Game #15
Team Raiden
Sega Sammy
Phoenix
U-Next Pirates
Akasaka
Drivens
Forward Driven
May 16, Game 1, E3-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2141
In E3-0, Taro is in 3rd place, 4,500 behind 2nd place Yu and 6,500 behind 1st place Kurosawa.
Taro starts out the hand at 3-shanten with two ryanmens and a connected dora 3s. The first row provides him with a guaranteed good wait and gets to 2-shanten. Looking around the table, both Takaki and Yu are 2-shanten as well.
On turn 8, Taro draws a 4s to secure a red 5s, putting him iishanten. As he waits, Yu gets to tenpai first calling a 345m chii and get sto tenpai on a 4p kanchan.
Within the go-around, Takaki calls riichi on a 25s ryanmen.
With the good wait and good value in his hand, Taro pushes. In the middle of the third row, Taro draws the 6m and calls riichi on a 69s ryanmen. If he gets the 6s, he will add both tanyao and sanshoku, increasing the hand to at least a haneman. Two turns later, Takaki draws and discards the 6s and deals into Taro. Taro wins the hand with Riichi/Pinfu/Tanyao/Sanshoku/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 12,000 plus a riichi stick, a huge hit on a rival.
Yakuman Tenpai!?!
May 16, Game 1, E4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p2142
In E4-0, Taro is the dealer in 1st place while Takaki is low in 4th place. Though it’s good progress, Taro still wants more for a more secure 1st place.
Taro starts out the hand at 3-shanten with pairs of 2s, 5s (including the red 5s) and 8p. The first row gives Taro pairs of 7s and 7m, getting him to iishanten.
Starting from turn 8, Taro makes his pairs into triplets. By turn 10, Taro is tenpai for a potential suuankou, calling riichi on a 2s/8p shanpon. If he wins by tsumo, he will have a yakuman.
Three winning tiles remain in the wall.
Across from him, Takaki is iishanten. During the ippatsu round, he draws the 5m to make a pair and calls riichi on a 58p ryanmen.
As the turns go by, Taro’s remaining 2s are taken up, leaving both players waiting on a single 8p for the win. Unfortunately, neither player is able to get it and the hand ends in a draw.
Raiden Ahead
May 16, Game 1, E4-1
In E4-1, Kurosawa is in 2nd place and 8,500 behind 1st place dealer Taro. Two riichi sticks and a honba are in the pot.
Kurosawa starts out the hand at 2-shanten with a connected 8m dora. Kurosawa focuses her hand to tanyao getting rid of all her terminals on turn 2. After drawing a red 5m and making a three-sided wait, Kurosawa gets to iishanten at the end of the first row.
In the second row, Kurosawa makes his single 6s into a pair, then into a triplet to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 369m three-sided wait.
To her right, Takaki cuts his 1s pair to stay safe for now. As he does that, he pairs up the 8m dora and gets to iishanten. As he waits, Kurosawa draws a fourth 6s and calls a concealed kan. The new kandora doesn’t help anyone, but there is still a chance at a new uradora.
Soon after, Takaki he gets to tenpai and waits on a 69p ryanmen. However, he is furiten and none remain in the wall.
With Takaki’s discarded east, Yu calls pon and gets to tenpai on a 258m wait.
The call by Yu shifts the wall in Kurosawa’s favour giving her her winning 3m on her next draw. With her 5s pair being the uradora, Kurosawa wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Tanyao/Dora 1/Aka 1/Ura 2 for 3,000+100/6,000+100 plus two riichi sticks.
Yu Up
May 16, Game 1
In S1-0, Yu is in 3rd place and 7,500 behind 2nd place Taro.
With Yu’s very first draw, he fills in a kanchan to secure the dora 1s and gets to iishanten. Just two turns later, he makes a 789s sequence and calls riichi on a 47m ryanmen.
He starts out with 3 winning tiles left in the wall. Through the first and the second, the count remains at 3. At the start of the second row, Taro draws a 7m to take it down to 2. Soon after, a 4m draw takes it down to just 1. Then, on Yu’s next draw, he gets the final 4m and wins the hand. Yu wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Dora 1 for 1,300/2,600, coming to within 1,000 of 2nd place.
Jumping to S3-1, Yu is the dealer in 2nd place and 13,600 behind 1st place Kurosawa. A riichi stick and a honba are in the pot.
Yu starts out at 3-shanten, holding a secured red 5p and a floating dora 2s. On turn 2, he pairs up the green dragon, but it gets killed as Kurosawa makes a pair of them right after. After creating a 123m sequence and an 8m triplet, Yu gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 47m ryanmen.
To his right, 3rd place Taro is already iishanten and has called pon on the 2s dora. With Yu’s discarded 5s, Taro calls chii on a 567s sequence and gets to tenpai on an 8p tanki. In the middle of the second row, Taro improves to a 47m nobetan. He has the same wait as Taro, but is at a disadvantage in a headbump situation.
Near the end of the second row, Takaki gets to tenpai and stays dama on a 47p ryanmen.
In the third row, Yu draws the 7m and wins the hand. Yu wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Aka 1 for 2,000+100 all plus a riichi stick.
In S3-2, Yu starts out 4-shanten with a pair of 2m dora. Despite making a pair of 1s, Yu calls a 345p chii at the end of the first row and cuts his terminal pair. He remains 3-shanten from tanyao. With a 567s chii, he advances to 2-shanten.
On Takaki’s turn, he calls a 678m chii and gets to tenpai on a 25m ryanmen.
With Takaki’s discard, Yu calls a 456m chii for iishanten. He has a floating 5m in his hand, which would be an untimely deal-in being so close to 1st place. But, he manages to hold onto it and he ends up drawing the 6m to connect it, getting to tenpai on a 47m ryanmen. In the third row, Yu draws the 7m and wins the hand. Yu wins with Tanyao/Dora 2 of 2,000+200 all, moving up to 1st place.
Toitoi Taro
May 16, Game 1, S4-5
In S4-5, Taro is the dealer in 3rd place, 18,200 behind 2nd place Yu and 19,600 behind 1st place Kurosawa. With two riichi sticks and five honba in the pot, the next winner will get a lot of bonuses.
Taro starts out with a strong iishanten hand with a triplet of 7p dora for big value. Even though it’s a bit farther, Taro can call pon on the 8p, 8m and 9m and aim for a triplets hand.
Across from him, Takaki has pairs of north, east and green dragons. With a north and a 7m pon, Takaki is the first to tenpai and waits on an east/green dragon shanpon. With no other yaku, he is only allowed to win on the green dragon.
After Kurosawa joins in with a red dragon pon, Taro gets the signal that he needs to speed up. When the 8m comes out, he calls pon and hopes to make a triplet with the 8p, 4m or 9m pairs. When the 8p comes out, Taro calls it and gets to tenpai on a 4m/9m shanpon, guaranteed a mangan if he wins.
Soon after, Kurosawa calls pon on the 2p and gets to tenpai on a 2m/4m shanpon.
On Takaki’s next turn, he draws and discards the 9m and deals into Taro. Taro wins the hand with Toitoi/Dora 3 for 12,000+1,500 plus two riichi sticks, moving to within 4,100 of 1st place.
Closing It Out
May 16, Game 1, S4-6
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p5636
In S4-6, Yu is in 2nd place and 1,400 behind 1st Kurosawa. With six honba in the pot, any win is enough.
From the very start, Yu is 2-shanten for seven pairs, but the north pair could be called to push towards a standard hand. On turn 4, he calls pon on the north and gets to 2-shanten. In the second row, he fills in a 5m kanchan to get to a perfect iishanten. Forming a 234p sequence, Yu gets to tenpai and waits on a 58s ryanmen.
There are four of his waits left in the wall, they don’t come out within a few turns. In the third row, Kurosawa is able to call a 456p chii and gets to tenpai on a 14m ryanmen, only allowed to win on the 4m. If she does win, though, it will be a mangan.
Two turns later, Yu draws the 5s and wins the hand. Yu wins with North/Dora 1 for 500+600/1,000+600, finishing a very important game in 1st place.
Final Scores
Standings
With another big win by U-Next Pirates and the Sega Sammy Phoenix getting a big 4th place, the U-Next Pirates move into 1st place for the first time in these finals. The champion is far from decided, with the Phoenix 54.5pts away from 1st place and the Drivens 69.5pts away from top spot.
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Awards Ceremony | Final Thoughts
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