Monday (January 6)

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Game 1

Ura Ura

January 6, Game 1, E2-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2598

In E2-0, Aki is tied for 1st place with 27,100. With the game still young, there’s still a lot of chances to extend it or lose it.

Aki starts out the hand with an incredible 5p dora triplet, including the red 5p. Sitting at 2-shanten, she has the chance to make this a quick and expensive hand. On turn 3, she advances to iishanten, but holds a 3p penchan that slows down her hand. In the latter part of the row, she breaks the penchan, but ends up drawing the 3p after breaking it.

However, she still has a chance to recover. At the end of the row, she creates a 789s sequence to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 34p wait. A single 3p remains in the wall.

In the middle of the second row, Aki draws that final 3p and wins the hand. With the 3p also being the uradora, Aki wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Dora 3/Aka 1/Ura 2 for a big 4,000/8,000 baiman.

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Haitei

January 6, Game 1, S1-0

In S1-0, Mizuhara is in 3rd place and 3,900 behing 2nd place Uchikawa.

From the very start, Mizuhara is 2-shanten with a sequence-based hand and has a dora 7s secured. On turn 2, she fills in a 3p penchan to get to iishanten, waiting on 10 different tiles to get her to tenpai. On turn 4, she gets one of them and calls riichi on a 4p kanchan.

Aki and Genta fold, but Uchikawa tries to fight. But try as he might, he just can’t get himself to tenpai safely. With no one really challenging Mizuhara, she is left to wait and see. Only a single 4p remains in the wall.

When everything seemed hopeless, Mizuhara draws the final tile in the wall and reveals the 4p, winning the hand. Mizuhara wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Haitei/Dora 1 for 2,000/4,000, pushing her up to 2nd place.

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Switch

January 6, Game 1, S2-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s70_p2483

In S2-1, Uchikawa is in 4th place, 1,500 behind 3rd place Genta and 6,100 behind 2nd place Mizuhara.

Sitting in Uchikawa 4-shanten starting hand are three ryanmens, give him clear sequence mandate. However, the nature of pinfu means that he can’t open his hand without sacrificing a lot of potential value. By the end of the first row, he is iishanten with a good chance at tanyao as well.

To his right, however, Aki is cooking up an expensive hand. With a hidden green dragon dora triplet, she is ready to hit someone with something big. After calling pon on both the 1m and 9s, she is the first to tenpai and waits on a 3m kanchan. However, none remain in the wall.

Near the end of the row, Uchikawa finally gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 47p ryanmen. With a 7p win, he will have a mangan.

During the ippatsu round, Mizuhara chases and waits on a 25p ryanmen. If she wins with the 5p, she will add sanshoku, with one more han after that upgrading her to a haneman.

With Shibukawa’s single 7p against Mizuhara’s three winning tiles, it seems like Mizuhara will take the hand. However, even a single tile can win. On Mizuhara’s second-last draw, she draws and discards the 7p and deals into Uchikawa. Uchikawa wins the hand with Riichi/Pinfu/Tanyao/Iipeikou for 8,000+300 plus a riichi stick, moving Uchikawa up to 2nd place and Mizuhara down to 4th.

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Pinfu Plus

January 6, Game 1, S3-0

In S3-0, Aki is in 1st place and has almost double the points as 2nd place Uchikawa. With the EX Furinkazan currently in 8th place in the standings, she needs to get as many points as she can to help lift the team up.

Aki starts out the hand at 3-shanten with a floating dora 5p. To her left, Uchikawa, is 2-shanten. In the first row, forms a few sequence shapes and draws a red 5p on turn 5 to give her a base for mangan. For Uchikawa, he sits iishanten wiht a ryanmen and a penchan.

At the start of the second row, Uchikawa fills in the ryanmen, throws the 6p and calls riichi on a 3p penchan.

With a 6p and a few loose honours, Aki is able to advance her hand safely. In the middle of the row, Aki gets to tenpai as well and waits dama on a 14m ryanmen, guaranteed at least a mangan if she wins.

Soon after, Mizuhara joins in and calls riichi on a 2p/3p shanpon. Sitting before Uchikawa, Mizuhara has the advantage in a headbump situation.

Immediately after, Uchikawa draws and discards the 4m and deals into Aki. Aki wins the hand with Pinfu/Dora 2/Aka 1 for 8,000 plus two riichi sticks. With the win, Aki is now has more than triple the score of 2nd place.

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Sneaking Second

January 6, Game 1, S4-1

In S4-1, Genta is in 3rd place and 1,600 behing 2nd place Uchikawa. To take 2nd place, Genta needs any direct hit or tsumo. A 1/40 ron would be enough for a tie, with anything higher than that giving him sole 2nd.

Genta starts out the hand pairing up the green dragon to give him a potential yaku. However, it’s not enough to guarantee 2nd. Within the first row, Genta calls pon, hoping to either pick up a dora later, win by tsumo or get a direct hit. By the end of the first row, he is 2-shanten.

To his right, Uchikawa holds an iishanten hand with a callable tanyao. The battle between the two will determine who will take 2nd place.

In the middle of the row, Genta calls pon on the 2p to get to iishanten. Soon after, Uchikawa calls pon on the 7s to get to tenpai, waiting on a 58m ryanmen.

With a 234s chii, Genta gets to tenpai and waits on a 36m ryanmen, needing a direct hit or tsumo. On his very next draw, Genta gets the 3m and wins the hand. Genta wins with Green Dragon only for 300+100/500+100, just enough to take 2nd place by 400.

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Results

Game 121

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Game 2

Go-ing First

January 6, Game 2, E1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s70_p2485

In E1-0, Kobayashi is playing for the U-Next Pirates, trying to recover the points lost in the previous game’s loss.

Kobayashi starts out the hand at 2-shanten with a secured 3m dora and pairs of yakuhai south and white dragon. On turn 4, Kobayashi makes a 6s triplet and advances him to iishanten. Soon after, Kobayashi calls pon on the white dragon and gets to tenpai on a 7m/south shanpon. At the start of the second row, Kobayashi improves his wait to a 69m ryanmen.

To his right, Kayamori is trying to push her own hand. At the end of the first row, Kayamori calls a 567m sequence and gets to iishanten. In the middle of the second row, Kayamori calls an 8s triplet and waits on a 4m kanchan.

Near the end of the second row, Kobayashi draws the dora 3m. Not waiting to throw it, he breaks his south pair and goes back to iishanten.

At the end of the row, Aki gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 47m ryanmen.

Having held onto some safety, Kobayashi manages to maintain his iishanten against the danger. In the middle of the third row, Kobayashi gets to tenpai and waits on a 3m dora tanki with only a single 3m left in the wall. On Kobayashi’s final draw, he gets that 3m and wins the hand. Kobayashi wins with White Dragon/Dora 3 for 2,000/4,000 plus a riichi stick.

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Shibu

January 6, Game 2, E3-1

In E3-1, Shibukawa is in 4th place but is still within striking range of top spot. With a mangan tsumo or a haneman ron, he will move into 1st place.

Shikuawa starts out the hand 3-shanten with a pair of 5p dora, including the red 5p. In the first row, Shibukawa forms a few ryanmens and makes a 7p triplet to get to iishanten on turn 5.

At the start of the second row, Shibukawa converts the triplet into a 678p sequence to add pinfu. Two turns later, she gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 14p ryanmen, guaranteed at least a mangan if he wins.

At the end of the row, Shibukawa draws the 1p and wins the hand. Shibukawa wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Dora 2/Aka 1 for 3,000+100/6,000+100 plus a riichi stick, moving into 1st place.

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Dora Ippatsu

January 6, Game 2, E4-0

In E4-0, Kayamori is in 4th place, 2,900 behind 3rd place Aki and 7,100 behind 2nd place Kobayashi.

Kayamori starts out the hand already at 2-shanten with a pair of south doras and a floating red 5s. She is unable to move aheaad in the first row, but she fills in an 8m kanchan at the start of the second row and gets to iishanten, waiting on 13 different tiles for tenpai. In the middle of the second row, Kayamori gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a south/5s shanpon.

During the ippatsu round, Kobayashi draws a south. Sitting iishanten and holding no safe tiles at all, Kobayashi pushes the south and deals into Kayamori. Kayamori wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Dora 3/Aka 1 for 12,000, moving her into 2nd place.

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Yakuman Tenpai?!!

January 6, Game 2, S1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2599

In S1-0, Aki is in 3rd place, 9,100 behind 2nd place Kayamori and 11,500 behind 1st place Shibukawa.

With Aki’s starting hand, she has two ryanmens, a 5m triplet (including the red 5m) and pairs of 8m and 6p. With almost every draw, Aki makes pairs and converts those pairs into triplets. After making an 8m and 4s triplet, Aki gets to tenpai and waits dama on a 58s ryanmen. If she can get a 6s or 7s, she can have a suuankou tenpai. IF she can get the 6p, she will have a suuankou tanki tenpai.

However, her path will not be easy. At the start of the second row, Shibukawa calls a 234m sequence and gets to tenpai on a 5s/red dragon shanpon.

Two turns into the second row, Aki draws the 6s. Switching to a 6s/6p shanpon, Aki has a chance at suuankou. Two 6p remain in the wall. The yakuman chance is real.

At the start of the third row, Shibukawa draws the 6p. With his tenpai, he pushes the 6p and deals into Aki.

It isn’t a yakuman, but it’s still a big win. Aki wins the hand with Toitoi/Sanankou/Tanyao/Aka 1 for 12,000, moving her into 1st place.

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Casual Red 5p

January 6, Game 2, S3-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3100

In S3-0, Shibukawa is in 3rd place, 7,300 behind 2nd place Aki and 15,800 behind 1st place Kayamori.

Shibukawa starts out the hand chiitoi 3-shanten with pairs of 1p, 1s and 4s. To his left, Aki is 2-shanten with a lot of potential acceptance. On turn 3, Aki gets to iishanten and waits on 11 different tiles for tenpai. On her very next draw, she gets the red 5s and calls riichi on a 36s ryanmen.

With chiitoi being a nice balanced hand, Shibukawa can keep pushing as he defends against the riichi. By the end of the first row, Shibukawa is iishanten. After a bit of shuffling, Shibukawa gets to tenpai at the end of the second row and calls riichi on a 5p tanki.

On his very next draw, Shibukawa gets the perfect red 5p draw and wins the hand. Shibukawa wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Chiitoi/Aka 1 for 3,000/6,000 plus a riichi stick, enough to move into 1st place.

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Riichi For The Top!

January 6, Game 2, S4-0

In S4-0, Aki is the dealer in 3rd place, 6,500 behind 2nd place Kayamori and 9,700 behind 1st place Shibukawa. To take 1st place, Aki needs a 3/50 or 4/25 direct hit off Shibukawa, a 3/40 or 4/20 tsumo or a mangan ron.

With her very first draw, Aki is already iishanten with routes for pinfu, tanyao, or both. After a few misses in her first few draws, Aki gets to tenpai on turn 4 and waits on an 8p/6s shanpon. She stays dama, hoping to add value or to improve her wait.

At the end of the first row, Aki has a chance to switch to a 4p kanchan, but rejects it. On her very next draw, she gets the 4p. Though it would have been a big ippatsu win, she can’t look back now. Taking the risk, Aki calls riichi and waits on a furiten 369p wait, hoping for the 36p for tanyao and enough for 1st place.

Sitting in 4th place is Kobyashi. With an iishanten hand with two red fives, Kobayashi keeps pushing. In the middle of the second row, Kobayashi gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 58m ryanmen. If he can get a direct hit off Aki, he will finish the game in 3rd place.

Immediately after, Kayamori gets to tenpai and waits on a 9s tanki. With two riichi sticks on the table, any win will be enough for the top spot.

Near the end of the second row, Aki manages to draw the 6p and wins the hand. Aki wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Tanyao for 2,600 all plus a riichi stick, moving into 1st place.

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Results

Game 122

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