On April 16, 2025, the EX Furinkazan announced that they will be dropping Matsugase Takaya (松ヶ瀬隆弥) and Nikaido Rumi (二階堂瑠美) as players, with Rumi taking on a new role on the team. They also announced that they will hold a draft audition to determine who will fill one of the vacant spots on the team.
Katsumata Kenji (勝又健志) and Nikaido Aki (二階堂亜樹) will have their contracts renewed and will remain on the team as players.
Matsugase was drafted in the M-League 2021-22 after winning the first-ever EX Furinkazan New Member Audition. In his first two seasons, he took 5th and 7th spot, respectively, in the individual standings. However, he ended up in 36th place individually during the 2023-24 season and 32nd place in the 2024-25 season. He also ended up dealing into a kokushi on the team’s last day of the season.
In a Tweet, Matsugase described the past four years with the team as motivating and magnificent.
Rumi was drafted in the M-League 2021-22 season, joining her younger sister Aki on the EX Furinkazan. She helped the team get to two finals and broke the league’s almost 17-month yakuman drought on December 5, 2024 by winning a suuankou. However, she has only had one positive season and finished the most recent season in 33rd place individually.
In addition, Rumi has been facing health challenges since the mid-season and played only three games in 2025. To focus on her health, the team requested that she drop as a player but take on a new role on the team, which she has accepted. The exact details and title of the new role is unknown, but she will take part in team events as she is able to.
Audition
In addition, the team will be hosting an audition to see to determine one player that will be picked at the next draft (the other vacant spot will be chosen separately).
Semifinals
The audition semifinals will take place on June 15 and June 21 and will involve the following players:
- Winner of IKUSA 2025 (currently ongoing)
- Nagai Kousuke (永井 孝典) (2nd Special Sparring Partner/IKUSA 2024 winner)
- 6 recommended players
The first four games will be played on June 15 starting at 12:00 JST and there will be a live broadcast on the EX Furinkazan YouTube channel.
The following eight games will be played on June 21 starting at 10:00 JST and there will be a broadcast on the ABEMA Mahjong Channel.
Finals
The finals will be on June 22 and will involve
- The top 3 players of the semifinals
- Hitotsui Shinya (一井慎也) (1st Special Sparring Partner/IKUSA 2023 winner)
The finals will be three games long and will be broadcast on the ABEMA Mahjong Channel starting at 15:00 JST.
The M-League Watch team would like to wish Matsugase the best in his future mahjong endeavours and Rumi the best of health and luck in her new position.
M-League Watch 
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