Thursday (October 9)

Table A

Table B

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Table A, Game 1

Double Riichi

October 9, Table A, Game 1, E1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p10513

In E1-0 Yu starts out iishanten with his first 13 tiles, looking for a 3s, 6p or 9p to call double riichi. Getting the 9p with his very first draw, he calls the double riichi and waits on a 3s kanchan.

Though his opponents get close, nothing can challenge the sanzou double riichi. Near the end of the second row, Yu draws the 3s and wins the hand. Yu wins with Double Riichi/Tsumo/Dora 1/Ura 1 for 2,000/4,000.

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Atozuke

October 9, Table A, Game 1, E2-0

In E2-0, Yu is coming off of a nice double riichi win and is looking to gain even more with his dealership.

Yu starts with a messy 4-shanten hand, but he does have a red 5s and a dora 5p for value. The first row doesn’t give him too much progress, but he does pair up the double east for a potential call. Pairing up the 3p at the end of the row, he gets to 2-shanten. He moves one more step forward when he fills in a 6s kanchan.

As Yu looks for the east, the rest of the table advances. Near the end of the second row, Uchikawa gets to tenpai on a 25p ryanmen.

A few turns later, Miura draws the red 5p double dora to get to chiitoi tenpai, waiting on a 5m tanki for mangan minimum.

With the hand already in the third row, Yu has to get moving. Within the go-around, Yu calls pon on the 4s and gets to tenpai on an east/3p shanpon, only allowed to win on the east. Two turns later, Yu draws the east and wins the hand. Yu wins with Double East/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 4,000 all.

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Yu 2

October 9, Table A, Game 1

In S2-0, Yu is back to being the dealer and is looking to extend his 18,600 lead even further.

Yu starts out the hand with four pairs, all of them being simple pairs. He could choose to call them for triplets, or stay closed for pairs. The first row gives him a 678s sequence, but he keeps the idea of pairs alive. By the end of the row, he is 2-shanten for both of them.

At the start of the second row, Yu draws a third 2s for a standard iishanten. A turn later, he draws a second 6s to put him iishanten for seven pairs as well. As he pairs up the 7s in the middle of the second row, Yu gets to tenpai and calls riichi on an 8s tanki.

In the third row, Daigo gets to tenpai on a 3m tanki, but is furiten. Two turns later, Yu draws the 8s and wins the hand. Yu wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Tanyao/Chiitoi for 4,000 all.

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Moving to S2-2, Yu is now at 62,700. His starting hand puts him at 2-shanten, but is lacking in good shapes and value. He gets quite unlucky from discarding a 123s sequence in a row, but he does end up at a decent iishanten at the end of the first row.

As Yu waits, Uchikawa gets to tenpai first and calls riichi on a 58p ryanmen.

To maneuver around the hand, Yu goes back to 2-shanten, breaking his manzu shape from two blocks to just one. With a combination of honour draws and simple ties, Yu is able to slowly and safely advance. By the middle of the third row, Yu is tenpai and calls riichi on a 47s ryanmen. On the second-last turn, Uchikawa draws and discards the 7s and deals into Yu. Yu wins the hand with Riichi/Pinfu/Tanyao/Dora 1 for 12,000+600 plus a riichi stick, taking Yu up to 76,300.

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Push

October 9, Table A, Game 1, S3-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p10514

In S3-0, Yu is no longer the dealership, but that doesn’t mean his earning has to end.

Before Yu even gets his first draw, he calls pon on the red dragon. With his hand also having a pair of souths, he is looking to end the game quickly. However, Uchikawa (who is in 4th place with -4,200) looks to challenge the speed and calls riichi on a 25s ryanmen on turn 3.

Within two turns of the riichi, Yu’s hand starts to look like a manzu honitsu. With the 4p being a safe tile, he decides to break his last pinzu block, allowing him to be safe and advance the expensive hand. After calling pon on the 4m at the end of the second row, Yu gets to tenpai on an 8m/south shanpon. If he wins off the south, he will have a haneman.

Soon after, Daigo calls a 678m chii to go for tanyao and be tenpai on a 36s ryanmen.

In the third row, Uchikawa ends up drawing and discarding the south and deals into Yu. Yu wins the hand with Toitoi/Honitsu/South/Red Dragon for 12,000 plus a riichi stick, taking Yu up to 88,000.

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Results

Game 37

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Table B, Game 1

Shibukawa Surprise

October 9, Table B, Game 1, S4-2
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p8008

In S4-2, Shibukawa is in 4th place and 15,100 behind 3rd place dealer Kurosawa. WIth a riichi stick and two honba in the middle, Shibukawa needs a mangan direct hit, a haneman tsumo or a baiman ron to escape 4th.

Shibukawa starts out the hand at 3-shanten with an isolated 5p. To get the value he wants, he will need to build around it. He fails to make any prgoress in the first row, staying pretty much where he started. In the second row, though, he does connect it with a 6p.

As Shibukawa wiats for more, Hinata and Sonoda try to keep the game moving. After Hinata makes a call, Sonoda makes two calls and gets to tenpai on a 7s kanchan. Though, none remain in the wall.

Back to Shibukawa, he gets to iishanten at the start of the second row, but still lacks value. Then, like a blessing from the mahjong gods, Shibukawa draws the red 5p and a regular 5p to create a very expensive dora triplet. Despite only having two more draws left, Shibukawa calls riichi on a 2s/6s shanpon, with any winning draw giving him 3rd place. Three remain in the wall.

On Shibukawa’s last draw, he manages to get the 2s! Shibukawa wins the hand with Riichi/Tsumo/Dora 3/Aka 1 for 3,000+200/6,000+200 plus the riichi stick, escaping 4th and ending the game in 3rd place.

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Results

Game 38

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Table A, Game 2

Ippatsu

October 9, Table A, Game 2, E3-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p11508

In E3-0, Kazuma is in 4th place, but the game is still close. Sitting 8,200 behind 1st place Takaki, a even a mangan tsumo would be enough to flip his fortunes.

Kazuma starts out the hand at 3-shanten with two ryanmens and three pairs. In the first row, Kazuma draws an 8s and a red 5s to make triplets of each. Sitting with a ryanmen-ryanmen iishanten, he is guaranteed a good wait for tenpai. Drawing a 2s (to create a 223s shape) at the start of the second row, he gets to a perfect iishanten. If he can make either the 2s pair or the 8p pair into a triplet, he will have sanankou.

As Kazuma waits, Aki calls chii and gets to tenpai on a 58m ryanmen, wanting the 5m dora for mangan.

Within the go-around, Kazuma draws a third 8p and calls riichi on a 14p ryanmen, wanting the 4p for tanyao. On his very next draw, he gets the ideal 4p and wins the hand. Kazuma wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Tanyao/Sanankou/Aka 1 for 3,000/6,000, moving into 1st.

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Dealer Mangan

October 9, Table A, Game 2, E4-0

In E4-0, Takaki is the dealer in 2nd place and sits 6,800 behind 1st place Kazuma.

Takaki starts off at 3-shanten with a connected red 5s. The first row provides him with a pair 8p and a ryanmen. Sitting at 2-shanten, his ability to get pinfu hinges on drawing the 7m. On tunr 6, he gets it and sits sith a ryanmen-ryanmen iiishanten.

As he waits, Nakabayashi gets to tenpai first and calls riichi on a 69m ryanmen.

Immediately after, Takaki draws the red 5m and calls riichi on a 36s ryanmen.

In the third row, Kazuma gets to tenpai on a 36s nobetan, but is furiten. Even though this is the case, Kazuma does have the ability to draw it himself and win, playing spoiler to Takaki who has the same wait.

But, within the go-around, Takaki draws the 6s and wins the hand. Takaki wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Aka 2 for 4,000 all plus a riichi stick, jumping to 1st place.

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Results

Game 39

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Table B, Game 2

Hagiwara Highlight

October 9, Table B, Game 2, E1-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p10008

In E1-1, Hagiwara is the dealer in a narrow tie for 1st place after a riichi battle ended in a row. As a result. Two riichi sticks and one honba are in the pot.

Hagiwara starts the hand at 3-shanten with a pair of red dragons and a connected dora 6m. On turn 3, Hori discards the red dragon, but Hagiwara chooses not to call it. Hagiwara doesn’t make too much progress in the first row, but he does get to 2-shanten by the end of it.

To his left, Hori holds triplets the green dragon and west. With a chii, Hori gets to tenpai on a 6p tanki.

On Hagiwara’s next draw, he pairs up the 6m dora and gets to iishanten. Two turns later, he makes the red dragon a triplet and calls riichi on a 3s penchan, guaranteed at least a dealer mangan if he wins.

Two turns after that, Shiratori gets to tenpai on a 369s wait, only allowed to win on the first two.

When Hori draws a dangerous 3p at the end of the second row, Hori folds, leaving it a battle between Hagiwara and Shiratori. In the middle of the third row, Hagiwara draws the 3s and wins the hand. Hagiwara wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Red Dragon/Dora 2 for 4,000+100 all plus two riichi sticks.

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Results

Game 40

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