Thursday (February 20)

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Game 1

Ippatsu

February 20, Game 1, E1-0

In E1-0, Taro is playing for the Akasaka Drivens, trying to ge tthe team back into +1000.0pts range.

Taro starts out the hand at 2-shanten with two ryanmens in hand. Though he does have a dora 2p in his hand, he gets rid of it on turn 2, to focus on sequences. On turn 5, he fills in a kanchan and guarantees himself pinfu. On his very next turn, he draws the red 5p to get to tenpai and calls riichi and waits on a 25s. Six remain in the wall.

On his very next turn, Taro draws the 2s and wins the hand. Taro wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Pinfu/Aka 1 for 2,000/4,000.

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A Haneman A Day

February 20, Game 1, E2-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4602

In E2-0, Kayamori is in a 2nd place tie and 10,000 behind 1st place Taro. With her first draw, she gets the dora 5p to advance to 2-shanten and is just a 6s away from a 567 sanshoku. In the first row, she advances her hand to iishanten, but the 45777s shape in her hand makes the sanshoku a bit less likely.

In the second row, she forms a 234p sequence and has a choice of how to get to tenpai. If she discards the 7s, she will have a 36s ryanmen with pinfu guaranteed. If she discards the 4s, she will have a 56s wait and the 6s will give her sanshoku. Wanting big points, Kayamori takes the 56s wait and calls riichi.

At the end of the row, Kayamori draws the perfect 6s and wins the hand. Kayamori wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Tanyao/Sanshoku/Dora 1 for 3,000/6,000, taking the lead.

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Pairs

February 20, Game 1, E3-1

In E3-0, Matsumoto is in 4th place, just 1,00 behind 3rd place Hisato.

Matsumoto starts out 3-shanten for both a pairs and standard hand, having pairs of west, 1p and 5m (including the red 5m). Within the first five turns of the hand, Matsumoto pairs up both the 1m and 3p, strongly pushing him towards a pair hand. All he can do is wait for more.

Near the middle of the second row, Matsumoto pairs up the east to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a green dragon tanki.

Right after, Taro gets to tenpai and waits on an east/9p shanpon, only allowed to win on the east. However, his winning easts are stuck in Matsumoto’s hand.

Two turns after calling riichi, Matsumoto draws the green dragon and wins the hand. Matsumoto wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Chiitoi/Aka 1 for 2,000+100/4,000+100.

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Hisato Hijinks

February 20, Game 1

In S1-0, Hisato is in 4th place and 4,500 behind 3rd place Matsumoto and 17,000 behind 2nd place Kayamori.

Hisato starts out the hand 4-shanten with two ryanmens and a loosely connected red 5s. On turn 2, he secures the red 5s by creating a 567s sequence. Forming another sequence candidate and filling in one of the ryanmens, Hisato gets to iishanten at the end of the row.

In the second row, Hisato pairs up the 8m and splits the 567s sequence into two potential sequences. In the middle of the row, 1st place Taro gets to tenpai first, but he has no yaku with his 1s tanki. Right after, Hisato gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 456s ryanmen, guaranteed at least a mangan.

With the riichi from Hisato, Taro folds. On Kayamori’s turn, she gets to tenpai and chases with a 4m kanchan.

It’s 4 vs. 1. After a few turns of simply drawing and discarding, Hisato draws the 4s in the middle of the third row and wins the hand. Hisato wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Tanyao/Aka 1 for 4,000 all. Because of Kayamori’s riichi, Hisato overtakes her and moves into 2nd place.

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After losing his dealership, Hisato continues his pursuit for 1st place in S2-0, sitting 6,100 behind 1st place Taro.

Hisato starts out the hand at 2-shanten with a pair of white dragons and all four of the 6m. The first row provides him with a third white dragon and a 4m pair, giving him options to keep the 6m into a quad or to connect it with a 5m, which he gets in the second row.

In the meantime, Taro makes the bold move of calling a 123p chii. Though he has options of a south yakuhai or a 123 sanshoku, neither of them are guaranteed. For the sanshoku specifically, she needs the 1m to make it happen. In th third row, Taro manages to get that needed 1m and waits on a 5m/south shanpon.

Right after, Hisato gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 3s kanchan.

With a chii, Matsumoto joins in and waits on a 36s ryanmen.

With both Hisato and Matsumoto waiting on a 3, there is a headbump possibility. A few turns later, Taro draws and discards the 3s. At the same time, Hisato and Matsumoto call ron, but only Hisato can win (to Matsumoto’s disappointment). Hisato wins with Riichi/White Dragon/Dora 1 for 6,400, moving up to top spot.

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Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3612

In S3-0, Hisato wants to keep it going and secure the game.

Though Hisato has a 3-shanten hand and a dora 2p, most of her shapes are very weak, including two penchans. In the first row, breaks one of them and tries to stay flexible between pairs and tanyao. While he does that, both Taro and Kayamori get to 2-shanten with good potential shapes and value.

At the start of the second row, Hisato pairs up the 2p dora and Taro gets to iishanten. In the middle of the row, Hisato draw a third 2p and Taro calls riichi on a 36p ryanmen.

Seeing the need to rush, Hisato calls pon on the 2s on Taro’s ippatsu drop and gets to iishanten. Soon after, he is met with another challenge as Kayamori chases with a 36m ryanmen.

After avoiding the ippatsu round, Hisato gets to tenpai on a 58m ryanmen. On Kayamori’s turn, she draws and discards the red 5m and deals into Hisato. Hisato wins the hand with Tanyao/Dora 3/Aka 1 for 8,000 plus two riichi sticks.

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Results

Game 173

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Game 2

Stick Collector

February 20, Game 2, E2-3

In E2-3, there are five riichi sticks and three honba in the pot after the previous hand went to a draw. The stakes are high with the next winner getting 5,900 in bonuses. Sitting tied for 3rd place is Takizawa, just 4,000 from the top.

Takizawa starts out the hand by filling in a kanchan and getting to 2-shanten. In the first row, he makes a 25p ryanmen and fills it in with a 2p. Though he has a chance to take a 5s kanchan tenpai, he rejects it to isolate the 234s sequence, completing a sanshoku. A turn later, he draws a 7s to connect to the dora 6s and waits dama on a 58s ryanmen, guaranteed at least a mangan.

Around the start of the second row, Hinata discards the 5s trying to call riichi and deals into Takizawa. Takizawa wins the hand with Pinfu/Tanyao/Sanshoku/Dora 1 for 8,000+900 plus five riichi sticks.

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Back to Balance

February 20, Game 2, E3-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4109

In E3-1, Hinata is in 4th place, 12,900 behind the 2nd place tie and 22,800 behind 1st place Takizawa. 1,300 in bonuses are in the pot.

Before we even see Hinata’s hand, dealer Daigo calls pon on the green dragon and Takizawa advances to a decent 2-shanten hand with a 1m dora pair and a secured red 5p. When we see HInata’s hand, she also has a strong hand, holding three completed sequences and a secured red 5s. Quickly, Takizawa gets to iishanten and Hinata draws a red 5m for value.

The first of them to get to tenpai is Takizawa, who calls riichi on a 1m/3s shanpon for mangan minimum. Having discarded the 6s on his first turn, the 3s is a suji trap.

Two turns later, HInata chases with a 58m nobetan, also guaranteed at least a mangan.

Having already called twice, Daigo is too deep and lacks safe tiles to fold now. With a bit of shifting, Daigo gets to tenpai at the end of the row and waits on a 36s ryanmen.

However, immediately after, Takizawa draws and discards the 8m and deals into Hinata. WIth the flip Hinata hits two uradora to upgrade to a haneman. Hinata wins with Riichi/Tanyao/Aka 2/Ura 2 for 12,000+300 plus two riichi stick. With the direct hit off Takizawa, Hinata moves up to 1st place and pushes Takizawa down to 4th.

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Futoshi

February 20, Game 2, S2-1

In S2-1, Futoshi is in 1st place, winning small hands to slowly grow his lead over 2nd place to 8,800. With 1,300 in bonuses and being the dealer, Futoshi has a chance to extend it even more.

Futoshi starts out the hand at 3-shanten with a pair of red dragons and a loosely-connected dora 6p. Within the first few turns, Futoshi is able to call pon on the red dragon to secure a yaku, soon after, Futoshi draws a red 5s to create a 567s sequence and get to iishanten.

In the middle of the second row, Futoshi draws a red 5p, improving to a ryanmen and getting to a perfect iishanten. With a 789m chii, Futoshi gets to tenpai and waits on a 47p ryanmen. In the middle of the third row, Takizawa discards the 7p and deals into Futoshi. Futoshi wins the hand with Red Dragon/Dora 1/Aka 2 for 12,000+300 plus a riichi stick.

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Haitei

February 20, Game 2, S2-3
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3613

In S2-3, Takizawa is in 4th place and almost 20,000 behind the 2nd place tie. He desperately needs points.

Takizawa starts out the hand with an annoying standard 5-shanten hand (4-shanten for a pairs hand), but he does have two isolated red fives and a single north dora. In the first row, Takizawa calls pon on the south, pairs up the north and pairs up the red 5s to get to 3-shanten.

At the start of the second row, Takizawa calls pon on the north to get to 2-shanten, securing a mangan. Within a few turns, Takizawa creates a sequence and gets to tenpai, waiting on a 25m ryanmen. SIx remain in the wall.

Even with so many winning tiles left in the wall, Takizawa seems to be unable to draw it himself. The delay even gives Futoshi time to be tenpai, but he ends up folding soon after he gets there. With three winning tiles left, Takizawa reaches for the final tile in the wall. As he looks at it, he reveals the 2m and wins the hand! Takizawa wins with South/Haitei/Dora 3/Aka 1 for 3,000+300/6,000+300.

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Daigo Dominance

February 20, Game 2
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4603

In S3-0, Daigo is the dealer in a 2nd place tie, 30,300 behind 1st place Futoshi.

From the start, Daigo has a very strong 2-shanten hand with two red fives. The first row doesn’t advance Daigo’s hand, but it does improve the hand greatly, making a good wait much more likely with a chance at a 567 sanshoku.

At the start of the second row, Daigo completes a 567m sequence for iishanten, needing a 7p to complete the sanshoku. After a lot of waiting, Daigo gets the 7p at the start of the third row and waits dama on a 47m ryanmen, guaranteed a mangan. If he can get draw the 7m himself, he will immediately jump up to 1st place.

Right after, Takizawa, who is iishanten, draws a fourth 2p. With the kandora flip, the 5m becomes the new dora, upping Daigo’s hand to a baiman no matter what. With Takizawa’s rinshan draw, he gets to tenpai, but requires throwing the 7m. Trying to call riichi, Takizawa throws the 7m and deals into Daigo. Daigo wins the hand with Pinfu/Tanyao/Sanshoku/Iipeikou/Dora 2/Aka 2 for 24,000, greatly shrinking Futoshi’s lead and dropping Takizawa into the negatives.

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In S3-1, Daigo is now just 6,300 behind 1st place Futoshi.

Daigo starts out the hand 4-shanten with a connected dora 4p. Within the first row, Hinata makes her mark by calling pon on the east, a non-yakuhai honour she can call because of the green dragon triplet in her hand. Connecting a red 5m and making a 123s chii, Hinata gets to tenpai at the end of the first row and waits on a 36m ryanmen.

Within two turns, Futoshi joins in and gets to tenpai on a 4p tanki, though none remain in the wall.

Back to Daigo, he now has three 4p dora, gearing him up for a mangan. With an 8m pon, Daigo gets to iishanten. Near the end of the second row, he makes a 7m pon and waits on a 47p/8s wait.

And to complete it, Takizawa gets to tenpai soon after and waits on a 14s ryanmen.

Four players tenpai, but only one can win. On Futoshi’s turn, he draws and discards the 7p and deals into Daigo. Daigo wins the hand with Tanyao/Dora 3 for 12,000+300, pushing Daigo above 50,000.

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After winning two small hands, Daigo keeps it going in S3-4.

Daigo starts out the hand at 3-shanten, but is currently lacking in any value. The first row provides Daigo with a 5m triplet and cleans up some shapes, getting him to iishanten. At the start of the second row, he creates a 3m triplet and guarantees himself a good wait.

To his left, Futoshi still wants 1st place, holding five pairs and a lone red 5m. Two turns into the second row, Futoshi gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 5m tanki. Unfortunately, Daigo has the other three.

With the good iishanten hand and some safe draws, Daigo keeps going. At the end of the row, he makes a pair of 4s and calls riichi on a 14p ryanmen.

Calling chii on Daigo’s 6p, Takizawa gets to tenpai and waits on a 58m ryanmen.

However, Takizawa ends up folding as he draws a dangerous 3m late in the third row.

On the third-last tile in the wall, Daigo gets the 4p and wins the hand. Daigo wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Tanyao/Ura 1 for 4,000+400 all plus a riichi stick, taking him up to 74,700.

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In S3-5, Daigo is 4-shanten, but has a three-sided wait, a ryanmen, a connected red 5m and a floating 8s dora. On turn 2, Daigo connects the dora with a 9s, forming a penchan. Through the rest of the first row, he fills in the ryanmen and the three-sided wait to get to iishanten.

In the second row, he adjusts his sequences and forms a 7m pair to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 7s penchan. Immediately after, Takizawa discards the 7s trying to keep his good iishanten and deals into Daigo. Daigo wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Dora 1/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 12,000+1,500, moving him up to 88,200, just a few thousand shy of the season record.

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Phoenix Finish

February 20, Game 2, S4-1

In S4-1, Daigo has 80,500 and is a haneman away from the season record. Even if he doesn’t get the record, the result of this game will have a big impact.

With Daigo’s first draw, he gets the dora 1p to avance him to 2-shanten. With a secured red 5m and some sequences, a mangan is on the horizon. On turn 3, he gets to iishanten and needs to get a 3p to have pinfu. On turn 5, he gets the 3p and calls riichi on a 14m ryanmen. To get to a haneman, he needs two more han.

Two turns later, Takizawa discards the 1m trying to advance to iishanten and deals into Daigo. Though he misses the uradora, Daigo still wins with Riichi/Pinfu/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 8,000+300, finishing the game with a cool score of 88,800.

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Results

Game 174

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