Friday (February 28)

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Game 1

Strike Like Zeus

February 28, Game 1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2114

In E1-0, Taro is playing for the Akasaka Drivens and trying to push the team back above +900.0pts.

Taro starts out the hand with three completed sequences, two secured red fives and a floating 7s dora. Through the early part of the game, Hinata is quickly calling, getting both the south and east yakuhai. With her calls, Taro can get his draws faster. With a red 5s draw, he connects it to a floating 4s and replaces the floating 7s for value. In the middle of the row, Taro gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 36s ryanmen. With five han guaranteed he only needs one more to get to a haneman.

Just two turns later, Taro draws the 6s and wins the hand. Taro wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Aka 3 for 3,000/6,000.

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With Taro’s first draw in E2-0, he is already iishanten and has pinfu in the bag. On turn 2, he gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 14m ryanmen, wanting the 4m to tanyao.

Though seven winning tiles remain in the wall for Taro, he doesn’t seem to get any of them. The count dwindles slowly, turn by turn, row by row.

As Taro keeps waiting, Hinata the dealer is looking to build a hand of her own. When she draws the dangerous 4m in the middle of the second row, she breaks up her 9s triplet to avoid dealing in.

With some careful building, Hinata is able to get to tenpai in the middle of the third row and waits on a 4m tanki. If either Nakada or Genta discard it, Hinata will headbump Taro.

Two turns later, Taro ends up drawing the ideal 4m and wins the hand. Hitting an uradora, Taro wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Tanyao/Ura 1 for 2,000/4,000

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Dealer

February 28, Game 1, S1-0

In S1-0, Genta is the dealer in 4th place, 1,000 behind 3rd place Nakada and 7,300 behind 2nd place Hinata.

Genta starts out the hand at 3-shanten with a pair of red dragons, a connected red 5s and a lone south dora. Within the first few turns, Genta forms a pinzu block and makes the red dragons into a triplet, getting him to iishanten. On turn 5, he forms a 123p sequence to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 36s ryanmen.

In the middle of the second row, Genta draws a fourth red dragon and calls a concealed kan. Though the kandora nor the rinshan help, the han generated by the kan gives him enough value for a guaranteed mangan.

At the start of the third row, Genta draws the 6s and wins the hand. Genta wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Red Dragon/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 4,000 all, moving up to 2nd place.

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Taro Again

February 28, Game 1, S2-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2115

In S2-0, Taro still holds a considerable lead and wants to move the game along.

Taro starts out with an incredible iishanten hand from the start, holding a white dragon triplet and bunch of pinzu tiles, leaning heavily towards a honitsu. Though Taro has a chance to take a 7s kanchan tenpai on turn 2, he rejects it to go for more value.

With a few more pinzu draws over the next few turns, Taro gets to tenpai at the start of the second row and calls riichi on a 14p ryanmen.

To his left, 3rd place Hinata has a manzu honitsu brewing herself. In the mdidle of the second row, she breaks her 2s pair to get to the flush iishanten.

However, trouble bubbles as she draws a 1p. As she nears the end of the second row, he has a choice to get rid of the 1p to be free of all pinzu and souzu. However, she stays strong and refuses to discard it, staying safe with an 8m discard.

Even as she draws a 3m on her next turn, she stops herself from discarding the 1p.

Nakada, however, is not able to avoid the danger. Sitting in 4th place with decent value, Nakada discards the 1p at the end of the second row and deals into Taro. As Hinata sees the result, a wave of relief comes over her.

Taro wins the hand with Riichi/Honitsu/White Dragon for 8,000, pushing Taro above 55,000 and Nakada into the negatives.

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Positive Note

February 28, Game 1, S4-1

In S4-1, Hinata is in 3rd place and 4,500 behind 2nd place Genta. With a riichi stick and a honba in the pot, Hinata needs a 3/25 or 4/25 ron to tie 2nd place. For sole 2nd, she neds 2/40 or 3/20 tsumo, or a 1/50 or 2/25 direct hit.

Hinata starts out the hand at 4-shanten with a secured 6m dora. There’s no easy path to a winning hand. However, she does have a handful of manzu. With a bit of force and some lucky draws, she can get the hand she needs for a comeback. In the first row, she makes a pair of green dragons and fills in a 3m kanchan to get to iishanten. However, an 89s block still lingers in her hand.

In the second row, Taro discards the 8m and Hinata calls pon. Because she would have no yaku otherwise, she breaks the souzu block and heads for a honitsu. With a 2m and 7m draw, Hinata gets to tenpai and waits on a 3m kanchan. Two remain in the wall.

Two turns later, Hinata draws the 3m and wins the hand. Hinata wins with Honitsu/Dora 1 for 1,000+100/2,000+100 plus a riichi stick, enough to finish the game in 2nd place.

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Results

Game 183

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Game 2

Dora Wait

February 28, Game 2, E1-0

In E1-0, Matsumoto is playing for the Shibuya Abemas and trying to rescue a relatively rough week for the team.

Matsumoto starts out the hand at 2-shanten with two ryanemsn and a dora 7s penchan shape. The first row doesn’t provide any progress for Matsumoto, leaving him with the two ryanmens and the penchan untouched. Around the table, his opponents either have better shapes or are at iishanten.

In the middle of the second row, Daigo dras a red 5p and stays dama on a 7p penchan, guaranteed a mangan with his half flush.

On Matsumoto’s draw, he finally advances to iishanten. Filling in his last ryanmen a few turns later, he gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 7s dora penchan.

During the ippatsu round, Sugawara joins in and calls riichi on a 47m ryanmen, guaranteed a mangan if she wins.

Then, on Matsumoto’s ippatsu draw, he gets the dora 7s and wins the hand. Matsumoto wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Dora 1 for 2,000/4,000 plus a riichi stick.

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Takame

February 28, Game 2, E3-2

In E3-2, Daigo is in 3rd place, 10,000 behind 2nd place dealer Sugawara and 14,600 behind 1st place Matsumoto. A riichi stick and two honba are in the pot.

Daigo starts out the hand at 3-shanten with an 8s dora in hand. The first row provides him with some pinzu ryanmens and creates a 789s sequence to secure the dora. By the end of the row, Daigo gets to iishanten with pinfu guaranteed. With a 6p and a 9p, he will get ittsuu.

In the middle of the second row, Daigo draws the 6p and calls riichi on a 369p wait, wanting the 9p for the most value. Two turns later,Sugawara discards the 9p and deals into Daigo. Daigo wins the hand with Riichi/Pinfu/Ittsuu/Dora 1 for 8,000+600 plus a riichi stick, moving up to 2nd.

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Rinshan

February 28, Game 2, E4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2116

In E4-0, Futoshi is in 4th place and 7,000 behind 3rd place Sugawara.

Futoshi starts out the hand at 4-shanten with a connected dora 6s and leaning towards tanyao. In the first row, Futoshi creates an 8p triplet and fills in a 4m kanchan, getting to iishanten. Before the row is done, Futoshi gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 6p kanchan.

By this point, both Daigo and Sugawara have called once, both players with a yakuhai pon. Late in the second row, Daigo gets himself to tenpai on a 58s ryanmen. However, as he draws a dangerous 7s, he chooses to take a step back.

With Daigo’s 4p discard, Sugawara calls a 456p chii and waits on a 36s ryanmen.

Within the go-around, Daigo calls a 234s chii and returns to tenpai, this time on a 5s kanchan.

In the third row, Futoshi draws a fourth 8p and calls a concealed kan. With the rinshan draw, he gets…

…the 6p and wins the hand! Futoshi wins with Riichi/Rinshan/Tsumo/Tanyao/Dora 1 for 2,000/4,000, moving up to 3rd.

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To 1st

February 28, Game 2, S3-0

In S3-0, the scores are close around the table, with 4th place dealer Sugawara just 8,700 behind 1st place Matsumoto. Sitting in the middle is 2nd place Futoshi, 4,300 behind Matsumoto.

Futoshi starts out the hand at 4-shanten with only a red 5m for potential value. Making pairs and ryanmens, Futoshi leans closer to tanyao and gets to 2-shanten at the end of the first row.

At the start of the second row, Futoshi draws a 6m and discards the 9p, securing the red 5m as part of a 567m sequence and confirms his hand as tanyao. Two turns later, Futoshi gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 5p/7p shanpon.

To his left, Matsumoto wants to extend his lead going into the final hand. Having called a 123s chii for a potential ittsuu or honitsu, Matsumoto calls pon on the red dragon near the end of the row and waits on a 36s ryanmen, wanting the 6s for a mangan.

Soon after, Daigo draws a dora 1m and has a chance to be tenpai on a 9m/6s shanpon. However, taking the tenpai would mean throwing the red 5p and dealing into Futoshi. After taking more than 40 seconds to think, Daigo ends up throwing the red 5p.

Getting an uradora, Futoshi wins the hand with Tanyao/Dora 1/Aka 2 for 8,000, pushing Futoshi into 1st and Daigo into 4th.

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Impact

February 28, Game 2, S4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4604

In S4-0, Daigo is in 4th place, 3,900 behind 3rd place Sugawara, 12,600 behind 2nd place dealer Matsumoto and 16,300 behind 1st place Futoshi. If Daigo gets a 3/30 ron, he will tie 3rd place. For sole 3rd place, he needs a 2/30 direct hit, or a 2/50 or 3/25 tsumo. If he is bold, he could go for a haneman tsumo for 2nd place. With an ultimate baiman tsumo, he could take 1st place.

Daigo starts out the hand at 4-shanten, lacking any value at all. However, the first row gifts him with a completed sequence and a pair of 2p dora, leading him on a path to 3rd place. As Daigo waits to advance, Matsumoto gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 7m kanchan, guaranteed at least 7,700 if he wins. One 7m remains in the wall.

With nowhere to go but up, Daigo just keeps going. During the ippatsu round, he draws a third dora 2p, holding a base for mangan. After a few turns of rearranging and reshaping, Daigo gets to tenpai near the end of the second row and calls riichi on a 14s ryanmen. Because of Matsumoto’s riichi stick, a tsumo here would be enough for 2nd place.

On his very next draw, Daigo gets the 1s and wins the hand. Two uradora are needed for Daigo to get 1st, but he unfortunately only gets one. Still, Daigo wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Dora 3/Ura 1 for 3,000/6,000 plus a riichi stick. Even though he misses 1st place by 300, he is in a much better position than he was at the start of the hand.

For Futoshi, the win gave the team enough points to break +1000.0pts, the first team in M-League history to accomplish this feat.

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Results

Game 184

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