Monday (April 14)

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Game 1

Ura Ura

April 14, Game 1, E2-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2128

In E2-0, Asami is in 1st place and 6,500 ahead of the 2nd place tie.

Before Asami gets her first draw, Takizawa calls pon on the green dragon to add a bit of pressure on the table. When we do get around to Asami, she is 3-shanten with a flexible 6778s shape. In the first row, she bloats up the group to a 6667778s shape, getting her to iishanten by the end of the row.

At the start of the second row, she pairs up the red 5p to get to a 13-tile iishanten. Two turns later, she draws and 8s and calls riichi on a 58s5p wait.

With a 567m sequence and a 5p pair to go along with the bulky 66677788s shape, how she wins and what tile she wins on will determine how the hand will be scored. In cases of ron on the 5s or 8s, the hand will be considered pinfu and iipeikou. A tsumo on the 5p or 8s will make it sanankou instead. However, a ron on the 5p will give none of them.

Two turns after that, Takizawa discards the 8s and deals into Asami. Hitting the uradora, Asami wins the hand with Riichi/Pinfu/Tanyao/Iipeikou/Aka 1/Ura 2 for 12,000.

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Chiitoi

April 14, Game 1, S1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4610

In S1-0, Daigo is in 4th place, 1,000 behind 3rd place dealer Takizawa and 3,000 behind 2nd place Shiratori.

Daigo starts out the hand at a standard 2-shanten, but also has the potential to go for the 3-shanten seven pairs with the 1s dora pair being part of a 1123s shape. In the first row, he pairs up both the 3m and the 3s, putting him one-away from seven pairs.

Across from him, Takizawa is iishanten with a secured red 5p. At the start of the second row, he makes a 6m triplet and calls riichi on a 58s ryanmen.

During the ippatsu round, Daigopairs up the south to get to tenpai and waits dama on an 8p tanki. On his next turn, he draws the dangerous 5s and chooses to switch.

Over the next few turns, he is able to push relatively safely. Even as Takiawa calls a concealed kan to add another potential uradora, Daigo stays dama. However, when he draws a dangerous 3s, he decides to step back and discard his south pair.

But, even as he folds, the wall tells him to push. On his next turn, the 3s becomes safe and he can shift the triplet back to a pair. Two turns later, he pairs up the 5s and gets to tenpai on a 4p tanki. On his very next draw, he gets the 4p and wins the hand. Daigo wins with Tsumo/Chiitoi/Dora 2 for 2,000/4,000 plus a riichi stick, moving up to 2nd place.

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Dora Ankou

April 14, Game 1, S4-2
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p4611

In S4-2, Daigo is in 2nd place and 6,400 behind Asami. With two honba, Daigo needs a 2/40 direct hit (to tie), a 3/30 tsumo, or a 3/50 or 4/25 ron for 1st place.

From the very start, the mahjong gods bless Daigo with a triplet of the dora red dragon, securing both his yaku and value. All he has to do is advance his 3-shanten hand and win.

The first row is a bit rough for Daigo, not really able to advance well. Moreover, Takizawa to his right has already called two times for pinzu, meaning that he can’t rely on him to fill in his 7p kanchan. As such, he breaks the pinzu shape at the end of the first row.

At the start of the second row, Shiratori is the first to tenpai and stays dama on an 8s kanchan.

Soon after, Takizawa gets to tenpai on a south tanki, having enough value for 3rd place. Unfortunately, Shiratori holds the souths in a triplet.

Back to Daigo, he is iishanten with a 69m ryanmen and a 7s kanchan. In the middle of the second row, Daigo draws the 6m and stays dama on the 7s kanchan. Within the go-around, Takizawa draws and discards the 7s and deals into Daigo. Daigo wins the hand with Red Dragon/Dora 3 for 8,000+600, finishing the game in top spot.

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Results

Game 9

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Game 2

Taro Time

April 14, Game 2, E2-1

In E2-1, Taro is in 2nd place and 4,800 behind 1st place dealer Date.

Taro starts out the hand at 3-shanten with a pair of green dragons and a bunch of ryanmens. Taro isn’t able to make the green dragon into a triplet, but he is able to get to a ryanmen-ryanmen iishanten before the row is over, guaranteeing a good wait.

In the middle of the second row, he gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 25s ryanmen. Though he doesn’t have pinfu because of the green dragon pair, he can still get value with the 2s for iipeikou or the red 5s.

Across from him, Matsumoto is iishanten with a big hand, holding a triplet of 7p and a secured 5m. At the start of the third row, Matsumoto calls a 456p chii and gets to tenpai on a 58s ryanmen.

A few turns later, Matsumoto draws and discards the 2s, dealing into Taro on the higher-value side. With the uradora flip, the 3s doubles the han in his hand. Taro wins with Riichi/Iipeikou/Ura 2 for 8,000+300.

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Takaki Attack

April 14, Game 2, S1-1

In S1-1, Takaki is in 3rd place, 5,500 behind 2nd place Taro and 6,200 behind 1st place Date. A riichi stick and a honba are in the pot. Takaki starts out the hand at 2-shanten with a pair of white dragons. The first row provides him with a third white dragon and shifts ihs focus to a potential pinzu honitsu, breaking his 68m shape. By the end of the first row, he is still two-away from it.

At the start of the second row, Matsumoto gets to a perfect iishanten. On turn 11, Takaki gets to iishanten as well, needing to resolve his 889p shape. On turn 12, Matsumoto is the first to tenpai and calls riichi on a 47m ryanmen, wanting the 4m dora.

At the start of the third row, Takaki draws the 4m. Not wanting to discard the very live dora, Takaki holds onto it. In the middle of the row, he manages to pair it up and gets to tenpai on a 7p kanchan, staying dama. Immediately after, Matsumoto draws and discards the 7p, dealing into Takaki. Takaki wins the hand with White Dragon/Dora 2 for 6,400+300 plus two riichi sticks enough for 1st place.

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Date

April 14, Game 2, S3-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p3627

In S3-0, Date is in 3rd place, 900 behind 2nd place Takaki and 3,900 behind 1st place Taro.

Date starts out the hand with an annoying 4-shanten hand with value nowhere to be seen. As Date spends the first few turns discarding honours, 4th place Matsumoto is looking to add as much value to his hand as possible. When he draws a fourth 9p, he instantly calls a concealed kan, making the 8m pair in his hand into the new dora.

Back to Date, she is still lingering at 3-shanten at the end of the first row. Suddenly, with every draw in the second row, Date advances. In the middle of the second row, Date draws a red 5s to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 6s kanchan.

Back to Matsumoto, he is iishanten and now has a triplet of the 8m dora. During the ippatsu round, Matsumoto gets to tenpai and chases with a 58p ryanmen, guaranteed at least a mangan.

At the start of the third row, Matsumoto draws a fourth 8m and calls another concealed kan. With the kandora flip, his 3s becomes the new dora, moving him up to haneman minimum.

Two turns later, Date draws the final 6s in the wall and wins the hand. Despite three uradora indicators, only one of them hits. Date wins the hand with Riichi/Tsumo/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 2,000/4,000 plus a riichi stick, moving into 1st place with a 9,100 lead going into the final hand.

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Results

Game 10

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Intro | Standings