Game #2
U-Next Pirates
Sega Sammy
Phoenix
Team Raiden
Akasaka
Drivens
Atozuke
May 5, Game 2, E1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s70_p2988
In E1-0, Setokuma is in the starting west seat for Team Raiden, trying to make as much ground as possible in the remaining 15 games.
Setokuma starts out the hand 4-shanten for a standard hand with a floating dora west. If he can manage to pair it up then make it into a triplet, he will have a yaku and mangan minimum. On turn 3, he makes the pair and gets to 3-shanten. He breaks his 6s pair to go all-out on a standard hand. By the end of the first row, Setokuma is 2-shanten.
Across from him, dealer Kobayashi is iishanten. At the start of the second row, he fills in a 4s kanchan to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 4m/white dragon shanpon.
Trusting suji and stray honours, Setokuma gets to iishanten in the middle of the second row. With a 123p chii in the third row, he gets to tenpai and waits on a west/6p shanpon, with only the west giving a yaku. Two turns later, Kobayashi draws and discards the final west and deals into Setokuma. Setokuma wins the hand with West/Dora 3 for 8,000 plus a riichi stick, taking the early lead.
Payback
May 5, Game 2, E4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5632
In E4-0, Kobayashi is in 4th place and 7,000 behind 3rd place Kayamori after dealing into a mangan while in riichi in the first hand of the game.
Kobayashi starts off the hand at 3-shanten with a lookely-connected red 5s. There are the makings of a 345 sanshoku, but he needs a 5m, a 5p and a 4s to get there. On turn 2, he draws a red 5p to add value and get one step closer. When the red 5m comes out from his left on turn 3, Kobayashi calls chii for iishanten, only needing the 4s to complete the sanshoku. With a 1s pon immediately after, Kobayashi gets to tenpai on a 4s kanchan.
Normally, a terminal pon combined with a simple chii makes people a bit apprehensive about discarding loose yakuhai until the last minute. In the second row, Setokuma discards the 4s instead of an unseen white dragon to take iishanten and ends up dealing into Kobayashi. Kobayashi wins the hand with Sanshoku/Aka 3 for 8,000. With the direct hit off Setokuma, Kobayashi moves up to 2nd place and Setokuma down to 4th.
Simple Separation
May 5, Game 2, S3-2
In S3-2, Taro in 1st place, but only 8,200 ahead of 4th place dealer Setokuma. With a riichi stick and two honba in the pot, a 3/40 win by anyone would kick him out of top spot.
Taro starts out the hand at 3-shanten with a pair of white dragons. On turn 3, Taro calls pon on the white dragon to secure a yaku. Over the next few turns, he makes a 234m sequence, calls an added kan on the white dragon and pairs up the 3p with the rinshan. Taro sits tenpai and waits on a 7s penchan.
With the kan by Taro making the 4s the new dora, Kayamori now has additional value. With a pon on Taro’s discarded 8m, Kayamori gets to tenpai on a 3p kanchan. In the middle of the second row, Kayamori improves to a 58p ryanmen.
However, two turns later, Kayamori draws and discards the 7s, dealing into Taro. Taro wins the hand with a simple White Dragon only, but the 1,300+600 plus one riichi stick off of 2nd place puts him in a decent position going into the final hand.
Securing Second
May 5, Game 2, S4-0
In S4-0, 2nd place Kobayashi and 4th place Setokuma are separated by only 1,700. Sitting in the middle is Kayamori, 1,300 behind 2nd place Kobayashi. With a simple 2-han hand, Kayamori can finish the game in 2nd place.
The start of the hand is a call-fest. Before Kayamori gets her first draw, she calls pon on the west to secure a yakuhai and get to 2-shanten. On turn 4, Setokuma calls pon on the red dragon. This is followed by Kobayashi calling pon on the green dragon, then a 234s chii to get Kayamori to tenpai on a 69s ryanmen. With Kayamori’s discarded 6p, Kobayashi calls pon on the 6p.
Near the end of the first row, Setokuma discards the 6s trying to take a ryanmen-ryanmen iishanten and deals into Kayamori. Kayamori wins the hand with West/Dora 1 for 2,000, finishing in 2nd.
Final Scores
Standings
With Taro’s win, the Akasaka Drivens regain the lead over the Sega Sammy Phoenix. A 3rd place by the Pirates drops them a bit further in 3rd place, but are still within striking range of the top. Setokuma’s 4th place drops Team Raiden back into the negatives. 14 games remain.
And that’s all for the first day of the finals! It’s only been two games, but there has already been a shift in the standings. Can the Akasaka Drivens keep a hold on their lead? Can the Phoenix rise to 1st place again? Can the Pirates take their turn on top? Can Team Raiden make it onto the podium? As always, we’ll just have to wait and see!
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