Monday (February 3)

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Game 1

Riichi Battle

February 3, Game 1, E2-0

In E2-0, Kurosawa is in 1st place after winning the first hand for 5,200.

Kurosawa starts out the hand at an annoying 5-shanten while both Date and Mizuhara are at 3-shanten. In the first row, Kurosawa progress well to get to 2-shanten with a red 5m and an 8p dora, while Mizuhara gets to iishanten.

In the second row, Kurosawa moves her hand to a pinfu guaranteed hand, holding a three-sided wait and a ryanmen. At the end of the second row, Mizuhara is the first to tenpai and calls riichi on a 36p ryanmen.

Two turns later, Kurosawa gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 14s ryanmen.

Two turns after that, Date pairs up the 8p dora and calls the third riichi on the table, waiting on a 58m ryanmen.

The riichi battle ends when Mizuhara discards the 4s and deals into Kurosawa. Kurosawa wins the hand with Riichi/Pinfu/Tanyao/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 8,000 plus two riichi sticks.

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Sticks

February 3, Game 1, S1-3
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5102

In S1-3, Kurosawa is still in 1st place, but the three riichi sticks and three honba won by someone else could shrink her lead.

Kurosawa starts out the hand pairing up the red dragon to get to 3-shanten and has a dora 5s in hand as well. When the red dragon comes out, Kurosawa calls pon to secure a yaku. Through the rest of the first row, she makes the 1m into a triplet and completes a sequence for a 69m tenpai. In the second row, Kurosawa draws the 9m and wins the hand. Kurosawa wins with Red Dragon/Dora 1 for 700+300/1,300+300 plus three riichi sticks.

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Honitsu

February 3, Game 1, S2-0

In S2-0, Katsumata is in 3rd place and 3,200 behind 2nd place Date.

Katsumata starts out the hand 2-shanten with pairs of green dragon and red dragon. To his left, Date is 2-shanten for a sequence hand. Within the first row, Katsumata calls both the red and the green dragons as he moves to a manzu honitsu. However, Date is the first to tenpai as she calls riichi and waits on a 69m ryanmen.

During the ippatsu round, Katsumata gets to tenpai and waits on a 69m wait. Though, Katsumata’s position after Date will mean that he will get headbumped if either comes out. Two turns later, Katsumata draws the 6m and wins the hand. Katsumata wins with Honitsu/Green Dragon/Red Dragon/Aka 1 for 2,000/4,000.

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Direct Hit

February 3, Game 1, S3-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5610

In S3-0, Mizuhara is in 4th place, 2,600 behind 3rd place Date and 13,400 behind 2nd place dealer Katsumata.

Mizuhara starts out the hand 2-shanten for seven pairs (3-shanten for a standard hand) with pairs of the white dragon and the 4p dora, as well as a red 5s as part of a sequence. When the white dragon comes out, Mizuhara calls pon to try to speed up the hand.

To her right, Date seems to draw quickly. In the middle of the first row, Date gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 4m kanchan.

Back to Mizuhara, she is pushing everything since this is her last real chance to move forward. In the second row, Mizuhara calls a 678s chii and gets to tenpai on a 4m/4p shanpon. With both player waiting on the 4m, Mizuhara will win on a headbump situation.

A few turns later, Katsumata discards the 4m. At the same time, Mizuhara and Date call ron, but only Mizuhara can win. Mizuhara wins the hand with White Dragon/Dora 2/Aka 1 for 8,000 plus a riichi stick. With the direct hit off Katsumata, Mizuhara moves into 2nd place.

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Results

Game 153

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Game 2

Hagi

February 3, Game 2, E1-1

In E1-1, Hagiwara is the starting dealer and won a 1-han hand to start the game, holding a small lead.

Hagiwara starts out the hand at 4-shanten with a few sequence candidates. Hagiwara does well to move his hand forward, forming both sequences and a 7m triplet. By the end of the row, he is iishanten with a guaranteed good wait.

On turn 8, Hagiwara pairs up the 4s and calls riichi on a 25p ryanmen. After some waiting, Hagiwara draws the 2p in the middle of the third row and wins the hand. Hitting the uradora, Hagiwara wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Ura 1 for 2,000+100 all.

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Sticks

February 3, Game 2, E2-4

In E2-4, Nakabayashi is in 2nd place and 3,900 behind 1st place Hagiwara. With a riichi stick and four honba in the pot, any 2-han hand or higher will be enough to move into 1st.

Nakabayashi starts out the hand at 2-shanten with many potential sequences. On turn 2, Nakabayashi fills in a 7s penchan to get to iishanten. On his very next turn, he pairs up the 3m to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 58p ryanmen.

With such an early riichi, his opponents don’t have much to fight with, giving Nakabayashi a clear runway with six winning tiles left in the wall. At the start of the third row, Nakabayashi draws the 5p and wins the hand. Nakabayashi wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu for 700+400/1,300+400 plus a riichi stick, moving him into 1st place.

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Takamiya

February 3, Game 2, E3-0

In E3-0, Takamiya is in 4th place, 900 behind 3rd place Matsugase, 9,900 behind 2nd place Hagiwara and 12,000 behind 1st place dealer Nakabayashi.

Takamiya starts out the hand at 2-shanten with a 7s dora secured as part of a sequence. During the first three turns, she draws a 6s and 8s, putting her just another 7s away from a 678s iipeikou. By the end of the first row, she is iishanten.

In the middle fo the second row, Takamiya draws a 7s and waits dama on an 8p kanchan.

Within the go-around, Hagiwara also gets to tenpai and stays dama. However, none of his winning 6s remain in the wall.

In the third row, Takamiya draws the 8p and wins the hand. Hagiwara wins with Tsumo/Iipeikou/Dora 2 for 2,000/4,000. With things perfectly aligned, Takamiya moves from 4th place to be tied for 1st place.

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Dealer

February 3, Game 2, S2-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2602

In S2-0, Matsumoto is the dealer tied for 3rd place, just 3,900 behind 1st place Takamiya.

Matsugase starts out the hand at 5-shanten with no visible value. Nakabayashi, on the other hand, is 3-shanten with a red 5s. In the first row, Matsugase simply discards honours and terminals to go efficiently, while Nakabayashi does something similar while holding a green dragon pair. As Matsugase gets to 3-shanten at the end of the row, Nakabayashi gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 47s ryanmen.

With few safe tiles in the hand, Matsugase keeps his eyes open to move forward. After discarding more honours and terminals in the second row, Matsugase’s hand keeps shifting towards both pinfu and tanyao. Near the end of the row, Matsugase gets to tenpai and calls riichi on 25p ryanmen, guaranteed at least a mangan if he wins.

Two turns later, Matsugase draws the 2p and wins the hand. Hitting the uradora, Matsugase wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Tanyao/Dora 1/Ura 1 for 6,000 all.

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Results

Game 154

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