Monday (February 24)

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Game 1

Furiten Doesn’t Matter

February 24, Game 1, E4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2605

In E4-0, Aki is in 3rd place, as close to 2nd place as you can get and 7,200 behind 1st place dealer Genta.

With Aki’s first draw, she is already iishanten with a red 5p and a red 5m double dora. She does have a mangan, but an 8m kanchan shape will slow some things down very slightly. On turn 3, Aki shifts away from the 9m terminal dependency, creating a 14s ryanmen and sort of guarantees herself a good wait. However, if she chooses to aim for a tanyao, the 14s ryanmen could be dangerous.

Through the rest of the first row, Aki draws a second 5m and then calls pon to get to tenpai and waits on a 14s ryanmen. If she gets the 4s, she will have a haneman. If she gets the 1s, the hand is worth nothing.

Near the end of the second row, Aki draws the 1s. The hand becomes furiten as she discards it, but she still has a chance to win if she draws the 4s herself.

Then, in the middle of the third row, Aki draws the 4s and wins the hand! Aki wins with Tanyao/Dora 3/Aka 2 for 3,000/6,000, taking the lead.

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Ura Ura

February 24, Game 1, S2-0

In S2-0, Genta is in 3rd place, 2,300 behind 2nd place Hisato and 12,000 behind 1st place Aki.

Genta starts out the hand drawing the 8m dora to get to 2-shanten with two potential ryanmens. In the first row, he fills in one of the ryanmens and advances to iishanten. To Genta’s right, Shiratori is also iishanten, though he is much more well-placed with two ryanmens and a guaranteed pinfu and tanyao.

In the middle of the second row, Shiratori is the first to tenpai and calls riichi on a 36p ryanmen.

During the ippatsu round, Genta has a chance to get to tenpai, a choice between a 147m three-sided wait and a south tanki. WIth two 1m already discarded and the other two waits being valuable middle tiles, Genta chooses to stay dama on a south tanki. On his very next turn, he decides to call riichi.

In the third row, Shiratori draws and discards the final south in the wall and deals into Genta. With Genta’s two 6m becoming the uradora, Genta wins the hand with Riichi/Dora 1/Ura 2 for 8,000 plus one riichi stick, moving up to 2nd place.

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Furiten Doesn’t Matter

February 24, Game 1, S3-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4110

In S3-0, Shiratori is in 4th place and 19,600 behind 3rd place Hisato. He only has two more hands if he wants to make a comeback.

With Shiratori’s first 13 tiles, he is already iishanten and has three different tiles that can give him a double riichi. He doesn’t get it, but his hand still seems quick. On turn 3, Shiratori makes a big decision to break a 123m sequence, wanting to shift to tanyao and gain more points. After breaking the sequence he gets back to iishanten.

In the second row, Shiratori spends most of his time watching and waiting, seeing as his opponents call and build their own hands. Near the end of the second row, Hisato calls pon on the green dragon and gets to tenpai on a 4m/5m shanpon. A turn later, he shifts to a 36m ryanmen.

Soon after, Genta calls a 567s sequence and gets to tenpai on a 36m ryanmen.

On Shiratori’s turn, he gets to tenpai on a 147s three-sided wait. However, he discarded the 1s on his very first turn, making him furiten. Even so, Shiratori calls riichi. Durign the ippatsu round, Aki discards the 1s and Hisato discards the 4s, neither of which Shiratori can call.

Then, on his very next draw, Shiratori draws the 4s and wins the hand. Shiratori wins the hand with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Tanyao/Dora 1/Ura 1 for a big 3,000/6,000, putting him just 1,600 behind 3rd place HIsato going into the final hand.

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Results

Game 177

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Game 2

To 1st

February 24, Game 2, S1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3614

In S1-0, Date is the dealer in 3rd place, 4,300 behind 2nd place Aki and 9,100 behind 1st place Ooi.

Date starts out the hand at 3-shanten with two completed groups. However, she lacks value. In the first row, she discards terminals and honours, shifting to tanyao. By the end of the row, she is 2-shanten.

In the second row, Date fills in a kanchan and advances to iishanten. As she waits, Aki gets to tenpai first and calls riichi on a 25s ryanmen.

Immediately after, Date gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 58s ryanmen.

Breaking the ippatsu, Ooi calls a 678m chii and waits on a 69p ryanmen, only allowed to win on the 6p.

At the end of the third row, Ooi draws the dangerous 7s and decides to fold, leaving Date and Aki in a head-to-head battle. Then, on the third-last tile in the wall, Date gets the 5s and wins the hand. Date wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Tanyao/Ura 1 for 4,000 all, taking the lead.

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Dora 3

February 24, Game 2, S2-1

In S2-1, Aki starts out the hand at 4-shanten with a single dora 7p. In the first row, Aki pairs up a 7p and calls a 345p chii, forcing tanyao. At the end of the row, Aki draws a third 7p and gets to iishanten for mangan.

In the second row, Aki gets to tenpai and waits on a 25s ryanmen.

In the middle of the second row, Ooi fills in a kanchan to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 69m ryanmen, holding enough value to move himself into 1st place if he wins.

Then, on Aki’s turn, she gets the 2s and wins the hand. Aki wins with Tanyao/Dora 3 for 2,000+100/4,000+100 plus a riichi stick.

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Escaping 4th

February 24, Game 2, S4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s70_p2709

In S4-0, Takaki is in 4th place and 3,800 behind 3rd place Ooi. With a 2/30 direct hit, a 2/50 or 3/25 tsumo, or a 3/30 ron, he will move into 3rd. With a mangan tsumo, he can take 2nd. And, if he manages to get a haneman tsumo, he will take the big prize of 1st place.

Takaki starts out the hand at 2-shanten with a red 5m. On turn 5, Takaki draws a dora 3p and gets to iishanten. On his very next turn, he draws a 5s and has a tenpai choice: a 36s ryanmen or a 25m ryanmen. Making the choice, Takaki chooses to call riichi on a 25m ryanmen. If he draw the winning tile on his next turn, he will have a haneman for 1st place.

On his next turn, he draws the 3s. If he had chosen the other wait, he would have won the game.

Near the end of the row, Ooi discards the 2m and deals into Takaki. Takaki wins the hand with Riichi/Pinfu/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 8,000, finishing the game in 3rd place.

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Results

Game 178

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