Thursday (September 25)

Table 1

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Table 2

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Table A, Game 1

Ishii Ichi

September 25, Table 1, Game 1, E1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p11503

In E1-0, Kazuma is playing for the Earth Jets. The team is still looking for their first 1st of the season.

Kazuma starts out with a very strong 2-shanten hand and is guanteed a good wait if he goes the standard route. For additional value, he can get pinfu with some sequence draws and a 123s iipeikou as well if he draws a 1s. On turn 4, Kazuma draws a red 5p and gets to iishanten.

Sitting to his right is Takizawa, who gets to iishanten for seven pairs right after. The first of the two to get to tenpai is Takizawa, who waits on a green dragon tanki on turn 5. Because only one remains in the wall, he stays dama. When he gets a better west, he switches and calls riichi.

During the ippatsu round, Kazuma draws a 4s. Though it isn’t the most value, it does get him to tenpai. Kazuma calls riichi and waits on a 36m ryanmen.

Two turns later, Takizawa draws and discards the 6m, dealing into Kazuma. Kazuma wins the hand with Riichi/Pinfu/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 8,000 plus one riichi stick.

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Results

Game 13

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Table B, Game 1

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Dealer

September 25, Table B, Game 1, S2-2
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p11004

In S2-2, Shimoishi is in 3rd place, 4,100 behind 2nd place Akutsu and 15,100 behind 1st place Aki.

Shimoishi starts out with a decent 3-shanten hand with a connected dora 2s and two ryanmens. On turn 2, he makes a third ryanmen, guaranteeing him a good wait at tenpai. By the end of the row, he is iishanten.

To his right, 4th place Hinata is iishanten and just needing a 5p for an mangan tenpai. On turn 8, she draws it and calls riichi on a 47s ryanmen, needing only one more han for a haneman.

Near the end of the second row, Shimoishi chases and calls riichi on a 25m ryanmen, wanting the 2m for sanshoku. On his ippatsu draw, he gets the 5m and wins the hand. Shimoishi wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Dora 1 for 4,000+200 all plus one riichi stick, enough for 1st place.

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Aki Above

September 25, Table B, Game 1, S3-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p7503

In S3-1, Aki is in 3rd place, 1,100 behind 2nd place dealer Akutsu and 10,400 behind 1st place Shimoishi.

Aki starts off at 3-shanten and her only value is a loose 9m dora. Her first row leans more towards a Pinfu/Tanyao combination, a powerful set that can be built to a mangan or higher. When she gets herself to a ryanmen-ryanmen iishanten on turn 5, Aki drops the 9m dora.

At this point, Akutsu is also iishanten, holding the east and a red 5s for a lot of value. At the start of the second row, Akutsu pairs up the 5s for tenpai and calls riichi on a 36m ryanmen.

With a wide hand, Aki pushes against Akutsu. At the end of the row, she calls riichi on a wide 235s wait. On her very next turn, she gets the 2s and wins the hand. Aki wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Pinfu/Tanyao/Ura 1 for 3,000+100/6,000+100 plus one riichi stick.

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Results

Game 14

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Table A, Game 2

Dama

September 25, Table 1, Game 2, E1-0

In E1-0, Honda is playing for Team Raiden, trying to better the 2nd place he got last week.

Honda starts off 3-shanten, but he does have a red 5p and a strong lean towards tanyao. In the first row, Honda’s only real progress is making a 5567p shape, getting him to 2-shanten. On turn 7, he fills in a 4s kanchan for iishanten. There is a route to a 345 sanshoku, but that would require both the 3p and the 4p.

On turn 8, he gets that 3p. With mangan guaranteed, he stays dama and waits on a 4p kanchan. Immediately after, Date tosses the 4p and deals in. Honda wins with Tanyao/Sanshoku/Aka 1 for 8,000, taking the early lead.

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I Need A Hiro

September 25, Table 1, Game 2, E4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p11504

In E4-0, Shibata is coming off a winning hand and is 2,000 from the lead.

WIth Shibata’s first draw, he makes a green dragon pair to go along with his white dragon pair. Though neither of the dragons come out, Shibata is able to make some ryanmens and get to 3-shanten before the row’s end.

At the start of the second row, he calls pon on the 8m and pursues a manzu honitsu. Looking around the table, Futoshi is being aggressive (making two calls before the midway point) and Honda is iishanten. In the middle of the second row, Shibata calls pon on the green dragon for iishanten. A few turns later, Honda gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 69s ryanmen, guaranteed a mangan.

With a mangan in tow and having already called twice, Shibata keeps pushing. In the middle of the third row, he calls a 567m chii (with the 5m involved) and gets to tenpai on a white dragon/2m shanpon. On his last draw, Shibata gets the 2m and wins the hand. Shibata wins with Honitsu/Green Dragon/Aka 1 for 2,000/4,000 plus a riichi stick.

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Dama

September 25, Table 1, Game 2, S4-2
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p10005

In S4-2, Honda is in 2nd place and 7,700 behind 1st place Shibata. To finish the game in 1st place, Honda needs a 3/30 direct hit, a 4/25 tsumo or a mangan ron.

Honda’s 4-shanten starting hand doesn’t bode well for a big win, but keeping it closed could give him pinfu, tanyao and maybe pick up some dora (whether regular or red). Though Honda does draw a pair of green dragons, the rest of his hand leans towards tanyao. With a 2s for value, the addition of pinfu as well could put him over. Because of this, Honda decides to break the dragon pair at the end of the first row.

On turn 7, Honda draws a red 5p for extra value. On turn 8, Honda fills in a crucial 3s kanchan, getting him to a perfect iishanten and has enough value should he stay closed.

On turn 10, he gets to tenpai and stays dama on a 47p ryanmen, guaranteed that mangan. Within the go-around, 1st place Shibata discards the 4p and deals in. Honda wins with Pinfu/Tanyao/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 8,000, finishing the game on top.

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Results

Game 15

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Table B, Game 2

Flush

September 25, Table B, Game 2, S1-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p8004

In S1-1, Shibukawa is the dealer in 4th place, 4,300 behind 2nd place Matsumoto and 16,200 behind 1st place Katsumata.

Shibukawa starts off at 3-shanten and looking like sequences. But, in the first row, the souzu just keep on coming. Staring with only six souzu tiles and one completed group, Shibukawa gets to ten souzu tiles and three completed blocks by the end of the first row.

On turn 8, he gets to 2-shanten. A turn later, he has a chance to be tenpai on a 69p ryanmen, but goes for the much more expensive chinitsu iishanten.

As Shibukawa waits, Matsumoto gets to tenpai first and calls riichi on a north/9p shanpon.

Having held the 7p, Shibukawa can safely maintain his hand. With a chii off Matsumoto’s 6s ippatsu discard, Shibukawa gets to tenpai on a 7s kanchan. At the start of the third row, Matsumoto discards the 7s and deals into Shibukawa. Shibukawa wins the hand with Chinitsu for 12,000+300 plus one riichi stick, moving up to 2nd place.

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Influential

September 25, Table B, Game 2, S4-0

In S4-0, Tojo is in 3rd place, 4,500 ahead of 4th place dealer Matsumoto but 16,400 behind 2nd place Shibukawa. Though Tojo can theoretically get a baiman tsumo for 1st, the chances of such are unlikely. For Tojo, the main goal here would be to win any hand to end the game, preventing Matsumoto from pushing her into 4th place. Between 2nd place Shibukawa and 1st place Katsumata, there is only a 2,100 gap.

Tojo starts out at 2-shanten with her first draw, then a ryanmen ryanmen iishanten on her second. With another perfect draw, Tojo gets to tenpai on a 69m ryanmen and waits dama with her 3-han hand. Within the go-around, Katsumata discards the 9m and deals into Tojo, giving her Pinfu/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 8,000.

Now, with that surprise deal-in, Katsumata actually ends up dropping down to 2nd place, giving Shibukawa the win for this game!

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Results

Game 16

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