Tuesday (January 7)

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Game 1

Dragons

January 7, Game 1, E2-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5094

In E2-0, Setokuma is tied for 2nd place and 10,000 behind 1st place Takizawa. From the start, Setokuma is 4-shanten with a secured red 5m and a singleton of each of the three dragons. Over the course of the first row, he ends up pairing them. By turn 5, each of the dragons has a twin. With these dragons, he could get a shousangen or even a daisangen yakuman.

On turn 6, Setokuma draws a third green dragon and gets to iishanten. If he gets either the red or the white, he would be yakuman tenpai.

In the middle of the second row, Setokuma creates a 345m sequence. Though it isn’t the yakuman tenpai he hoped for, he is still ready and waits dama on a red dragon/white dragon, guaranteed at least a mangan if he wins.

Right after, Hinata gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 47p ryanmen.

On Asami’s turn, she discards the once-cut red dragon to maintain iishanten and deals into Setokuma. Setokuma wins the hand with Shousangen/Green Dragon/Red Dragon/Aka 1 for 8,000 plus a riichi stick, moving Setokuma into sole 2nd place.

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Maki-ng Her Way Uptown

January 7, Game 1, E4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2103

In E4-0, Asami is in 4th place and is 5,000 behind 3rd place. Her true goal is 1st place, wanting to be just the third person in M-League history to win five games in a row.

At the start, Asami is 3-shanten with a connected red 5m. With Asami’s early discards, Setokuma is quick to call them, pursuing his pinzu flush. With a 678p and 123p chii, Setokuma gets to iishanten. Then, with Asami’s 5p discard, she calls riichi and waits on a 25s ryanmen.

Taking advantage of the pinzu discard, Setokuma calls a 456p chii and gets to tenpai on a 36p ryanmen, ready with a full flush.

Two turns later, Asami draws the 2s and wins the hand. Asami wins the hand with Riichi/Tsumo/West/Aka 1 for 2,000/4,000, moving her up to 3rd place.

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Let The Sunshine Stream In

January 7, Game 1, S1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s70_p2491

In S1-0, Hinata is in 4th place and 5,000 behind 3rd place Asami. Hinata has yet to get a 4th place this season (the only player left without one) and doesn’t want to start now.

Hinata starts out the hand at a distant 5-shanten with no value whatsoever. However, as she discards her terminals and honours in the first row, the hand magically comes together. By the end of the first row, she is iishanten.

After shifting to tanyao, Hinata gets to tenpai at the start of the second row and calls riichi on a 58s ryanmen. Within the ippatsu round, Takizawa discards the 8s trying to accept a wide iishanten and deals into Hinata. Hinata wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tanyao/Ura 1 for 12,000. With the direct hit off 1st place, Hinata moves into top spot.

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To The Top

January 7, Game 1, S1-1

In S1-1, Asami is in 3rd place, 6,700 behind 2nd place Setokuma and 7,000 behind 1st place HInata. Within striking range of 1st place, the achievement is within sight.

Asami starts out the hand at 3-shanten with sequence flexibility , but nothing is secured. In the first row, she forms ryanmens as she throws the honours in her hand. By the end of the row, she is 2-shanten with a guaranteed good wait.

To her right, Hinata is sitting iishanten with triplets of 5s (including the red 5s) and 6p, as well as pairs of 2m and 5m (with the red 5m). With the hand, there is a yakuman dream. In the second row, Hinata makes the 2m into a triplet and waits dama on a 7s penchan, hoping to get a fourth triplet to upgrade to a suuankou chance.

Asami, however, has a chance to ruin the yakuman dream. Right after Hinata gets to tenpai, Asami gets to tenpai as well and calls riichi on a 58m ryanmen. Late in the second row, Hinata draws a fourth 5s and calls a concealed kan. The rinshan draw is the 8, Asami’s winning tile. Hinata discards it and deals into Asami. Asami wins the hand with Riichi/Pinfu/Dora 1/Ura 2 for 8,000+300, pushing Asami into 1st place.

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Maki-ng Space

January 7, Game 1, S3-0

In S3-0, Asami is in 2nd place and 2,400 behind 1st place Setokuma. If she handles the next two hands well, she can get her five in a row.

Asami starts out the hand at 2-shanten with two ryanmens and a secured dora 6m. On turn 4, she creates a 567p sequence to get to iishanten, but she still lacks a pair. As the first row goes into the second, Asami draws a 3m and pairs it up, letting her get to tenpai. She calls riichi and waits on a 36s ryanmen.

Two turns later, Setokuma discards the 3s and deals into Asami. Asami wins the hand with Riichi/Pinfu/Dora 1/Ura 1 for 8,000. WIth the direct hit of 1st place, Asami now has a 13,600 lead over 2nd place going into the final hand.

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Confirmation

January 7, Game 1, S4-0

In S4-0, Hinata is in 3rd place and trying to keep her 4th-avoidance streak alive, while Asami is in 1st place and wants to get the big streak.

Hinata starts out the hand at 2-shanten with a secured dora 7p. Within four turns, Hinata creates a 567s sequence with a red 5s and advances to iishanten, guaranteed a good wait when she gets to tenpai. On her next turn, she makes a 2p and gets to tenpai on a yakuless 4p penchan, staying dama to improve the shape. At the end of the row, Hinata draws a 7p dora and switches to a 69p ryanmen, holding pinfu and a guaranteed mangan.

At the start of the second row, Setokuma calls riichi on an 8m kanchan. Though a tsumo plus one more han would be enough for a comeback haneman, no 8m remain in the wall.

In the middle of the second row, Takizawa discards the 9p and deals into Hinata. Hinata wins the hand with Pinfu/Dora 2/Aka 1 for 8,000, finishing the game in 2nd place and maintaining her 4th-less record.

As for Asami, she becomes only the third player in M-League history to win five games in a row, following the footsteps of Suzuki Yu (December 25, 2023) and Shiratori Sho (December 27, 2024).

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Results

Game 123

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Game 2

Chanta

January 7, Game 2, E1-1

In E1-1, Matsumoto is tied for 2nd place and 10,400 behind 1st place Hagiwara. So far, Matsumoto has gone 14 games this season without getting a 1st place.

Before Matsumoto gets his first draw, he calls a 789m sequence to get to iishanten. When we do see his hand, we see he has a triplet of red dragons, a pair of wests, a 14m ryanmen and a 58s ryanmen. Soon after, he calls pon on the west to get to iishanten. On turn 4, Matsumoto draws a south and cuts his souzu ryanmen, hoping to get a honitsu. With a 123m chii, Matsumoto gets to tenpai on a south tanki, guaranteed a mangan if he wins.

Soon after, Hisato draws and discards the south and deals into Matsumoto. Matsumoto wins the hand with Honitsu/Chanta/Red Dragon/West for 8,000+300.

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Hidden Hagiwara

January 7, Game 2, E2-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5095

In E2-0, Hagiwara is in 1st place with Matsumoto fast approaching. Hagiwara starts off 2-shanten for seven pairs, but there is a route for a standard hand, sitting 3-shanten with potential sequences. After cutting honours in his first five turns, Hagiwara gets iishanten for both paths at the end of the first row.

At the start of the second row, Hagiwara fills in a 3s kanchan and waits dama on a 5m kanchan. Hagiwara has his eye on the 3m dora, which would both add immediate value and the chance at a 234m sanshoku. On his very next turn, he gets the perfect 3m dora and waits dama on a 25m ryanmen, hoping to win off the 2m for a haneman.

Two turns later, Hisato discards the 2m and deals into Hagiwara. Hagiwara wins the hand with Pinfu/Tanyao/Sanshoku/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 12,000.

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Sonoda’s Time To Attack

January 7, Game 2
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2104

In S2-0, Sonoda is in 3rd place, 12,300 behind 2nd place Matsumoto and 15,000 behind 1st place Hagiwara.

Sonoda starts out the hand at 3-shanten and draws the dora 4m on his first turn. In the first row, he forms ryanmens to get to a pinfu base, but is still looking for a pair by the end of the first row.

On turn 8, Sonoda creates a 789p sequence to get to iishanten, but the pair is still missing. Two turns later, Sonoda pairs up the 6s and gets to tenpai on a 25m ryanmen. He stays dama and hopes for a 9m to add a 789 sanshoku to his hand.

At the end of the second row, Matsumoto adds pressure to the table by calling riichi and waiting on a 58p ryanmen.

With the riichi by Matsumoto, Sonoda decides to call a tsumogiri riichi. Immediately after, Hisato discards the 5m (a tile safe against Matsumoto) and deals into Sonoda. Sonoda wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Pinfu/Dora 1 for 8,000 plus a riichi stick.

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Moving to S3-1, Sonoda is now 1,300 behind 2nd place Matsumoto and 3,000 behind 1st place Hagiwara. A riichi stick and a honba wait in the pot.

From the start, Sonoda is 3-shanten with a connected red 5m and pairs of east, red dragon and 6p dora. Even though the east is not his yakuhai, he calls pon right when it comes out. In the middle of the first row, he has a chance to call pon on the red dragon and get to iishanten.

In the second row, Sonoda calls a 456m chii and gets to tenpai on a 25p ryanmen. Two turns later, Sonoda draws the 2p and wins the hand. Sonoda wins with Red Dragon/Dora 2/Aka 1 for 2,000+100/4,000+100 plus a riichi stick, moving him into 1st place.

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In S4-0, Sonoda is the final dealer and has a chance to extend it even further. If he can finish with a score of 50,200 or higher, the Akasaka Drivens will break the +800.0pts barrier, a feat only achieved once before (when the U-Next Pirates did it last season).

With Sonodao’s first draw, he is iishanten with a secured red 5m and a pair of red dragons. However, with a bunch of manzu tiles and an annoying 7s penchan, Sonoda has a chance to aim even bigger and go for a honitsu. On turn 3, Sonoda draws a 3m and starts to break the penchan. On turn 5, he call pon on the red dragon and gets to iishanten. In the second row, he pairs up the 6m and gets to tenpai on a 25m ryanmen.

It takes a while, but Sonoda is able to call ron on the 5m near the end of the third row and win the hand. Sonoda wins with Honitsu/Red Dragon/Aka 1 for 12,000.

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In S4-1, Sonoda starts out 3-shanten with a secured dora 3s, but has a bunch of bad shapes. After paring down the edges, Sonoda gets to 2-shanten at the end of the first row with three ryanmen and a connected red 5p. Though the shapes are good, he still needs a pair.

At the start of the second row, he draws a 1m. Because he has an excess of ryanmens, Sonoda is able to sacrifice his 123m sequence to turn it into a 1m pair. After filling in his ryanmens over the next few turns, Sonoda gets to tenpai in the middle of the second row and calls riichi on a 69s ryanmen, guarnateed at least a mangan if he wins.

In the third row, Hagiwara gets to tenpai on a 3s penchan, but decides to wait yakuless so as not to risk his 2nd place.

4th place Hisato is more aggressive, though, calling riichi on a 58s ryanmen right after.

Unfortunately for Hisato, he ends up drawing and discards the 9s two turns later and deals into Sonoda. Sonoda wins the hand with Riichi/Pinfu/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 12,000+300, taking Sonoda up to a nice 69,700.

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Results

Game 124

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