Standings
The Akasaka Drivens started the semifinals in top spot, and finish there at the end. Gaining +157.0pts with a 6/7/4/3 record, the team reaches new M-League semifinals records. The previous highest score for the semifinals was +549.2pts by the U-Next Pirates last season. The Akasaka Drivens smashed this record by hitting +753.7pts on Tuesday and finishing the semifinals with +714.8pts. If they can get defend their spot at the top, they can get their first championship since their win in the inaugural season.
The U-Next Pirates started and ended the semifinals in 2nd place, but they have significantly closed the gap. Winning 8 games during these semifinals with a +386.1pts gain, they won the most out of all the semifinals teams this year. They even overtook the Akasaka Drivens for a few games in mid-April. With the results, the U-Next Pirates break the curse and become the championship team to make the finals the following year. Going into the finals with just a 44.0pts deficit on the Akasaka Drivens, they have a chance to be the first team to win two championships in a row.
The Sega Sammy Phoenix also made big advances through these semifinals to book their ticket to the finals. The Sega Sammy Phoenix is the first team in M-League history to go through the whole semifinals without a single 4th place. With a 6/8/6 record, they gained +343.0pts. With the team sitting 100.9pts behind the 1st place Akasaka Drivens to start the finals, they will be be fighting hard to get their first championship.
Team Raiden takes the final spot in the finals. It was really tight going into the final day, but a incredible south comeback and eventual 1st place win in the second-last game of the semifinals essentially secured their spot. Though they are in the negatives and quite a ways away from the top, they are int he finals and still have a chance to surprise everyone and win their first championship.
The Konami Mahjong Fight Club fell just short of advancing. They fought through the semifinals and were actually in 4th place at one point, but things went down in their final two game days. Three 4ths and a 3rd place in their final four games dropped them below Team Raiden. They will have to look back at what went wrong so they can improve next season and aim for their first championship
Finally, we have the Shibuya Abemas. By the numbers, this has been the worst semifinals of any M-League team ever. The team struggled to get 1sts, only getting a single one over the 20 games. In almost every day they played, they lost points. They dropped -522.5pts over the semifinals, the most of any team in the history of M-League. They finished with -625.5pts, the lowest of any team in M-League history. With this result, they miss their second finals in a row. They will have to reflect a lot if they want to return to finals form that they had in their first five years.
And that’s all for the M-League 2024-25 semifinals! Congratulations to the Akasaka Drivens, U-Next Pirates, Sega Sammy Phoenix and Team Raiden for advancing to the final stage. The finals will be quite the intense battle. One team is looking for their first championship since the very season. One team is looking for their second championship in a row. Two teams are looking for their first. How will it all turn out?
16 games. 4 teams. 1 winner.
Begins May 5
Intro | Standings
M-League Watch 