Daisuke And Nakada Contracts Renewed, Sarukawa And Sugawara To Play In Member Audition

On April 4, 2025, the Beast X announced that they would be renewing the contracts for Suzuki Daisuke and Nakada Kana, but Sarukawa Masatoshi and Sugawara Hiroe will have fight for a spot on the team in the Beast X Member Replacement Audition.

In the news release, it was noted that Daisuke does well in conveying the Beast playstyle with his daisangen and Highest Hanchan award, and that Nakada’s mahjong skills are improving and her ability to spread mahjong to the world is indispensable. They also thanked Sarukawa for his role as team captain and Sugawara in her competitiveness and cheerfulness.

The decision comes after the Beast X finished the 2023-24 season in 7th place with -378.7pts, then finished the 2024-25 season in 9th place with -1143.6pts, failing to make the semifinals in both seasons. Due to M-League regulations, a team that fails to make the semifinals two seasons in a row with the same roster will be forced to change at least one player.

With the two vacancies in the Beast X roster, the team will have two draft picks in the M-League 2025-26 Draft. The Beast X have announced that one spot will be chosen normally, while the other will be chosen in the Beast X Member Replacement Audition.

The Beast X Member Replacement Audition will feature Sarukawa and Sugawara, as well as four other players, competing in a 6-player league-style tournament for a spot on the team. The audition will be broadcast on the BS10 channel and streamed on the Japanet Connect (つながるジャパネット) app. Details about the players, format and dates will be announced in a future Beast Road episode (Beast X’s weekly show broadcast every Sunday).

The M-League Watch team would like to wish Sarukawa and Sugawara the very best in the member audition and in their future endeavours.