Monday (October 13)

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Game 1

Shiratori

October 13, Game 1, E2-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p9012

In E2-0 Shiratori is in 1st place and has a narrow 2,000 lead over 2nd place Yu.

Shiratori starts out the hand at 3-shanten with a connected red 5m. In the first row, draws a red 5s and creates a 258s three-sided wait. By the end of the row, he is iishanten with a guaranteed good wait and walking the path of mangan.

As Shiratori waits of tenpai, Tojo gets there first and waits on a 9m/red dragon shanpon. A red dragon will give her a mangan.

Towards the end of the second row, Shiratori gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 258s three-sided wait. If he gets it himself and hits a booster, he will have a haneman. In the third row, Shiratori draws the 8s and wins the hand. Hitting the uradora, Shiratori wins the hand with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Aka 2/Ura 1 for 6,000 all.

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To 1st

October 13, Game 1, E3-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p10515

In E3-1, Yu is the dealer in 2nd place 10,600 behind 1st place Shiratori.

Yu starts out the hand at 3-shanten with a lack of value. The first row does a good job of adding some with dora 2s. Creating good shapes, Yu gets to perfect iishanten on turn 4 and can gets ittsuu with a 6s draw.

After a lot of drawing and discarding, Yu draws the 3s at the end of the second row. Though it doesn’t give him ittsuu, he gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 69m ryanmen. In the middle of the third row, Hisato discards the 9m trying to call riichi and deals into Yu. Yu wins the hand with Riichi/Pinfu/Dora 1/Ura 1 for 12,000+300, moving up to 1st place.

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Escaping 4th

October 13, Game 1, S4-1

In S4-1, Tojo is in 4th place and 4,400 behind Shiratori. To escape 4th, Tojo needs a 2/30 direct hit, a 3/30 tsumo or a 3/40 ron.

Tojo starts out the hand at 3-shanten, but lacks the value needed to make a comeback. The first row gets her to 2-shanten after completing a sequence, but she still lacks value. In the second row, she focuses on breaking bad shapes and looks to shift to tanyao.

While Tojo works, Shiratori and Hisato advance. In the middle of the second row, Shiratori gets to tenpai on a 5s kanchan, but has no yaku. At the start of the third row, Hisato calls riichi on a 69m ryanmen, guaranteed at least a mangan if he wins.

Within the go-around, Yu gets to tenpai on a 147s three-sided wait.

Immediately after, Tojo gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 147s three-sided wait. With Hisato’s riichi, she can win on the 4s or 7s and move into 3rd place. With the same wait as Yu, there is a chance at headbump. If Hisato discards it, Tojo will win. If Shiratori discards it, Yu will win.

With two people in riichi and Yu probably in tenpai, Shiratori decides to just chase. If he can somehow get a haneman hit off either Yu or Hisato, he will move up to 2nd place. He has 4 han and just need 2 more. Winning by tsumo and getting a booster also works.

The battle is so intense that Yu even pushes a red 5m against the table. Then, on Hisato’s second-last turn, even though Hisato is the favourite with 6 winning tiles left int the wall, he discards the 7s. At the same time, Tojo and Yu call ron, but Tojo is the only one allowed to win. Tojo wins with Riichi/Pinfu/Tanyao for 3,900 plus two riichi sticks, finishing the game in 3rd place.

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Results

Game 45

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Game 2

Sanshoku

October 13, Game 1, E1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p10516

In E1-0, Mizuhara starts out at 4-shanten with two ryanmens. As Mizuhara draws the 1m dora, she completes a 123m sequence and the possibility of a 123 sanshoku opens up. She needs to draw a 1p, a 1s and a 3s for it to happen. She ends up drawing a 4s to create a 234s sequence to get to iishanten before the row’s end, but she still has time to shift.

At the start of the second row, she draws a 4m, giving her the potential to get either a 234 sanshoku or a manzu ittsuu. Over the next few turns, she draws a 1s and a 1p to attain the 123 sanshoku. With tenpai, she calls riichi and waits on a 69m nobetan, guaranteed at least a mangan. In the third row, Mizuhara draws the 6m and wins the hand. Hitting the uradora, Mizuhara wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Sanshoku/Dora 1/Ura 1 for 3,000/6,000, taking the early lead.

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Shimoishi

October 13, Game 2, E3-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p11008

In E3-0 Shimoishi is the dealer in 3rd place and 13,700 behind 1st place Mizuhara.

Shimoishi starts off the hand at 3-shanten with a pair of easts and a floating 8s dora. Pairing up the 8s on turn 2, a path to a quick mangan has opened. Filling in a 7m penchan on turn 3, Shimoishi’s speed prospects get stronger.

After calling pon on the east and filling in a 345m sequence, Shimoishi gets to tenpai on a 58p ryanmen. On his very next draw, he gets the 8p and wins the hand. Shimoishi wins with Double East/Dora 2 for 4,000 all, taking the lead.

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Direct Hit

October 13, Game 2, E3-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p9013

In E3-1, Matsumoto is in 3rd place, 12,400 behind 2nd place Mizuhara and 14,700 behind 1st place dealer Shimoishi.

Matsumoto starts out the hand at 4-shanten with a connected dora 8s. On turn 2, he pairs it up to add value. The rest of the row is simply playing efficiently, discarding stray honours. As he draws more simple tiles in the second row, he shifts towards tanyao, discarding his 1s pair. With an 8s dora pon at the start of the third row, Matsumoto gets to mangan tenpai on a 25p ryanmen.

Around the middle of the third row, Shimoishi discards the 5p trying to call riichi and deals into Matsumoto. Matsumoto wins the hand with Tanyao/Dora 3 for 8,000+300. With the direct hit off Shimoishi, Matsumoto moves up to 2nd place.

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MenPinTsumo

October 13, Game 2, S1-0

In S1-0, Matsumoto is back in 3rd place, but he is now just 5,100 behind 1st place Mizuhara.

Matsumoto starts out with a 4-shanten hand, holding a loosely-connected dora 6s and a floating red 5p. The first row fills in a 7m penchan and provides a 4p as a connector, getting him to 2-shanten. In the second row, he completes a 678s sequence for iishanten and guaranteeing him pinfu.

At the start of the third row, Matsumoto completes a 345p sequence and calls riichi on a 14s ryanmen. Two turns later, he draws the 4s and wins the hand. Matsumoto wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 2,000/4,000, moving into 1st place.

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Results

Game 46

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