Friday (December 27)

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Game 1

Pairs

December 27, Game 1, E2-1

In E2-1, Rumi is in 2nd place and just 1,000 behind 1st place Shiratori. With a riichi stick and a honba in the pot, any win would move her up.

Rumi starts out the hand the hand with pairs of 5s (including the red 5s), 6s and 7m, putting her 3-shanten from seven pairs. Early on, Nakada calls twice to make her manzu honitsu obvious, but she is far from tenpai. Rumi, on the other hand, waits patiently and picks up pairs. By the middle of the first row, she has an east and 2p pair to put her one away.

At the start of the second row, Rumi gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a white dragon tanki.

To her right, Shiratori is also going for seven pairs and is sitting iishanten. After avoiding the ippatsu with a safe north, Shiratori gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a west dora tanki, guaranteed at least a mangan if he wins.

Immediately after, Rumi draws the white dragon and wins the hand. Rumi wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Chiitoi/Aka 1 for 2000/+100/4,000+100 plus two riichi sticks.

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Top The Top

December 27, Game 1, S2-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4095

In S2-0, Shiratori is the dealer in 2nd place and 11,700 behind 1st place Rumi. Having gotten four 1sts in a row, Shiratori wants to win this game and tie the M-League record of 5 wins.

Shiratori starts out the hand at 4-shanten and lacking value. From the looks of the hand, the only way to build vaue is to create sequences. In the first row, he gets rid of the stray honours and terminals, but is still stuck at a standard 2-shanten. In fact, the hand is just a bit closer to seven pairs, having already four completed.

In the second row, shapes start to fill in. On turn 8, Shiratori draws a red 5m and throws a 2p from a 1223p shape, confirming his standard pursuit. On turn 9, he draws another 5m to complete a 456m iipeikou and get to iishanten. A turn later, he gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 25s ryanmen.

At the end of the second row, Shiratori draws the 2s and wins the hand. Shiratori wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Iipeikou/Aka 1 for 4,000 all, moving into 1st place.

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Rumi Resistance

December 27, Game 1, S3-0

In S3-0, Rumi is the dealer in 2nd place and 4,300 behind Shiratori. With the team in dire straits, Rumi wants to take this game and close the gap on their rivals.

Rumi starts out the hand at 3-shanten with three blocks. On turn 2, she creates a 369s three-wided wait to get to 2-shanten, but she is still missing her pair. On turn 3, she pairs up the 7m and gets to iishanten. After drawing a pair of 8p over the next few turns, she adds the option to tanyao to her hand.

Near the middle of the second row, Rumi draws the 9s, calls riichi and throws the red 5p, hoping to catch someone with the trap. Two turns later, Rumi draws the 8p and wins the hand. Rumi wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Ura 1 for 2,000 all, moving ahead of Shiratori.

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This Is The Greatest Sho

December 27, Game 1

In S3-1, Shiratori is in 2nd place and 3,700 behind 1st place dealer Rumi. Time is running out for Shiratori to secure his fifth win.

Shiratori starts out with a very strong starting hand, holding a triplet of 2p and pairs of 3p, 5p, 9s and white dragon. With these groups he can go either the iishanten pairs route or the 2-shanten toitoi route. On turn 2, Shiratori confirms the triplet pursuit by calling pon on the 9s and getting to iishanten. Two truns later, he calls pon on the white dragon and waits on a 3p/5p shanpon.

In the middle of the second row, Shiratori gets the perfect red 5p and wins the hand. Shiratori wins with Toitoi/White Dragon/Aka 1 for 2,000+100/4,000+100.

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Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4096

In S4-0, Shiratori is the leader in the very last hand, Holding a 9,300 lead over Rumi. The surest way to win the game is to win the hand.

With Shiratori’s first draw, he fills in a kanchan and ges to 2-shanten. On turn 3, he fills in a ryanmen for iishanten, leaving him with a 14m ryanmen and pairs of 3p and 8p. On turn 4, he draws a 4m. He stays dama, waiting yakuless on a 3p/8p to reduce risk and hope for a better wait.

As the 8p comes out from Honda, all Shiratori can do is watch it. On Shiratori’s next draw, he drastically improves the hand to a 69p ryanmen, adding pinfu. With all 8 winning tiles left in the wall, things are looking perfect for Shiratori. At the end of the row, Nakada draws and discards the 6p and deals into Shiratori. Shiratori wins the hand with Pinfu only for 1,000.

WIth the win, Shiratori matches the record of 5 wins in a row, sharing the title with Suzuki Yu who did on Christmas last year.

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Results

Game 119

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Game 2

Stick Collector

December 27, Game 2, E1-4

In E1-4, the game has been fairly quiet with the first three hands all going to a draw. As a result, there are three riichi sticks and four honba in the middle, giving the next winner an extra 4,200. Daisuke and Shiratori are tied for 3rd place with 20,500, Setokuma is in 2nd place with 22,500 and Rumi is the dealer in 1st with 33,500.

Rumi starts out the hand at 4-shanten with a pair of green dragons and a loosely-connected red 5m. To her left, Shiratori is 3-shanten for both a standard and pairs hand. The first row only provides Shiratori with one more pair, while Rumi gets to 2-shanten by filling in a 7s kanchan and making a south pair.

At the start of the second row, Rumi calls a 345m chii to secure the red 5m and get to iishanten. For Shiratori, he makes a pair of 5s and the 6s as a triplet. With tanyao shapes and chiitoi still available, he breaks his completed 123s sequence to aim for something faster. By the middle of the second row, Shiratori is tenpai and calls riichi on a 47p ryanmen, wanting a 4p for mangan minimum.

Back to Rumi, she breaks her south pair while maintaining iishanten. At the start of the third row, she gets to tenpai and waits on a 9p/green dragon shanpon. As luck would have it, Daisuke discards the green dragon trying to take iishanten and deals into Rumi. Rumi wins the hand with Green Dragon/Aka 1 for 2,900+1,2000 plus four riichi sticks, pushing her up to above 40,000.

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Sanankou

December 27, Game 2, S2-1

In S2-1, Setokuma is in 3rd place, just 200 behind 2nd place Shiratori.

Setokuma starts out with a fairly messy 4-shanten hand, having no solid foundation for a yaku or value. As he starts out with the usual fare of honour and termina discards, Setokuma’s hand magically transforms. Getting triplets of 8s and 3m, as well as a red 5p as part of a 45p shape, his hand is iishanten by the end of the row.

At the start of the second row, Setokuma draws a third west and gets to tenpai on a 36p ryanmen. He stays dama, keeping the chance at a suuankou or suuankou tanki yakuman alive.

On his very next draw, Setokuma draws his winning 3p and takes the win. Setokuma wins with Tsumo/Sanankou/Aka 1 for 2,000/4,000, giving him a decent hold on 2nd place.

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Shiratori Shift

December 27, Game 2, S3-0

In S3-0, Shiratori is in 3rd place and 10,200 behind 2nd place dealer Setokuma. A mangan tsumo or a haneman ron now would move him back into 2nd.

Shiratori starts out the hand with a triplet of 1p and a 4567p shape. With a pair of wests as well, Shiratori aims for a pinzu honitsu right away, breaking his 89s block. Through the first row, he makes a pair of white dragons and calls pon on it to get to iishanten. Soon after, he calls a 345p chii and waits on a 58p ryanmen.

As Shiratori waits, Rumi calls chii on the red 5s and advances to iishanten. A few turns later, she gets to tenpai on a 3p kanchan.

Near the end of the row, Setokuma joins in and calls riichi on a 9m/6s shanpon.

Rumi wants to move the game along, Setokuma wants to keep and extend his dealership, Shiratori wants to move up. Only one player can have their dreams come true.

In the middle of the third row, Setokuma draws and discards the 5p and deals into Shiratori. Shiratori wins the hand with Honitsu/White Dragon for 5,200 plus a riichi stick. With the direct hit off Setokuma, Shiratori is now in 2nd place going into the final hand.

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Pass And Profit

December 27, Game 2, S4-0

In S4-0, Setokuma is in 3rd place and 2,200 behind 2nd place Shiratori. To finish the game in 2nd, Setokuma needs a 1/40 direct hit, a 1/50 or 2/25 tsumo (to tie) or a 2/40 ron.

From the start, Setokuma has a pair of souths and a red 5m as part of a pair. Two han is there, but he needs a bit more in order to have some assurance. The first row gives hims sequences to advance his hand to 2-shanten, but the sequences don’t quite give him the value he needs.

In the middle of the second row, Setokuma calls a 234s sequence to advance to iishanten. With a 234p chii soon after, Setokuma is left with a 25p ryanmen and his two pairs. With a south pon at the end of the row, he gets to tenpai on the 25p ryanmen. Because the hand is only worth 2/30, he can only win by tsumo or direct hit if he wants a positive score.

Within the go-around, Daisuke discards the 2p.

But Setokuma passes!

When Rumi discards the 5p later…

…Setokuma passes again! Setokuma’s eyes are set on 2nd place.

However, danger appears as Shiratori calls riichi on a 5p kanchan in the middle of the second row.

But that riichi is just what Setokuma needs. With the extra stick, Setokuma can now win from anyone. Two turns later, Shiratori draws and discards the 2p and deals into Setokuma. Setokuma wins the hand with South/Aka 1 for 2,000 plus a riichi stick, finishing in 2nd place.

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Results

Game 120

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