Tuesday (February 25)

---

Game 1

Suji Trap

February 25, Game 1, E1-1

In E1-1, Daisuke is tied for 3rd place and 3,000 behind 1st place Mizuhara. 1,300 in bonuses are up for grabs.

Daisuke starts out the hand with pairs of 2m, 5p and 6s, putting him 3-shanten for chiitoi. On turn 4, he pairs up the 3s and on turn 4, he pairs up the 3p. Getting a second green dragon dora on turn 5, he gets to tenpai and waits on an 8s tanki. At the end of the row, Daisuke draws a 9p. Having previously discaded a 6p, Daisuke makes the devious plan to call riichi and wait on the suji trap 9p tanki.

In the middle of the second row, Asami discards the 9p and deals into Daisuke. Daisuke wins the hand with Riichi/Chiitoi/Dora 2 for 8,000+300 plus a riichi stick, taking the lead.

---

Kanchan

February 25, Game 1, E3-2

In E3-2, Hori is in 3rd place, 5,000 behind 2nd place Mizuhara and 7,300 behind 1st place dealer Daisuke. A riichi stick and two honba are in the pot.

Hori starts off at 2-shanten with three completed groups, including a triplet of green dragons. On turn 3, Hori draws a 7p to connect to his 5p dora. A turn later, he pairs up the white dragon and calls riichi on a 6p kanchan.

To his left, Daisuke is 2-shanten with a connected dora 5p. After making a north triplet at the end of the first row, Daisuke pushes forward. On turn 8, he gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 47p ryanmen.

At the end of the second row, Hori draws the 6p, beating out Daisuke’s ryanmen with a kanchan. Hori wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Green Dragon/Dora 1 for 2,000+200/4,000+200 plus two riichi sticks, moving up to the top.

---

Climb

February 25, Game 1

In S3-0, Daisuke is the dealer and died with Hori for 1st place.

Daisuke starts off with a strong 2-shanten hand with two red fives and a pair of souths. He doesn’t advance much in the first row, but he reinforces his shapes and gives himself more opportunities for calling. To his right, Hori, gets himself to iishanten, though lacking in any value.

On turn 7, Daisuke complete a ryanmen and gets to a perfect iishanten, still holding the potential to call the south. On turn 8, Hori is actually the first to tenpai and calls riichi on an 8p kanchan.

With the dealership and all the value, Daisuke pushes. When the south comes out from Hori, he calls pon and gets to tenpai on a 58s ryanmen. In the third row, Daisuke draws the 8s and winst he hand. Daisuke wins the hand with South/Aka 2 for 2,000 all plus a riichi stick.

---

In S3-1, Daisuke starts out the hand at 4-shanten with two ryanmens, a secured red 5s and a pair of souths. In the first row, Daisuke quickly gets himself to iishanten by forming sequences and simple pairs. After creating a 3p pair to go with his 3s pair, Daisuke gets rid of his south pair, aiming to add tanyao to his hand.

To his left, 3rd place Mizuhara is also iishanten and has a white dragon triplet in hand. At the start of the second row, Mizuhara draws the 7p dora to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 7s penchan.

With the iishanten, good shapes and good wait, Daisuke pushes his hand a little bit. In the middle of the row, he makes a 345s chii to get to tenpai and waits on a 25m ryanmen. WIthin the go-around, Mizuhara draws and discards the 5m and deals into Daisuke. Daisuke wins the hand with Tanyao/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 5,800+300 plus one riichi stick.

---

Results

Game 179

---

Game 2

4-Siding

February 25, Game 2, E1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s70_p2716

In E1-0, Nakabayashi is playing for the U-Next Pirates, trying to recover the losses from Mizuhara’s 4th place.

Nakabayashi starts out the hand 4-shanten, lacking good shapes and value. In the first row, he fills in a 3m penchan and makes a triplet of 9p, getting him to 2-shanten.

However, pressure brews as Uchikawa draws the red 5p, gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 3m. Holding two dora 5m, a red 5p and a red 5m, Uchikawa has mangan guaranteed and needs just one more han to upgrade to a haneman.

During the ippatsu round, Nakabayashi gets himself to iishanten and has a good wait lined up. On his very next turn, he gets a big 5p draw and calls riichi on a wide 2578p wait. Immediately after, Uchikawa draws and discards the 2p and deals into Nakabayashi. Nakabayashi wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Pinfu/Ura 1 for 8,000 plus a riichi stick.

---

Same Wait

February 25, Game 2, E2-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2113

In E2-0, Sonoda is tied for 2nd place and 9,000 behind 1st place Nakabayashi.

Sonoda starts out with a huge 2-shanten hand with a 2m dora triplet, a red 5m and pair of easts. In the first row, Sonoda makes the easts into a triplet, though he still remains at 2-shanten (albeit a wider one).

To his right, Nakabayashi has a solid hand with a white dragon triplet and some ryanmens. At the end of the row, Nakabayashi is the first to tenpai and calls riichi on a 36m ryanmen.

On Sonoda’s next draw, he fills in a ryanmen and gets to iishanten. With a 789m chii, Sonoda gets to tenpai and waits on a 36m ryanmen, the same wait as Nakabayashi. Being earlier in turn order, Sonoda will have priority on ron.

Near the end of the row, Sonoda draws the 6m and wins the hand. Sonoda wins with East/Dora 2/Aka 1 for 2,000/4,000 plus a riichi stick, moving into the lead.

---

Securing 1st

February 25, Game 2, S4-1

In S4-1, Sonoda is in 1st place and holding a 3,200 lead over 2nd place final dealer Nakabayashi. 1,300 in bonuses sit in the pot. Sonoda wants to stop any chance of Nakabayashi overtaking him in this final hand.

From the start, Nakabayashi and Uchikawa are 2-shanten while Daisuke and Sonoda sit at 3-shanten. After forming some ryanmens, Sonoda makes the bold decision to call a 234m chii, trying to speed up his hand as quickly as possible. With a 9s pair, slowing down tanyao, Sonoda’s other routes for speed are a 234 sanshoku (requiring both a 2s and a 4p) or a yakuhai (needing to make the north into a triplet). At the end of the row, he pairs up the north and decides to go all in on the yakuhai route.

At the start of the second row, he completes a 234p sequence, getting to tenpai on a 9s/north shanpon. Sonoda is only allowed to win on the north.

Soon after, Uchikawa calls a 678m sequence and gets to tenpai on a 4s tanki, looking to secure his 3rd place. However, on his very next turn, he draws and discards the north and deals into Sonoda.

Sonoda wins the hand with North/Dora 1 for 2,000+300 plus a riichi stick, ending the game on top.

---

Results

Game 180

---

Intro | Standings