Friday (September 19)

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Game 1

Setokuma Start

September 19, Game 1, E1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p10002

In E1-0, Setokuma is the starting dealer, trying to get a 1st place like Hagiwara did the day before.

Setokuma starts off the hand at 4-shanten with a dora 4m as part of a block. The first row provides Setokuma with both good value (in the form of a red 5p) and filling in bad shapes (including a 3s penchan and a 5s kanchan). By turn 5, he is iishanten. A turn later, he creates a 345p sequence (to secure the red 5p) and calls riichi on a 5m kanchan.

Immediately after, Aikawa draws the final 5m, which happens to be red. Though Setokuma has no chance to draw it, Aikawa is iishanten and could discard it if she gets to tenpai. Sure enough, on her next turn, Aikawa discards the red 5m trying to call riichi and deals in. Setokuma wins the hand with Riichi/Dora 1/Aka 2 for 12,000.

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Sonic Jet

September 19, Game 1, E2-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p11502

In E2-0, Aikawa is the dealer in 4th place after dealing into the first two hands of the game.

With Aikawa’s very first draw, she gets a red 5m and gets to iishanten. On her very next turn, she makes a triplet of souths and calls riichi on a 36p ryanmen. As if things couldn’t go any more perfectly, Aikawa draws the 6p on the ippatsu turn and wins the hand. Aikawa wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Aka 1 for 4,000 all, bringing her up to 2nd place.

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Debut

September 19, Game 1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p7501

In E3-1, Nagai Kousuke is playing in his very first game. he is down early and is 5,800 behind 3rd place Ooi. With his dealership and a riichi stick in the pot, he can make good progress with a good win.

Nagai starts off at 4-shanten with a connected red 5p and a floatiing west dora. Though the west prospect fades quite early, efficient playing by Nagai gets him to a perfect iishanten by the end of the first row. On his next turn, he gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 36p ryanmen.

Despite having such a good wait, nothing comes to him. Even by the middle of the third row, four of his winning tiles remain in the wall. At the same time, Setokuma makes a call to get to tenpai on an 8p/east shanpon, only allowed to win on the east. When he draws the fourth 9s, Nagai calls a concealed kan and his 4p becomes a dora. With the wall winding down, Ooi is able to get to tenpai on a yakuless 3p penchan, looking to get tenpai payments.

Then, on Nagai’s last draw, he gets 6p and wins the hand. Nagai wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Dora 1/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 4,000+100 all plus a riichi stick, pushing him up to 2nd.

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Jumping to E4-3, Nagai is in 2nd and sits 7,700 behind 1st place Setokuma.

Nagai starts off at 3-shanten with a connected red 5p. His 44567779m shape in particular is flexible for creating another block. In the first row, he creates a pair of norths and makes a 25m ryanmen to go along with his 36p ryanmen, putting him iishanten. At the start of the second row, he calls riichi on a 36p ryanmen. He doesn’t have much value other than the red 5p, but a tsumo plus one more han can get him to mangan.

Near the end of the second row, Nagai gets that 6p (just like he did two hands ago) and wins the hand. With an uradora hit as well, Nagai wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 2,000+300/4,000+300, moving up to 1st.

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In S1-0, Nagai yet again has a red 5p. This time, it is part of a 2-shanten hand with two dora 6p. On turn 3, he pairs up the wests to get to iishanten. On turn 5, it’s actually Ooi who is the first to tenpai, who waits dama on a 6m kanchan.

At the end of the first row, Nagai makes the interesting choice of going back a step. He breaks his 13s block in order to give himself the best possible chance to use both 6p dora. With a 35667p shape, he can draw the 4p and potentially use the 6p as a pair (if he makes a west triplet). In the middle of the second row, the shape changes to a 456678p shape for two sequence. With tenpai, he calls riichi on a 3m kanchan for mangan minimum.

When Ooi draws a dangerous 8p, he breaks his 3s pair. But, on his very next turn, he draws the 6m which would have been his winning tile had he pushed. This lost opportunity gives Nagai a chance as Ooi’s new 8p wait has none left in the wall. In the middle of the third row, Ooi ends up drawing and discarding the 3m and deals into Nagai. Nagai wins the hand with Riichi/Dora 2/Aka 1 for 8,000.

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Results

Game 7

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Game 2

Sticks

September 19, Game 2, E3-2

In E3-2, Kurosawa is in 3rd place and just 4,00 behind 1st place Shiratori. With three riichi sticks and two honba in the pot, any win will put her on top.

Kurosawa starts out the hand at 3-shanten with a bunch of kanchans and no value or yaku to speak of. Throwing mostly honours, Kurosawa’s hand starts to shape up in the first row. With a red 5p as part of a ryanmen and a 46m block to go along with the 456s sequence, a sanshoku is possible. By the end of the first row, Kurosawa is 2-shanten with a callable hand should the circumstances.

With an 8s draw to complete a 456789s shape, the only thing left to get a guaranteed sanshoku is a 4p. As she waits, Shiratori gets to tenpai on a 7s tanki. Since that’s the only tile that isn’t an honour or a manzu tile, Shiratori makes the easy decision to shift to a green dragon tanki when it comes.

At the start of the third row, Kurosawa draws a 7p. It’s the wrong side of the ryanmen, but it does get to tenpai. With two han guaranteed, she calls riichi and waits on a 5m kanchan. With no manzu (aside from the 8m riichi tile) in her discards, her only chance will be a self-draw. Sure enough, on her next draw (though interrupted by a call), Kurosawa gets the 5m. Hitting the uradora, Kurosawa wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 2,000+200/4,000+200 plus three riichi sticks.

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Dora San

September 19, Game 2, E4-1

In E4-1, Uchikawa is in 3rd place, 700 behind 2nd place Shiratori and 14,400 behind 1st place Kurosawa.

Uchikawa starts out with a decent 3-shanten hand with pairs of red dragon and north, as well as a floating east dora. On turn 3, he pairs it up to guarantee a yakuhai (either the red dragon or the east, or both). On turn 5, he calls the red dragon for iishanten. A turn later, he makes a 789p chii and gets to tenpai on an east/north shanpon, preferring the east for a mangan.

Near the end of the second row, 4th place Shibata discards the east trying to call riichi on a strong ryanmen, but ends up dealing into Uchikawa. Uchikawa wins the hand with Red Dragon/Dora 3 for 8,000+300.

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Sticks Again

September 19, Game 2, S1-1

In S1-1, there are three riichi sticks in the pot after the previous hand’s riichi battle went to a draw. Shiratori is the dealer in 3rd place, 4,600 behind 2nd place Uchikawa and 13,700 behind 1st place Kurosawa.

Shiratori starts off 3-shanten with a red 5s as part of a ryanmen. The first row heavily pushes his hand to tanyao, getting him to five blocks and a clear path by turn 4. So long as he can call either the 2m or the 2s, or convert them to be part of a sequence, Shiratori will have a good wait. By the end of the first row, Shiratori is 2-shanten.

With a 3m and a 7m draw, Shiratori successfully creates a 234m and 567m sequence, getting him to a ryanmen-ryanmen iishanten.

In the middle of the second row, Kurosawa is the first to tenpai and waits on a 7p dora kanchan. A few turns later, Shibata calls riichi on a 58m ryanmen, guaranteed at least a mangan if he wins.

With Shibata’s riichi Kurosawa folds her hand by discarding the safe 7s. However, this gives Shiratori the opportunity to call chii and gets to tenpai on a 25p ryanmen. In the third row, Shibata discards the 2p and deals into Shiratori. Shiratori wins the hand with Tanyao/Aka 1 for 2,900+300. With the four riichi sticks, Shiratori’s score for the hand more than doubles and pushes him into 2nd place.

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Yakuman Tenpai!!?

September 19, Game 2, S2-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p10003

In S2-0, Kurosawa is in 1st place with a 5,900 lead over Uchikawa, while Shiratori is in 3rd place and 9,700 behind Kurosawa.

Kurosawa starts out the hand at 3-shanten with a triplet of 4m and a pair of 5m. Shiratori, meanwhile, is 3-shanten for seven pairs (4-shaten for a standard hand) with pairs of 8m, 6s and south. The first row provides Shiratori pairs of north and 8p, while Kurosawa gets a bunch of manzu and a triplet of wests. With her current shape, she does have a chance for some sort of triplet hand, needing a third 3m and 5m. If she keeps things closed, another suuankou is not out of the question.

In the second row, Shiratori starts moving by calling pon on the 6s. For Kurosawa, a 3m draw gets her to tenpai on a 69m ryanmen. She stays dama with haneman minimum. But, if she manages to draw a 5m (to complete a triplet) or a 7m or 8m (to make a second pair), she can be tenpai for suuankou.

In the middle of the row, an 8p pon gets Shiratori to iishanten. Near the end of the second row, Kurosawa draws a 7m. She is tenpai for a potential suuankou. However, her wait is not simply on a 5m/7m shanpon, but also on the 2m as well (which would be quite the tragedy). A yakuman is within reach, but far from easy to get.

With Kurosawa’s discarded 8m, Shiratori calls pon and gets to tenpai on a south/north shanpon. Three winning tiles remain for him. On his very next turn, he gets the south and wins the hand. Shiratori wins with Toitoi/South for 1,300/2,600, successfully defusing the bomb and moving up to 2nd place.

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On Top Of The World

September 19, Game 2, S3-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p7502

In S3-0, Uchikawa is in 3rd place and 7,200 behind 1st place Kurosawa.

With Uchikawa’s very furst draw, he gets a red 5s to go along with his red 5p and dora 3p, a setup for a mangan. At 2-shanten with wide acceptance, this hand will be fast. On turn 2, he gets to iishanten with a 7s penchan and a 69m ryanmen. On turn 3, he fills in the ryanmen and has a chance to be tenpai on the penchan, but decides to pass on it to go for a wider and more expensive wait. On turn 6, he gets to it with a 3p dora draw and stays dama on a 14p ryanmen, hoping for the 4p or any tsumo for haneman.

On turn 8, Kurosawa discards the 1p and deals into Uchikawa. Uchikawa wins the hand with Pinfu/Dora 2/Aka 2 for 8,000. With the direct hit off Kurosawa, Uchikawa goes into the lead into the final hand.

He would go on to win the final hand as well and finish in 1st place.

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Results

Game 8

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Intro | Standings