Friday (March 7)

---

Game 1

Sasaki Start

March 7, Game 1, E1-0

In E1-0, Hisato is playing for the Konami Mahjong Fight Club, hoping to get the team back into the positives.

Hisato starts out the hand at 4-shanten, lacking in value or an easy yaku besides riichi. On his second draw, he pairs up the green dragon, giving him an option to open. On turn 3, he draws a dora 5s to add value. Over the next few turns, he creates sequence shapes and increases his chances at a good wait.

On turn 8, Hisato gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 36p/green dragon wait. During the ippatsu round, Hori discards the green dragon trying to take a wide tenpai and deals into Hisato. Hisato wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Green Dragon/Dora 1 for 8,000.

---

Yakuman Tenpai…

March 7, Game 1, E3-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s70_p2763

In E3-1, Sugawara is the dealer in 1st place with a 2,600 lead. On the other end, Hori is in 4th place and 10,600 behind 3rd place.

Sugawara starts out the hand at 2-shanten with a connected dora 6m, while Hori has 10 unique terminals and honours. For Hori, he is 3-shanten from a kokushi tenpai, needing a red dragon, white dragon and 9p.

On turn 3, Hori draws a white dragon, putting him a step closer. However, within the first four turns, we catch sight of all the 9p. With one discarded by Matsugase and a triplet in Sugawara’s hand, Hori’s yakuman chances are dead before he even knows it. On turn 6, Sugawara gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 47m ryanmen, locking in those 9p.

With a good chance at a big yakuman, Hori keeps pushing. On turn 7, he draws a red dragon. With no pair yet, the view from Hori is that he can get a 13-sided wait if he draws a 9p. In the middle of the second row, Hori pairs up the west and gets to tenpai on a 9p wait.

Fans know that the dream of a yakuman is already dead.

At the end of the row, Hori ends up drawing and discarding 7m and deals into Sugawara. As she reveals her hand, Hori stares as he sees where all the 9p are.

Sugawara wins the hand with Riichi/Dora 1 for 4,800+300.

---

Dora

March 7, Game 1, S1-0

In S1-0, Hori is in 4th place and 13,700 behind 3rd place Matsugase.

Hori starts out the hand with a pair of 3p dora, as well as pairs of west, 8p and 6m. In the first row, Hori makes a 567s sequence with a red 5s and a triplet of 8p. By turn 5, Hori is iishanten. However, trouble comes up as 1st place Hisato calls riichi at the end of the row and waits on a 25p ryanmen.

With the riichi, Hori tries to speed up the hand. With a 6m pon, Hori breaks his west pair and shifts to tanyao. Then, in the second row, Matsugase throws his stick in as well and calls riichi on an 8s kanchan.

Still holding a mangan hand, Hori keeps pushing. When Hisato draws and discards the 3p dora, Hori calls pon and waits on a 67p wait. Immediately after, Matsugase draws and discards the 7p and deals into Hori. Hori wins the hand with Tanyao/Dora 3/Aka 1 for 8,000 plus two riichi sticks. With the direct hit, Hori moves up to 3rd place.

---

Above 50k

March 7, Game 1, S2-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3616

In S2-1, Hisato is the dealer again and a mangan away from going above 50,000. A riichi stick and a honba are in the pot.

Hisato starts out the hand with a decent 3-shanten hand with a pair of souths and a loosely-connected red 5s. However, our attention is taken when we see 2nd place Sugawara’s hand, who is iishanten with her very first draw. On turn 2, Sugawara makes a triplet of green dragons and calls riichi on a 25s ryanmen.

Six winning tiles remain in the wall.

With the riichi by Sugawara, Hisato starts to fold. However, as he does that, he starts making pairs. On turn 8, he pairs up his red 5p and get sto iishanten. On his very next turn, he pairs up the red 5s, getting him to tenpai and waiting on a 3s tanki.

Immediately after, Sugawara draws and discards the 3s and deals into Hisato. Hisato wins the hand with Chiitoi/Aka 2 for 9,600+300 plus two riichi sticks, moving Hisato up to 51,5000.

---

Results

Game 191

---

Game 2

Dealer Direction

March 7, Game 2, E2-1

In E2-1, Aki is in 1st place with a 4,300 lead over 2nd place Uchikawa.

Aki starts out the hand at a standard 3-shanten with a pair of double easts, giving her a chance to go for a quick open hand. On turn 3, Aki draws a third east to get to 2-shanten, giving her the right to call anything now.

On turn 4, Date draws a fourth 8m and calls a concealed kan. Though it doesn’t help Date, the new 2s dora double’s Aki’s hand value, setting her up for a dealer mangan.

Near the end of the first row, Aki calls a 789p chii and gets to iishanten. In the second row, she gets to tenpai and waits on a 2s/7s shanpon. Wanting to improve it a bit, Aki calls a 567s chii and shifts to a 36s ryanmen. Right after, Uchikawa discards the 6s and deals into Aki. Aki wins the hand with Double East/Dora 2 for 12000+300 plus two riichi sticks.

---

Beast

March 7, Game 2

In E4-1, Daisuke is the dealer in 3rd place 5,300 behind 2nd place Uchikawa. 1,300 in bonuses will go to the next winner.

Daisuke starts out the hand at 4-shanten with a pair of red dragons. Within the first few turns, Daisuke calls pon on the red dragon and giving him the go-ahead to call everything.

As Daisuke builds, so does Date. With an 8s pon, Date gets to iishanten. Around the end of the row, Date gets to tenpai and waits on a 5p kanchan.

Back to Daisuke, he is 2-shanten with pairs of 9p, south and 6s. In the middle of the second row, Daisuke calls pon on the 6s and gets to iishanten. Making a south triplet a turn later, Daisuke gets to tenpai on a 36m ryanmen.

In the third row, Daisuke draws a second 5m and switches to a 9p/5m shanpon, adding toitoi to the hand as well. A few turns later, Daisuke draws the 9p and wins the hand. Daisuke wins the hand with Toitoi/Red Dragon for 3,200+100 all plus a riichi stick.

---

Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p6092

In E4-2, Daisuke is now in 2nd place and 3,200 behind 1st place Aki.

Daisuke starts out the hand at 3-shanten and has a connected 4p dora. Within the first few turns, Daisuke gets himself to iishanten. However, when he draws another 4p dora, he steps back to incorporate it into his hand.

Around the end of the second row, Daisuke makes a 567s sequence and returns to iishanten. On his next draw, he draws a third 4p dora, getting him to tenpai and calls riichi on a 4p/9m shanpon, guaranteed at least a mangan if he wins.

In the middle of the third row, Daisuke draws the 9m and wins the hand. Daisuke wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Dora 3 for 12,000+600, taking him up to 1st place.

---

Daisuke Dama

March 7, Game 2, S1-2

In S1-2, Daisuke now has 47,900, but he wants more. Two riichi sticks and two honba are in the pot.

From the start, Daisuke is 3-shanten with a secured red 5s and a connected dora 3m. With his pinzu shapes, he needs a 3p, 5p and 8p to create a pinzu ittsuu. On turn 2, he draws an 8p to move the ittsuu forward. On turn 3, he completes a 123m sequence and gets to iishanten. On turn 4, he draws a 5p and gets to tenpai on a 3p penchan, staying dama with a mangan.

Just two turns later, Daisuke draws a 3p and wins the hand. Daisuke wins with Tsumo/Ittsuu/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 2,000+200/4,000+200 plus two riichi sticks, pushing Daisuke up to 58,500.

---

Open Tanyao

March 7, Game 2, S2-1

In S2-1, Aki is the dealer in 2nd place, wanting to separate herself from her approaching opponents.

Aki starts out the hand 2-shanten with a pair of 2m dora and a red 5m. With all this value, Aki will be looking to make this hand even faster. Though she doesn’t advance in the first row, she does shift her hand to tanyao, giving her an option to open. On turn 8, Aki forms a 678m sequence and gets to iishanten.

Aki isn’t the only player looking to increase their score. Across from her, Daisuke has already called pon on the white dragon and gets to iishanten. With a north pon, Daisuke gets to tenpai and waits on a 58m ryanmen.

Soon after, Aki calls a 345p chii and gets to tenpai on a 3s kanchan. Soon after, Date discards the 3s and deals into Aki. Aki wins the hand with Tanyao/Dora 2/Aka 1 for 12,000+300.

---

Uchikawa

March 7, Game 2, S3-1

In E3-1, Uchikawa is in 3rd place and 12,900 behind 2nd place Aki.

From the start, Uchikawa is 2-shanten and an 8p away from a 789p iipeikou. On turn 4, he creates a 69s ryanmen, getting to iishanten. A turn later, Uchikawa draws the desired 8p and calls riichi on a 69s ryanmen.

In the second row, Date discards the 9s and deals into Uchikawa. With the uradora flip, his 9p becomes the new dora and upgrades his hand to a mangan. Uchikawa wins with Riichi/Pinfu/Iipeikou/Ura 2 for 8,000+300.

---

Expensive Open

March 7, Game 2, S4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p6093

In S4-0, 1st place Daisuke is the final dealer and the wants to see how far he can go.

With his first draw, Daisuke pairs up the south and gets to 3-shanten. On turn 3, he calls pon on the south to secure a yaku. Soon after, he calls a 123m chii and gets to 2-shanten.

In the second row, Daisuke makes a pair of east dora, getting him to iishanten. While this goes on, Aki gets to tenpai on a 4s kanchan.

At the end of the second row, Daisuke calls pon on the dora easts for iishanten. With this dangerous pon, Aki ends up folding her hand. Soon after, Daisuke makes a 4p pair and gets to tenpai on a 25s ryanmen.

In the third row, Daisuke draws the perfect red 5s and wins the hand. Daisuke wins with South/East/Dora 3/Aka 1 for a whopping 6,000 all, enough to move Daisuke up to 74,300.

---

To 2nd

March 7, Game 2, S4-1

In S4-1, Uchikawa is in 3rd place and 4,600 behind 2nd place Aki. To finish the game in 2nd place, Uchikawa needs a 2/30 direct hit (for a tie), a 3/30 tsumo or a 3/40 ron.

Uchikawa starts out the hand at 3-shanten with a pair of 5m dora. With the dora pair, he has quite a good hand for the comeback, but he needs just a bit more if he wants to clear all possibilities. In the first row, he pushes his hand to tanyao and get to 2-shanten.

At the start of the second row, he calls pon on the 2s and gets to iishanten. A few turns later, Uchikawa calls a 678p chii and gets to tenpai on a 47s ryanmen. With only a 3/30 hand, he needs a tsumo or a direct hit.

On his very next turn, Uchikawa draws the 7s and wins the hand. Uchikawa wins with Tanyao/Dora 2 for 1,000+100/2,000+100, finishing the game in 2nd.

---

Results

Game 192

---

Intro | Standings