’s riichi stick, lifting Hori up to 46,000.

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Kuma Kuma Time

November 29, Game 2, E3-1

In E3-1, Setokuma is in 2nd place, 2,600 ahead of 3rd place Shiratori and 21,400 behind 1st place Hori.

Setokuma starts out with a near-perfect starting hand, sitting 2-shanten with two red fives, two ryanmens and tanyao guaranteed. With the wide hand and wide value, Setokuma tries to maximize his efficiency. In the middle of the second row, Setokuma calls a 567s chii and gets to iishanten. Right after, Kobayashi calls an east pon and gets to tenpai on a 14m ryanmen.

For Setokuma, he has 9 different tiles to get to tenpai, all of them giving him a good wait. At the start of the second row, Setokuma calls a 456p chii and waits on a 36m ryanmen, wanting the 6m for a mangan.

On Kobayashi’s next draw, he draws the fourth east and calls an added kan. The flip makes the 8s the new dora, adding two han to Setokuma’s hand. With Kobayashi’s rinshan draw, he gets the 6m dora. Wanting to keep tenpai, he discards it and deals into Setokuma.

Setokuma wins the hand with Tanyao/Dora 3/Aka 2 for 12,000+300, getting closer to Hori and moving Kobayashi into the negatives.

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Sho Time

November 29, Game 2

In E4-1, Shiratori is in 3rd place, 14,900 behind 2nd place Setokuma and 24,000 behind 1st place Hori. 1,300 in bonuses awaits the next winner.

Shiratori starts off with a nice 2-shanten hand with a good chance at pinfu, tanyao, sanshoku, iipeikou, or any combination of those yaku. On turn 2, he pairs up the 9p, killing the tanyao but advancing him to iishanten. With a 3m draw, he would have a 345 sanshoku. On turn 3, Shiratori draws a 7m to complete a ryanmen and calls riichi on a 36m ryanmen. If he wins on the 3m, he will have a mangan.

Through the rest of first row and throught the second, Shiratori keeps missing despite having so many winning tiles left.

Then, at the start of the third row, Shiratori draws the 6m. Though it isn’t the 3m he wants, the wall provides him with a replacement, making his 9p pair the uradora. Shiratori wisn the hand with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Ura 2 for 2,000+100/4,000+100 plus a riichi stick.

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In S1-0, Shiratori is now the dealer, 3,500 behind 2nd place Setokuma and 12,600 behind 1st place Hori.

Shiratori starts off the hand at 4-shanten with a triplet of 6p and a connected dora 7s. The first row gives her an 89p shape and a 789s sequence, forcing Shiratori to stay closed. However, he does advance quickly, getting to iishanten before the row is done. The 7p penchan remains as the sticking point.

In the second row, Hori gets to tenpai, but has no yaku and poses no threat to Shiratori. Near the end of the row, Shiratori gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 7p penchan.

To his right, Setokuma is moving forward with his seven pairs hand, easily compatible with the dangerous riichi. At the end of the row, he gets to tenpai on a 9s tanki. Unfortunately, he draws the 6s on his next draw. Not wanting to discard either tile near the dora, he folds.

Near the middle of the third row, Shiratori draws the last 7p in the wall and wins the hand. Shiratori wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Dora 1 for 2,000 all, taking Shiratori into 2nd place.

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In S1-1, Shiratori is now 4,600 behind 1st place Hori. Any 3-han hand will put him into 1st.

Shiratori’s is gifted an obvious Junchan/Sanshoku hand, holding the framework for a 1st place hand. He sits 3-shanten for that combination, needing to fill in an 8p kanchan and a 8s kanchan to confirm the sanshoku. On turn 2, he pairs up the 1p and gets to 2-shanten. By the end of the row, Shiratori has a 112s shape, giving him options for the fourth group.

In the middle of the second row, Shiratori fills in the 8p kanchan and gets to iishanten. With a 1s pon within the next go-around, Shiratori gets to tenpai and waits on an 8s kanchan. Soon after, Hori discards the 8s and deals into Shiratori. Shiratori wins the hand with Junchan/Sanshoku for 5,800+300, moving into 1st place.

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After winning a quick cheap hand in S1-2, Shiratori keeps it going in S1-3.

Wih a 3-shanten tanyao hand with a secured red 5s, Shiratori has a good chance to win this hand as well. The first row makes a 45666s shape for Shiratori, giving him options for a wide wait. By turn 5, he is 2-shanten with a good wait guaranteed.

To Shiratori’s right, Setokuma has a quick hand too, but has no yaku. At the end of the row, Setokuma has a yakuless tenpai, waiting with a 6m/9m shanpon and hoping to imrove it somehow.

In the second row, Shiratori makes his souzu block into a 3456666s shape. With the sequence and four 6s, Shiratori calls a concealed kan. With the 3s as the new dora, Shiratori adds one more han to his hand.

Because of the new dora, Setokuma now has an extra han as well and another chance at uradora. WIth the added value, Setokuma decides to call riichi on his 6m/9m shanpon.

With 8 different tiles to get Shiratori to tenpai and holding the makings of a mangan, Shiratori pushes. At the end of the row, Shiratori gets to tenpai and waits dama on a 58p ryanmen. Immediately after, Setokuma draws and discards the 8p and deals into Shiratori. Shiratori wins the hand with Tanyao/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 9,600+900 plus Setokuma’s riichi stick, boosting Shiratori’s score up to 56,000.

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Honitsu

November 29, Game 2, S2-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5084

In S2-0, Setokuma is the dealer 3rd place and 12,000 behind 2nd place Hori. With a dealer mangan, he can tie Hori. If he wins by tsumo or by direct hit, he will be sole 1st place.

From the very start, Setokuma is iishanten for chiitoi with pairs of 5m (including the red 5m), 8m, 9m, 9p and south. He draws the 4m and misses the double riichi chance, but it does push her hand towards a honitsu. With the south yakuhai and the red 5m, an open hand is the quicker route to a mangan.

During the first go-around, Setokuma calls pon on the south and starts to get rid of the 9p pair. With a pon on the 9m right after, Setokuma gets to iishanten.

Going into the second row, Setokuma is still unable to get any of the eight manzu tiles to get him to tenpai. In the middle of the row, Setokuma draws the 9m, the only manzu tile that doesn’t get him to tenpai. Since he already has an open triplet of 9m, he calls an added kan. Getting a 3m as his rinshan, Setokuma gets to tenpai on a wide 147m wait. Seven remain in the wall.

Across the table, Kobayashi is trying to get any win to escape his -16,600 position. Thanks to Setokuma’s riichi, Kobayashi’s east and 5p pairs are now both dora. With seven pairs, he already has a haneman. Soon after Setokuma, Kobayashi gets to tenpai on an 8m tanki, but is denied immediately after. A few turns later, Kobayashi switches to a white dragon tanki and calls riichi.

Setokum has five winning tiles while Kobayashi has two. In the third row, Setokuma draw sthe 7m and wins the hand. Setokuma wins with Honitsu/South/Aka 1 for 4,000 all plus a riichi stick, jumping up to 2nd place.

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Quick Closing

November 29, Game 2, S4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4087

In S4-0, 1st place Shiratori has been sitting at the table for more than an hour and a half and simply wants to finish the game.

With Shiratori’s first thirteen tiles, he is already iishanten and has a chance at a double riichi. Though the double riichi doesn’t come, he has the makings of a quick hand. Though he has quite a few misses in the first row, Shiratori gets to tenpai at the end of the row and calls riichi on a 14s ryanmen (the 4s giving sanshoku). His winning tile came on fast, taking only a turn for the 1s to be picked. Getting an uradora, Shiratori wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Ura 1 for 2,000/4,000, finishing the game with 65,900.

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Results

Game 88

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Intro | Standings