Tuesday (April 8)

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Game 1

Taro

April 8, Game 1, E1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2126

In E1-0, Taro is playing for the Akasaka Drivens, hoping to increase the team’s lead over the rest of the league.

Taro starts out the hand at 4-shanten, having no value nor good shapes except for a 47s ryanmen. In the first row, Taro makes a pair of wests, a 567s sequence and a 66778m shape, getting him to iishanten.

At the start of the second row, Taro draws a 5m and has a chance to take a 3m kanchan. However, he rejects it for a chance at a better wait. On his very next turn, he gets a red 5p and calls riichi on a 47p ryanmen, wanting the 7p to get to get sanshoku.

On his ippatsu draw, Taro gets the 4p and wins the hand. Taro wisn with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Pinfu/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 3,000/6,000.

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Setokuma

April 8, Game 1

In E2-1, Setokuma is in 4th place, 3,000 behind 2nd place Hinata and 18,000 behind 1st place Taro. Two riichi sticks and a honba sit in the middle.

Setokuma starts out the hand 4-shanten with a pair of 6m dora. On turn 2, he pairs up the red dragon for a yaku option. Within the go-around, he calls pon to secure it and gets to 2-shanten. By the end of the first row, he adds a 3m pair and gets to iishanten.

To his right, Taro is also sitting iishanten and has already called pon on the east. Approaching the middle of the second row, Taro gets to tenpai and waits on a 3p.

In the middle of the row, Setokuma calls a 123s sequence and gets to tenpai on a 3m/6m shanpon.

Though Taro is a bit behind, Taro improves the hand to a 36p ryanmen, making it a 3 vs. 3 battle. At the start of the third row, Hinata calls an added kan and adds one more han to both tenpai players with the new 5p dora. In the middle of the third row, Hinata discards the 3m and wins the hand. Setokuma wins with Red Dragon/Dora 3/Aka 1 for 8,000+300 plus two riichi sticks, moving up to 2nd place.

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Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s70_p2874

Jumping to E4-2, Setokuma is in 2nd place and 10,700 behind 1st place Taro. Three riichi sticks and two honba are in the pot, meaning a mangan will be enough for 1st place.

Setokuma starts out with a very strong 2-shanten hand with a secured red 5p, two ryanmens and a likely tanyao. Though Setokuma is able to widen his acceptance in the first row, he isn’t able to move forward. Date on the other hand, gets to one-away from seven pairs.

In the second row, Date gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 5m dora tanki.

During the ippatsu round, Setokuma gets to tenpai as well and calls riichi on a 25m ryanmen.

Both players are waiting on the final red 5m in the wall. Only one of them can win. Whichever one draws it will have at least a haneman. Then, on Setokuma’s final draw, he gets the red 5m and wins the hand. Setokuma wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Tanyao/Dora 1/Aka 2 for 3,000+300/6,000+300 plus four riichi sticks, moving Setokuma up to 1st place with 43,400.

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Taro

April 8, Game 1

In S1-3, Taro is in 3rd place and 14,100 beind 1st place Setokuma. 1,300 in bonus sticks are in the pot.

Taro starts out the hand at 3-shanten with a loosely connected red 5m and an isolated 9p dora. From the start, danger is seen as Date the dealer comes out quickly with an east pon, followed by an 8s pon and a 234m chii, getting her to a 5p tanki tenpai.

Right after, Hinata gets to tenpai on a 4m kanchan, but lacks a yaku. Within the go-around, Date improves his wait to a 47s ryanmen.

Looking around at the rest of the table, both Taro and Setokuma are 2-shanten. In the second row, Setokuma fills in a 2s kanchan to get to iishanten. A few turns later, Taro fills in a 7m penchan to get to iishanten as well, wanting a 2p and a 1m to get a 123 sanshoku.

At the end of the second row, Setokuma gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 6s kanchan.

In the third row, Taro draws the 1m and stays dama on a 2p kanchan. Soon after, Hinata discards the 2p and deals into Taro. Taro wins the hand with Sanshoku/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 8,000+900 plus one riichi stick.

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In S2-1, Taro is now just 1,200 behind Setokuma, a win away from moving into 1st place.

Taro starts out the hand at 4-shanten, though lacking in value in his hand. The first row gives Taro a 234s sequence and a 14s ryanmen, getting him to 2-shanten. At the start of the second row, he creates a 4p kanchan to get to iishanten. With a 2p draw right after, he improves to a ryanmen-ryanmen iishanten with a guaranteed pinfu. Near the end of the row, Taro gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 14s ryanmen.

In the third row, Hinata discards the 1s trying to call riichi and deals into Taro. With the uradora flip, Taro’s north pair becomes uradora and upgrades his hand to mangan. Taro wins with Riichi/Pinfu/Ura 2 for 8,000+300, moving up to the top and pushing Hinata into the negatives.

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Setokuma

April 8, Game 1

In S3-0, Setokuma is the dealer in 2nd place, 7,100 behind 1st place Taro. It has been quite the back and forth battle between the two of them.

Setokuma starts the hand out at 4-shanten with a mix of kanchans, a penchan and a ryanmen. For value, Setokuma has a connected dora 2m. In the first row, he secures the 2m, gets a red 5m and then pairs the 2m dora to get to iishanten.

In the second row, Setokuma creates a 58s ryanmen to improve his potential waits. Near the end of the second row, Setokuma fills in a 7m kanchan and gets to tenpai on a 58s ryanmen, guaranteed a mangan if he wins. On his very next draw, Setokuma gets the 5s and wins the hand. Setokuma wins with Tsumo/Pinfu/Dora 2/Aka 1 for 4,000 all, moving into 1st place.

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Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5117

In S3-1, Setokuma starts out 3-shanten and leaning heavily towards a pinzu honitsu. In just four turns, Setokuma is rid of his manzu and souzu tiles while also making a triplet of souths. Before the first row is over, he makes a 14p ryanmen and gets to iishanten.

At the start of the second row, Setokuma draws a third 9p to get to tenpai and waits dama on a 14p ryanmen. Immediately after, 2nd place Taro discards the 1p and deals into Setokuma. Setokuma wins the hand with Honitsu/South/Iipeikou for 12,000+300, getting Setokuma up to 60,600.

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Taro

April 8, Game 1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s70_p2875

In S4-0, Taro is in 3rd place, 1,100 behind 2nd place Date and 24,900 behind 1st place Setokuma. Though it’s quite far, Taro can make up that difference with this final dealership.

Taro starts out the hand 3-shanten from seven pairs (4-shanten from a standard hand) with a pair of white dragon dora being the highlight of the hand. Within the first few turns, Setokuma calls pon on the red dragon, followed immediately by Taro calling pon on the white dragon to secure a yaku and mangan minimum. By the end of the first row, Taro is 2-shanten.

In the second row, Setokuma gets to iishanten and Taro calls a 234m chii to match him. The first of the two to get to tenpai is Setokuma who gets to tenpai on a 69m ryanmen near the end of the second row.

With Setokuma’s discarded 5p, Taro calls chii and gets to tenpai on a 7p kanchan.

Though Taro only has one winning tile compared to Setokuma’s three, Taro only needs the one. In the middle of the third row, Taro draws the final 7p and wins the hand. Taro wins with White Dragon/Dora 3 for 4,000 all.

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Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s70_p2876

Moving to S4-2, Taro is now 6,900 behind 1st place Setokuma. Two riichi sticks and two honba are in the pot.

Taro starts out the hand at 2-shanten with two of the 6s dora in hand. Within the first few turns, Taro is able to make a triplet of 8m and gets rid of a penchan and terminal kanchan, looking for tanyao potential. On turn 5, he completes a 234m sequence to get to iishanten. At the end of the row, he fills in a 6p kanchan and calls riichi on a 69s ryanmen. If he draws the 6s dora he will have a dealer haneman.

On turn 8, Date has a chance to take a 47m ryanmen, but it would require discarding the risky 8s. Not wanting to two it and seeing the potential to get the dora, Date holds on and maintains iishanten. On her very next turn, Date gets a 7s. With that draw, Date calls riichi and gets to tenpai on a 69s ryanmen. If she draws the 6s and gets one more han, she will move into 2nd place. If either the 6s or 9s come out from Hinata or Setokuma, then Taro would headbump Date.

At the end of the second row, Taro draws the 9s and wins the hand. Taro wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Dora 2 for 4,000+200 all plus three riichi sticks, moving up to 1st place.

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Results

Game 3

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Game 2

Sanankou

April 8, Game 2, E1-0

In E1-0, Shiratori is playing for the Shibuya Abemas, trying to recover after Hinata’s -19,200 loss the previous game.

Shiratori starts out the hand with pairs of 3m, 4m, west and 7p, putting him 2-shanten for seven pairs. In the first four turns, Shiratori makes a pair of white dragons and a 4m triplet, being on the border between a pairs and triplet hand. On Shiratori’s next turn, he gets a third 7p to be iishanten for a potential suuankou yakuman.

At the start of the second row, Setokuma calls pon on the 3m and gets to tenpai on a west/white dragon shanpon. If Shiratori draws his winning tile, he will have a mangan.

Immediately after, Honda gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 14p ryanmen.

Within the first go-around, Shiratori draws the white dragon and wins the hand. Shiratori wins with Toitoi/Sanankou/White Dragon for 2,000/4,000 plus a riichi stick, taking the early lead.

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Ippatsu

April 8, Game 2, E4-0

In E4-0, Hisato is in 2nd place and 9,100 behind 1st place dealer Shiratori.

Hisato starts out the hand 4-shanten with a floating red 5p. In the first row, Hisato makes a 9m triplet, a bunch of sequences and gets a 6p to connect to the red 5p for iishanten.

Across from him, Shiratori is iishanten with two red fives. At the start of the second row, Shiratori gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 6m kanchan.

With a wide iishanten with decent value, Hisato pushes. In the middle of the second row, Hisato gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 478m wait. If he wins on the 4m, he will add a 567 sanshoku to his hand.

During the ippatsu round, Shiratori draws and discards the 8m and deals into Hisato. Hisato wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 8,000 plus a riichi stick, moving into 1st place.

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Honda

April 8, Game 2, S1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5118

In S1-0, Honda is the dealer in 4th place, 1,100 behind 3rd place Sonoda and 7,000 behind 2nd place Shiratori.

Honda starts out the hand already 2-shanten with two 5s dora with pinfu guaranteed and a chance at both tanyao and a 234 sanshoku. On turn 4, Honda draws a third 5s to get to iishanten, guaranteeing him at least a mangan. At the end of the second row, Honda draws a 4p to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 14s ryanmen. If he wins on the 1s, he will have at least a mangan. If he wins on the 4s, he will have at least a baiman.

As the turns go on, Honda’s two winning tiles go down to one, then down to zero near the end of the second row. However, there is still a chance for someone to discard it. In the middle of the third row, Sonoda gets himself to yakuless tenpai on a 2s kanchan. On the second-last tile in the wall, Sonoda draws a 3s, now having a choice between a 2s kanchan (throwing the 3s) or a 3s/2p shanpon (throwing the 1s). With the 1s being further away from the dora, Sonoda discards the 1s trying to maintain tenpai and deals into Honda. Honda wins the hand with Riichi/Pinfu/Dora 3 for 12,000, moving up to 2nd.

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Kan Dora

April 8, Game 2, S2-2
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4117

In S2-2, Shiratori is in 3rd place, 5,000 behind 2nd place Honda and 8,900 behind 1st place Hisato.

Shiratori starts out the hand at 3-shanten and pairing up the 9s dora on his first draw. At the end of the first row, he draws a third 9s dora, guaranteeing him at least a mangan if he wins the hand. Looking around the table, Honda is 3-shanten, Hisato is 2-shanten with a red 5s and Sonoda is at a very wide iishanten (having rejected a 6m kanchan tenpai to aim for a better wait and a potential honitsu).

In the second row, Sonoda draws a pinzu to get to a wide honitsu iishaten, Hisato calls the 5s to get to iishanten as well, then Shiratori gets to a wide iishanten as well. The first to get to tenpai is HIsato, who waits on a 6p kanchan.

Within the go-around, Sonoda gets to a wide iishanten and waits on a 369p wait. If the 6p is discarded, Hisato gets priority.

During the ippatsu round, Shiratori draws the fourth 9s dora. With such a wide iishanten and the 9s being too dangerous to throw, Shiratori calls a concealed kan. It take a bit of time, but Shiratori finally gets to tenpai at the start of the second row and calls riichi on a 25p ryanmen. If he gets the 2p, he will have at least a haneman.

With danger from both Shiratori and Sonoda, Hisato folds when he draws the dangerous 5p. In the final go-around, Sonoda draws and discards the 2p and deals into Shiratori. Shiratori wins the hand with Riichi/Iipeikou/Dora 4 for 12,000+600 plus two riichi sticks, moving up to 1st.

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Honda Up

April 8, Game 2, S3-0

In S3-0, Honda is in 3rd place with 30,000, sitting 3,900 behind 2nd place Hisato and 9,600 behind 1st place Shiratori.

Honda starts out the hand already 2-shanten with a triplet of white dragons already secured. On turn 2, he gets to iishanten. Near the end of the first row, Honda fills in a 6p kanchan to get to a wide iishanten.

In the second row, Honda isn’t able to go anwhere, giving his opponents a chance to move forward. Near the end of the second row, Shiratori is the first to tenpai and stays dama on a 5m kanchan, guaranteed at least 5,200.

Immediately after, Honda finally gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 25s ryanmen. Only the red 5s remains in the wall.

Being the dealer deep in 4th place, Sonoda has incentive to push. In the middle of the third row, Sonoda gets to tenpai as well and calls riichi on a 147s wait, wanting the 47s for sanshoku and a mangan minimum hand.

However, none of his winning tiles remain in the wall.

On Honda’s final draw, Honda gets the red 5s and wins the hand. Honda wins with Riichi/Tsumo/White Dragon/Aka 1 for 2,000/4,000 plus a riichi stick, moving up to 1st place going into the final hand.

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Gyakuten

April 8, Game 2, S4-2
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3622

In S4-2, the scores are close at the top. Sitting in 3rd place is Hisato, 7,100 behind 2nd place Honda and 11,400 behind 1st place dealer Shiratori. With a mangan tsumo or a haneman ron, Hisato would finish the game in 1st place.

Hisato starts out the hand at 3-shanten with a floating red 5m for value. With the first row, Hisato makes a 678p sequence to create a shape, but still remains at 3-shanten. The only clear route to get enough value is to get the dora 4m.

At the start of the second row, Hisato completes a 789m sequence to get to 2-shanten. However, he is met with pressure when Sonoda gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 4m dora kanchan.

With no chance of moving into 4th place and so much upside to moving up in rank, Hisato pushes forward. Through th next few turns, Hisato pairs up the 3p again and fills in a 3m penchan to get to iishanten. If he can get the 4m and 6m in a closed hand, he will have at least a mangan.

In the middle of the third row, Hisato finally draws the dora 4m and calls riichi on a 36m ryanmen. To win the game, he needs any 6m win, any tsumo, a 3m direct hit off Shiratori, or any 3m ron with one more han. Immediately after, Sonoda draws and discards the 6m and deals into Hisato. Hisato wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Pinfu/Ittsuu/Dora 1/Aka 1/Ura 1 for a huge 16,000+600 plus 1,000, taking the game.

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Results

Game 4

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Intro | Standings