Tuesday (February 4)

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Game 1

Shibukawa

February 4, Game 1, E1-0

In E1-0, Shibukawa is playing for the Kadokawa Sakura Knights, trying to get the team out of their dreaded 8th place position.

From his first draw, Shibukawa is 2-shanten with a secured red 5p. Left an right, his opponents call yakuhai, urging Shibukawa to speed up. Around the middle of the row, Shibukawa draws a red 5m for iishanten. Two turns later, Shibukawa gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 36p ryanmen, guaranteed at least a mangan if he wins.

Across from him, Daisuke gets to iishanten during the ippatsu round. With the south yakuhai already called and a pair of 2s dora in hand, Daisuke pushes a bit. After a bit of time, Daisuke gets to tenpai at the end of his second row and waits on a 36p ryanmen.

With both players holding the same wait, the winner will be determined on who draws it or which opponent discards it.

WIthin the go-around, Shiratori gets to tenpai on a 3s kanchan, but Genta holds all four of them.

A turn later, Shibukawa manages to get the 3p and wins the hand. Shibukawa wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Aka 2 for 2,000/4,000.

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Beast

February 4, Game 1, E2-0

In E2-0, Daisuke is the dealer in a 2nd place tie, 10,000 behind 1st place Shibukawa.

Daisuke starts out with a good 3-shanten hand with a triplet of double easts already secured. In the first row, he makes a pair of 7m and creates a 345m sequence to get to iishanten.

Across from him, Shibukawa has both speed and value. At the start of the second row, he calls pon on the green dragon to get to iishanten, holding two secured 6m as well. With some lucky draws, Shibukawa is able to shift his hand towards a manzu honitsu and gets to tenpai in the middle of the second row on a 25m ryanmen, guaranteed a mangan.

A few turns later, Shiratori, who has two red fives and a 6m dora, gets to tenpai as well and waits on a 3m/7p shanpon.

However, Daisuke is not to be forgotten. After drawing an 8m in the second row for potentially better waits, Daisuke creates a 789s sequence at the start of the third row and calls riichi on a 69m ryanmen.

With the riichi, Shiratori folds after drawing the 2m, a dangerous tiles aganist both Shibukawa and Daisuke. On Daisuke’s turn, he draws the 9m and wins the hand. Daisuke wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Double East/Ura 1 for 4,000 all.

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Sho Off

February 4, Game 1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4104

In S2-0, Shiratori is in 3rd place, 15,500 behind 2nd place Shibukawa and 22,300 behind 1st place Daisuke.

Before we even see Shiratori’s hand, 4th place Genta’s hand immediately catches everyone’s attention. WIth a pair of double souths, a secured red 5p, a 2s dora and a triplet of norths, Genta has the value to move past Shiratori. When we do see Shiratori’s his 3-shanten hand is comparatively weaker, but does have a green dragon pair and a secured red 5s.

On turn 3, Genta draws a fourth north and calls a concealed kan.

With the kandora flip, the north becomes the new dora, instantly adding for more han to Genta’s hand and guaranteeing him at least a haneman if he wins.

With the rinshan draw, Genta gets to tenpai! Genta calls riichi and waits on a 3s kanchan. With just one more han, he will have a baiman.

Sitting in Shiratori’s hand is a single 3s. Though not completely isolated, his seven pairs iishanten hand puts makes him vulnerable. On turn 4, Shiratori manages to draw the 3s and calls riichi on a 9m tanki.

At the start of the second row, Shiratori draws the 9m and wins the hand. With the flip, both uradora hit and Shiratori gets his own dora 4 moment! Shiratori win with Riichi/Tsumo/Chiitoi/Aka 1/Ura 4 for a big 4,000/8,000 baiman plus one riichi stick, instantly catapulting him into 1st place.

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In S3-0, Shiratori starts off the hand at 2-shanten with a secured red 5p. The rest of his hand is bad shapes and he spends the first row improving them, even discarding the 1p dora to get there. By the end of the first row, Shiratori is iishanten.

At the start of the second row, Shiratori gets to tenpai on an 8s kanchan, but he stays dama without a yaku. After a few turns, he improves to a 58s ryanmen and calls riichi.

During the ippatsu round, 4th place dealer Genta gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 58m ryanmen.

In the middle of the third row, Shiratori manages to draw the red 5s and wins the hand. Shiratori wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Aka 2 for 2,000/4,000 plus a riichi stick, giving him a 13,700 lead going into the last hand.

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Results

Game 155

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Game 2

Shingo Start

February 4, Game 2, E1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3102

In E1-0, Hori is playing for the Kadokawa Sakura Knights and is hoping to get the team’s first 1st since mid-January and his first 1st since December.

Hori starts out the hand at 2-shanten with a secured red 5m and a triplet of 6p. On turn 3, Hori draws a fourth 6p, but doesn’t call kan just yet because of a connected 5p. When he forms a 25m ryanmen on turn 4, he calls the concealed kan and makes the 5m a double dora. Though the rinshan misses, he is able to get to tenpai two turns later and waits on the 25m ryanmen, wanting the 5m for both dora and a 345m iipeikou.

During the ippatsu round, Takaki gets to tenpa as well and calls riichi on a 69p ryanmen.

However, Takaki’s stick is merely a donation. On Hori’s ippatsu draw, he gets the 5m for maximum value and wins the hand. Hori wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Iipeikou/Dora 2/Aka 1 for 3,000/6,000 plus a riichi stick.

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Monkey Magic

February 4, Game 2
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p6086

In E3-1, Sarukawa is in 3rd place, 11,500 behind 2nd place Hinata and 14,700 behind 1st place Hori.

Sarukawa starts off the hand 4-shanten with a pair of green dragons and a bunch of souzu. In the first row, Sarukawa draws a third green dragon to create a triplet and pairs up the east. With enough blocks to move forward, Sarukawa decides to force a honitsu.

In the second row, Sarukawa calls pon on both the 8s and 1s to get to tenpai on a 47s ryanmen.

In the third row, Sarukawa draws a red 5s and shifts to toitoi, doubling his hand’s guaranteed value to a haneman. Around the middle of the row, Hinata discards the east trying to take tenpai and deals into Sarukawa. Sarukawa wins the hand with Toitoi/Honitsu/East/Green Dragon/Aka 1 for 12,000+300, moving up to 2nd.

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In E4-0, Sarukawa is now the dealer and 2,400 behind 1st place Hori.

Starting out with pairs of red dragon, south and 6s, Sarukawa has options for a pairs or a triplet hand. In his first four turns, he makes the 6s into a triplet and the 7s into a pair, pushing him towards another souzu honitsu hand. Around the end of the row, he calls pon on the 7s and the red dragon to get to iishanten.

In the second row, he pairs up the east to get to tenpai and waits on an east/south shanpon. Though none remain in the wall, there is a chance that someone will throw it if they get to tenpai. Sure enough, around the start of the third row, Takaki discards the south trying to call riichi and deals into Sarukawa. Sarukawa wins the hand with Toitoi/Honitsu/Red Dragon for 12,000, moving into 1st.

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Dama Direct

February 4, Game 2, S2-0

In S2-0, Takaki is in the negatives in 4th place, 21,200 behind 3rd place Hinata.

Takaki starts off the hand at 3-shanten, but doesn’t have much in terms of value or an easy way forward. In the first row, he creates both sequences and additional pairs, but the path still isn’t clear.

At the start of the second row, Takaki draws the 5s double dora. With a 1m discard, he is left with only simple tiles and can now open his hand to use the dora. As the turns go along and Takaki gets to 2-shanten, Hinata forces her tanyao and Hori goes for pairs.

At the start fo the third row, Hinata is the first to tenpai and waits on a 3s kanchan, right after Sarukawa gets to tenpai on a 4s wait, but has no yaku. On HInata’s next turn, she switches to a 4s tanki.

Within the go-around, Hori gets to tenpai on a 3p tanki, ready for at least a mangan. However, none remain in the wall.

In the middle of the row, Takaki fills in a 5m kanchan and gets to tenpai on a 47s ryanmen. With mangan guaranteed he stays dama.

On Hinata’s turn, she discards the 4s trying to switch to a 147p wait and deals into Takaki. Takaki wins the hand with Pinfu/Tanyao/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 8,000. With the direct hit off 3rd place, Takaki is now just 5,200 from moving up a rank.

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Fire Finish

February 4, Game 2

In S3-0, Hori is in 2nd place and 7,400 behind 1st place Sarukawa.

Hori starts out the hand at 2-shanten with three sequences, but heeds a fourth with a good wait to even get pinfu. On turn 2, he fills in a 7s penchan to get three completed sequences. Throughout the rest of the first row, he searches for that ryanmen to complete the pinfu. At the end of the first row, he gets to tenpai, but it’s on a 6p kanchan. With a bad wait and no other value, he stays dama.

In the middle of the second row, Hori draws an 8p to improve the wait and calls riichi on a 69p ryanmen. At the end of the row, Hori draws the 9p and wins the hand. Getting the uradora, Hori wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Ura 1 for 1,300/2,600, putting him within 900 of Sarukawa going into South 4.

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In S4-0, only 900 separates 1st place dealer Sarukawa from 2nd place Hori. Even tenpai payments or a single failed riichi can be the difference between winning and not.

Both Sarukawa and Hori start the hand at 2-shanten, Sarukawa with two ryanmens and Hori with a lot of ways to improve. In the first row, Sarukawa breaks a 9s pair to aim for tanyao while Hori sits patiently with sequences. By the end of the first row, Hori is slightly ahead at iishanten.

In the second row, Hori ha a choice to be tenpai on a 5m/6m shanpon, but he rejects it. On his next draw, he gets the 6m, what would have been his winning tile. Though frustrating, he keeps moving forward and calls riichi on a 47p nobetan instead.

Back to Sarukawa, he still sits at 2-shanten with his tanyao hand. With the scores so close, he has to push.

In the third row, Sarukawa finally advances to iishanten, holding a 47p ryanmen and multiple pon options. A turn later, Sarukawa calls pon on the 5s and waits tenpai on a 47p ryanmen.

With both players on the same wait, even who throws the winning tile can determine the winner. If Takaki discards it, Hori wins the game. If Hinata discards it, Sarukawa extends his lead and the game continues.

Near the end of the hand, Sarukawa draws the 7p and wins the hand. Sarukawa wins with Tanyao/Aka 1 for 1,000 all plus a riichi stick, extending the lead to 8,100.

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Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3103

In S4-1, Hori is in 2nd place and 8,100 behind 1st place Sarukawa. A 3/30 direct hit will win him the game by 300. A mangan ron will win him the game by 200. A 3/40 tsumo will win him the game by 100.

Sarukawa starts out at 3-shanten with a pair of easts. Before Hori even gets his first draw, 3rd place Hinata rushes to call the green dragon, wanting to maintain her 4th-avoidance streak. When we get to Hori, he draws to 2-shanten. In the first row, sequences start to form for Hori, to the point that he is ryanmen-ryanmen iishanten before the row is finished. With pinfu and two dora (the 3p and the red 5s), he has the value for a mangan when he calls riichi.

Two turns into the second row, Hori gets to that tenpai and calls riichi on a 58p ryanmen. Any winning tile will win him the game.

Though, Hinata is still looking to safely gain some points. In the middle of the row, she gets to tenpai on a 7s penchan.

When Hinata draws an 8p, she decides to fold, not wanting to risk a 4th place.

4th place Takaki, however, is forced to push. Pursuing seven pairs, he has to make sure not to discard the wrong tile. At the start of the third row, Takaki gets to tenpai and has to choose between throwing the 5p and 7p.

Takaki chooses to discard the 5p.

With a ron, Hori wins the hand with Riichi/Pinfu/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 8,000+300, giving Hori the win by 200.

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Results

Game 156

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