Friday (January 17)

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Game 1

Asami Advances

January 17, Game 1, E1-0

In E1-0, Asami is playing for the Akasaka Drivens and is looking for her sixth 1st place in a row to break the M-League record.

Asami starts out the hand 3-shanten with a pair of red dragons for value. In the first row, Asami fills in a 3p kanchan and pairs up the easts to get to 2-shanten. At the end of the first row, Asami calls pon on the east and gets to iishanten and en-route to honitsu.

In the middle of the second row, Asami calls pon on the red dragon and gets to tenpai on a 69p ryanmen, guaranteed a mangan if he wins.

To his right, Genta is trying to continue his good fortunes at the top of the standings. Sitting at 2-shanten, Genta tries to force tanyao into his hand while avoiding Asami’s honitsu. With a 345p and a 234m chii, Genta gets to tenpai on a 58 ryanmen. However, as he draws a 1p, Genta is forced to fold.

Soon after, Kurosawa discards the 9p trying to take tenpai and deals into Asami. Asami wins the hand with Honitsu/East/Red Dragon for 8,000.

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Takeuchi Time

January 17, Game 1, E3-0

In E3-0, Genta is in 2nd place and 5,400 behind 1st place Asami.

Genta starts out the hand at 2-shanten with no clear route for value. To his right, Matsugase is 3-shanten with a pair of white dragons, a secured red 5m and a connected dora 6s. Quickly, Matsugase pairs up the east, calls pon on the south and makes triplets of 5m and 5s. By the end of the row, Matsugase is tenpai on an east/white dragon shanpon for mangan minimum.

Back to Genta, he is shifting his way towards tanyao and breaking the pair of norths in his hand. Right after Matsugase gets to tenpai, Genta gets to iishanten with 11 tiles to get him to tenpai. In the middle of the second row, Genta makes a pair of 6m to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 147p wait, wanting the latter two for tanyao.

In the middle of the third row, Genta draws the 4p and wins the hand. Genta wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Tanyao/Ura 1 for 2,000/4000, moving into 1st.

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Takaya To Top

January 17, Game 1, S3-0

In S3-0, Matsugase is in 2nd place and needs anything to move into 1st place.

From the start, Matsugase is 2-shanten with a secured red 5s and a connected 1p dora, needing only a 2p to make a 123p sequence. On turn 3, he creates a 123s sequence to get to iishanten. A turn later, Matsugase creates a 7p triplet and calls riichi on a 2p kanchan. Within two turns, Kurosawa discards the 2p and deals in. Matsugase wins the hand with Riichi/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 5,200, giving him a 4,500 lead going into South 4.

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Genta Goes

January 17, Game 1, S4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4595

In S4-0, Genta is the final dealer and just 4,500 behind 1st place Matsugase.

Genta starts out the hand at a distant 4-shanten hand with no easy route to a good hand. After discarding honours and terminals at the start, Genta’s hand starts to develop some sequences and a triplet of norths. By the end of the row, Genta is at 2-shanten with three ryanmens.

In the second row, Genta fills in those ryanmens and gets to tenpai on turn 10, calling riichi on a 36m ryanmen.

Despite the dealer riichi, his opponents won’t go without a fight. In the third row, Kurosawa gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 47s ryanmen. If she can win on the 7s, she will move into 3rd place or maybe even 2nd.

Perhaps an even bigger challenger is 3rd place Asami, 16,800 behind 1st place Matsugase. With pairs in her hand (including the red dragon dora), she has value to fight with. Right after Kurosawa gets to tenpai, Asami gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 9s tanki.

If Asami can draw the 9s herself, or get a direct hit off Matsugase and hit the uradora, she will have her sixth 1st in a row. All remaining 3 of the other 9s are left in the wall.

Then, near the end of the hand, Genta manages to beat the odds and plucks his last winning tile from the wall. Hitting the uradora as well, Genta wins the hand with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 4,000 all plus two riichi sticks.

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Results

Game 135

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Game 2

Riichi Roulette

January 17, Game 2, E2-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5098

In E2-0, the game is still young and everyone is still within range of top spot. Sitting at the top of the podium is Setokuma, trying to cancel out Kurosawa’s 4th from last game.

Looking around the table, everyone is moving quickly. With every draw, everyone seems to advance. Despite starting at 3-shanten, Futoshi gets to tenpai on turn 4 and calls riichi on a 7s kanchan.

Immediately after, Kayamori gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 7s wait as well. However, because she is later in turn order, she will not be able to ron if the 7s come sout.

And in the 3rd row, Setokuma is the third to riichi, waiting on a 58p ryanmen for mangan minimum.

During the ippatsu round, Matsugase has a chance to be the fourth riichi (though there wouldn’t be an abort if it did happen), but chooses instead to stay dama with his mediocre 3p penchan.

On Kayamori’s turn, she draws and discards the 8p and deals into Setokuma. Setokuma wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Pinfu/Tanyao/Aka 1 for 8,000 plus two riichi sticks, extending his lead.

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Yakuman Tenpai?!!

January 17, Game 2, S1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s70_p2539

In S1-0, Matsugase is 3rd place, 14,400 behind 2nd place Futoshi and 2,500 ahead of 4th place Kayamori.

Matsugase’s starting hand, he has a triplet of red dragons and pairs of 7m, 7s and the 2p dora. In the first row, he makes a pair of the 1m and the 7s into a triplet. With his hand right now, he is iishanten for chiitoi, but also iishanten for a potential suuankou yakuman. With Daisuke’s daisangen at the start of the week, yakuman are fresh in the mind.

However, the route to yakuman is not going to be easy. He has to contend with opponents who are trying to win as well. In the middle of the second row, dealer Futoshi is the first to tenpai and calls riichi on a 25p ryanmen.

During the ippatsu round, Matsugase draws a 1m. Calling riichi, Matasugase waits on a 7m/2p shanpon. One of each remains in the wall. If he can draw either of them, he will get a yakuman.

Though there are two players with a strong tenpai, riichi is not the only way to win. Late in the third row, Kayamori calls a 234p chii for tanyao and gets to tenpai on a 58p ryanmen.

Two turns later, on the second-last tile in the wall, Kayamori draws the 5p and wins the hand. Kayamori wins with Tanyao/Aka 1 for 500/1,000 plus two riichi sticks, ending Matsugase’s yakuman hopes and pushing him into 4th in the process.

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Chinitsu

January 17, Game 2, S2-0

In S2-0, Setokuma is in 1st place and holds a relatively small 5,300 lead over Futoshi.

Setokuma starts out the hand at 3-shanten with seven manzu tiles in his hand. In the first row, he ups that number to 10, pushing him towards chinitsu.

At the start of the second row, Setokuma calls pon on the 9m to push the path. With a 123m chii, he gets to iishanten. Securing an 8m pair a turn later, Setokuma gets to tenpai on a 25m ryanmen.

At the start of the third row, Setokuma draws the 5m and wins the hand. Setokuma wins with Chinitsu for 2,000/4,000, moving him above 40,000.

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Three-Sided Wait

January 17, Game 2, S3-0

In S3-0, Matsugase is in 4th place, 3,500 behind 3rd place Kayamori.

Matsugase starts out the hand at 4-shanten and with no easy way to speed it up. To his left, 1st place dealer Setokuma is 2-shanten with a pair of green dragons, a connected dora 2p and a secured red 5p. Within the first five turns, Setokuma calls pon on the green dragon and makes a 123s chii to get to tenpai on a 3m penchan.

WIth little way of knowing or avoiding Setokuma’s hand, Matsugase keeps pushing. Through the second row, Matsugase builds sequences and aims for tanyao. With some perfect draws, Matsugase get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 369m three-sided wait. Two turns later, Setokuma draws and discards the 9m and deals into Matsugase. Matsugase wins the hand with Riichi/Pinfu/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 8,000, moving him int 2nd place going into South 4.

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Results

Game 136

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