Friday (February 21)

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Game 1

Daisuke

February 21, Game 1

In E2-0, Daisuke is in 2nd place and 6,900 behind 1st place dealer Hori.

Daisuke starts out the hand drawing the red 5p to get to 2-shanten and also has a dora 7p for value. On turn 2, he pairs up the north to get to iishanten. After adding an additional dora 7p and calling pon on the north, Daisuke gets to tenpai and waits on on a 69p ryanmen. Two turns later, Daisuke gets the 9p and wins the hand. Daisuke wins with North/Dora 2/Aka 1 for 2,000/4,000.

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Jumping to E4-1, Daisuke still holds his lead, but both Mizuhara and Hori are within a mangan of him. 1,300 in bonuses will go to the next winner.

Daisuke starts off drawing a red 5p to be 3-shanten. In the first row, Daisuke draws a dora 4p and a 3p to create a sequence, then fills in a 6s kanchan to get to iishanten. By the end of the row, he is guaranteed pinfu and is lined up for a mangan if he calls riichi.

At the start of the second row, Daisuke gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 69m ryanmen. Near the end of the row, Daisuke gets the 9m and wins the hand. Daisuke wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 2,000+100/4,000+100 plus a riichi stick, pushing him above 40,000.

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Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p6089

Moving to S2-0, Daisuke now has a greater lead over the rest of the table, sitting 16,200 ahead of 2nd place Hori.

Daisuke starts out 3-shanten for seven pairs (5-shanten for a standard hand) with the red 5s as part of a pair. The first row doesn’t provide much in terms of advancement, getting to only 3-shanten even as Daisuke gets rid of his honours and terminals. Around the table, Mizuhara is iishanten and Setokuma has a callable honitsu.

In the second row, Setokuma starts to advance his honitsu by calling a 123m chii for 2-shanten and Daisuke calls a 567p chii for a tanyao iishanten. At the end of the row, Mizuhara is the first to tenpai and calls riichi on a 7p dora penchan.

With Mizuhara’s discards south, Setokuma calls pon and waits on a 14m/7m wait.

Right after, Daisuke calls a 678p chii and gets to tenpai on a 36m ryanmen, guaranteed a mangan. On Setokuma’s turn, he draws and discards the 3m and deals into Daisuke. Daisuke wins the hand with Tanyao/Dora 2/Aka 1 for 8,000 plus a riichi stick.

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Hori

February 21, Game 1, S3-2

In S3-2, Hori is in 2nd place and just 4,300 away from falling into 4th place.

Hori starts out the hand 4-shanten with a bunch of pinzu. Though it may seem like a flush at the start, he creates a ryanmen in manzu and a flexible souzu shape, shifting to a potential tanyao. At the end of the row, Hori creates a 147p three-sided wait.

At the start of the second row, Hori draws a red 5s to get to iishanten. With a 1p draw on his next draw, Hori gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 25m ryanmen.

During the ippatsu round, Daisuke chases on a 47m ryanmen, wanting the 7m for mangan.

A few turns later, Mizuhara makes a 678p chii and waits on a 36s ryanmen.

The showdown ends when Hori draws the 5m at the start of the third row and wins the hand. Hori wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 2,000+200/4,000+200 plus a riichi stick.

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Escaping 4th

February 21, Game 1, S4-0

In S4-0, Setokuma is in 4th place and 3,400 behind 3rd place Mizuhara. To escape 4th place, Setokuma needs a 2/30 direct hit, a 2/40 or 3/20 tsumo, or a 3/30 ron.

Setokuma starts out the hand at 3-shanten with two ryanmens and a white dragon pair. With the 1s being the dora, it will be difficult for Setokuma to gain more value. In the first row, Setokuma makes a pair of 9p and gets to 2-shanten, still needing value.

In the second row, Setokuma makes a 789m sequence and gets to iishanten. Around the start of the third row, Setokuma completes a 345s sequence and calls riichi on a white dragon/9p shanpon. For him to escape 4th, he needs to draw or get a direct hit off Mizuhara on the white dragon, or get a ron off the white dragon and get one more hand.

Immediately after, Mizuhara draws and discards the white dragon and deals into Setokuma. Setokuma wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/White Dragon for 5,200, finishing in 3rd place.

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Results

Game 175

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Game 2

Nakada

February 21, Game 2
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p6090

In E1-0, Nakada is playing for the Beast X and is looking for her first 1st place since September 30.

Nakada starts out the hand drawing the dora 4s to get to 4-shanten. With a bunch of ryanmens in her hand, Nakada manages to get to 2-shanten with a likely pinfu. At the end of the row, Nakada pairs up the 4s for added value.

To her left, Shibukawa is a bit closer, sitting at iishanten and also having a 4s dora pair. At the start of the second row, Shibukawa fills in a 3s penchan to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 5m kanchan.

During the ippatsu round, Nakada gets to a perfect iishanten. A few turns later, Nakada gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 58p ryanmen, guaranteed at least a mangan if he wins. During the ippatsu round, Shibukawa draws and discards the 5p and deals into Nakada. Nakada wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Pinfu/Dora 2 for 8,000 plus a riichi stick.

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In E2-0, Nakada starts out 3-shanten with a 2m triplet and a 69s ryanmen. In the first row, Nakada forms a 123p sequence and gets to iishanten.

Like the previous hand, Shibukawa is doing quite well with an iishanten hand himself. Two turns into the second row, Shibukawa gets to tenpai first and calls riichi on a 3s kanchan. One remains in the wall.

To avoid the riichi, Nakada makes a small shift and breaks her 1s pair. In the middle of the row, Nakada draws the final 3s to fill in her kanchan and calls riichi on a 69s ryanmen. Immediately after, Kobayashi discards the 9s and deals into Nakada. Nakada wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Ura 1 for 5,200 plus a riichi stick, moving her above 40,000.

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Kobayashi

February 21, Game 2, S1-1

In S1-1, Kobayashi is the dealer in 3rd place 4,100 behind 2nd place Honda.

Kobayashi start out the hand at 3-shanten with a secured red 5p. Kobayashi quickly advances his hand, getting to iishanten in the middle of the first row and waits on 13 different tiles for tenpai. Though he lowers his tile acceptance a few turns later, he increases his chances at a good wait. In the middle of the second row, Kobayashi gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 69m ryanmen.

In the third row, Honda discards the discards the 6m trying to widen his iishanten and deals into Kobayashi. Kobayashi wins the hand with Riichi/Pinfu/Aka 1 for 5,800+300.

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Honda

February 21, Game 2, S1-2

In S1-2, Honda is in 3rd place and 8,100 behind Kobayashi, trying to recover from the deal-in in the previous hand.

Honda starts out the hand at 2-shanten with a 6s dora. The groups he still needs to complete are a 7s kanchan, a 4m kanchan and a 47p ryanmen. On turn 4, he draws a 7p to get to iishanten. Two turns later, Honda draws the 7s and calls riichi on a 4m kanchan. Two turns after that, Honda draws the 4m and wins the hand. Hitting the uradora, Honda wins the hand with Riichi/Tsumo/Dora 1/Ura 1 for 2,000+200/4,000+200, moving up to 2nd.

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Kan! Ron!

February 21, Game 2, S2-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s70_p2702

In S2-1, Kobayashi is in 3rd place and 4,700 behind 2nd place dealer Honda. 2,300 in bonuses will go to the next winner.

Kobayashi starts out the hand with four pairs, including a pair of white dragons. In the first row, Kobayashi calls pon on the white dragon and gets to 3-shanten. A slow start, but he at least has a yaku.

In the second row, Kobayashi makes some ryanmens and a 5p triplet, gets to iishanten. Across from him, Shibukawa has a 6m pon to get to iishanten.

At the end of the first row, Kobayashi is the first to tenpai and waits on a 69m ryanmen. Unfortunately, because Honda has a triplet of 9m in his hand and Shibukawa has already called pon on the 6m, Kobayashi’s chances of winning are grim.

There is one chance of hope, though. At the start of the third row, Shibukawa draws the fourth 6m. Shibukawa calls kan and…

…Kobayashi calls ron, getting the chankan! Kobayashi wins the hand with Chankan/White Dragon for 2,000+300 plus two riichi sticks, the third chankan in M-League history.

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Escaping 3rd

February 21, Game 2, S4-0

In S4-0, Kobayashi is in 3rd place, 4,400 behind 2nd place Honda and 11,600 behind 1st place dealer Nakada. For 2nd place, Kobayashi needs a 2/40 direct hit, a 3/30 tsumo or a 3/40 ron. For 1st place, he needs a 3/50 or 4/25 direct hit, mangan tsumo or a haneman ron.

Kobayashi starts out the hand at 4-shanten, though lacking any value at all. The first row does well to provide some potential value to his hand, giving him a possible 678 sanshoku or a 789m iipeikou.

As Kobayashi looks to move up, so does Honda. With a red 5p secured, Honda gives himself a chance at a 345p iipeikou and tanyao. Pairing up the 7s, Honda gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 4p kanchan. However he wins, he will take 1st place.

With 4th place Shibukawa being so far behind, Kobayashi just pushes forward. At the start of the second row, Kobayashi pairs up the 8p and calls riichi on a 7m penchan. If he wins by tsumo, he will take 2nd place, with one more hand giving him 1st. Otherwide, he will need a direct hit or a ron with an additional han to get to 2nd. During the ippatsu round, Honda discards the 7m and deals into Kobayashi. Kobayashi wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Iipeikou for 5,200 plus a riichi stick, finishing in 2nd place.

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Results

Game 176

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