Friday (October 31)

Table A

Table B

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Table A, Game 1

Dora Kan

October 31, Table A, Game 1, S1-2
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p10520

In S1-2, Mizuhara is the dealer in 2nd place and is 7,000 behind 1st place Aki. Wih three riichi sticks and two honba, the next winner will get a sizeable boost to their score.

Mizuhara gets an incredible starting hand with a triplet of the 2m dora, but she still needs to shape her 4-shanten hand to get the value out of them. In the first four turns, she makes an 89p shape and a pair of 5s, getting her to 2-shanten. On turn 5, she draws a fourth 2m. She calls a concealed kan, but doesn’t quite advance.

Across from her is Hagiwara, also trying to take advantage of all the bonus points. Witha 567p chii at the end of the first row, he is the first to tenpai and waits on a 4m kanchan.

On Mizuhara’s turn, she draws a 4m to connect the red 5m, getting her to iishanten. Though she would like to speed up the hand, the 899p shape prevents her from going for tanyao.

After a bit of waiting, Mizuhara draws a 6m to complete a sequence and calls riichi on a 7p penchan. Within the go-around Hagiwara draws and discards the 7p (which happens to be suji) and deals into Mizuhara. Mizuhara wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Dora 4/Aka 1 for 18,000+600 plus three riichi sticks, lifting Mizuhara up to 46,100.

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Dora Pon

October 31, Table A, Game 1, S1-3
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p10019

In S1-3, Hagiwara is in 4th place and is 14,600 behind 3rd place Hisato.

With Hagiwara’s starting hand, he already has a triplet of the 1m and pairs of the 1s dora, the 7p and the 8p. Both pairs and triplets are viable. On turn 6, he draws a third 7p. Making a 7s pair near the middle of the second row, Hagiwara gets to iishanten for a potential yakuman.

However, mahjong is not a single-player game. Towards the end of the second row, Mizuhara is the first to tenpai and calls riichi on a 47p ryanmen.

Back to Hagiwara, he has replaced the 8p pair with a 9s pair, but things are precarious with the dealer riichi. During the ippatsu turn, Mizuhara discards the 1s dora. With a pon Hagiwara gets to tenpai on a 7s/9s shanpon, wanting the tsumo for haneman. On Hagiara’s second-least turn, he draws the 9s and wins the hand. Hagiwara wins with Toitoi/Sanankou/Dora 3 for 3,000+300/6,000+300, moving up to 3rd.

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Escaping the Negatives

October 31, Table A, Game 1, S4-0

In S4-0, Hagiwara is in the negatives. He is 27,700 behind 3rd place dealer Hisato and has little chance of making a comeback.

Hagiwara starts out the hand already 2-shanten, but has no value to speak of. On turn 2, he draws an isolated dora 7m and chooses to hold it to try and fish for some value. On turn 7, he makes it into a pair to secure it.

Sitting at iishanten, Hagiwara’s perfect draw would be to get another 7m to make a triplet. In the middle of the second row, he gets that 7m and calls riichi on a 2p kanchan, guaranteed at least a mangan. In the third row, Hisato discards the 2p trying to keep a wide iishanten and deals into Hagiwara. As a pleasant surprise, the uradora makes his 6p pair into dora for a nice upgrade. Hagiwara wins with Riichi/Dora 3/Ura 2 for 12,000. Though he misses 3rd place by 3,700, he still gains points for the team with that hand.

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Results

Game 77

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Table B, Game 1

Significant

October 31, Table B, Game 1, S4-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p8014

In S4-1, 1st place dealer Shiratori is just 1,500 ahead of 2nd place Miura. With the scores this close, tenpai payments or even the dealer penalty can decide who gets 1st. On the other end, 4th place Okada is 11,100 behind 3rd place Daigo. To move up, Okada needs a haneman tsumo or ron, or a 3/50 or 4/25 direct hit.

Okada starts out the hand at a distant 4-shanten, but she does have good shapes as well as a red 5s and a dora 7s. On turn two, she draws a 6s to secure both dora. Over the next few turns, he builds good shapes and good acceptance. Even as Miura tries to rush the hand by making calls, it ends up giving Okada her tiles faster. Before the row is done, she draws the red 5m to get to tenpai and calls riichi on a 58s ryanmen. On her very next turn, she gets the 5s and wins the hand.

With Okada’s Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Dora 1/Aka 2 hand, two things happen. First, Okada gets enough points to escape 4th, finishing in 3rd place. Second, Shiratori gets hit with the dealer penalty and ends up pushing him below Miura, finishing in 2nd and moving Miura into 1st place, his first 1st place in his M-League career.

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Results

Game 78

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Table A, Game 2

Hadaka Tanki

October 31, Table A, Game 2, S1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p10020

In S1-0, Honda is in 2nd place and is 3,900 behind 1st place Yu.

Honda’s starting hand ahas a pair of souths and a small cluster of manzu. Within the first four turns, Honda draws more manzu and now has a pair of 1m, 3m and 8m in his hand. When the 1m comes out, Honda calls pon to pursue a manzu honitsu.

From there on out, Honda wanted to be very open. At the end of the row, he calls pon on the south. With the 3m, he calls pon again and gets to iishanten. WIth an 8m pon, Honda gets to tenpai and waits with a single tile in front of him, the 7m.

Though Honda is tenpai, he is also very vulnerable. Within the go-around, Yu calls riichi on a 5p/white dragon shanpon.

With every turn, Honda only ever has two choices for discards. In the third row, Honda chooses to switch to a north tanki. The switch pays off, as Honda is able to draw the north three turns later and wins the hand. Honda wins with Toitoi/Honitsu/South for 2,000/4,000 plus one riichi stick, moving into 1st place.

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To The Top

October 31, Table A, Game 2, S3-0

In S3-0, Yu is the dealer in 2nd place, 5,700 behind 1st place Honda.

Yu starts with a pair of souths and three manzu blocks, giving him a slight lean toward a half flush. Within the first go-around, Yu calls pon on the south. Over the next few turns, he pairs up the norths and start to break his pinzu block. Both left and right, his opponents are calling as Yu tries to push his half flush. WIth a 789m chii, Yu gets to tenpai on a 3m penchan.

His opponents continue to make calls, both Honda and Takizawa getting to iishanten. With a 3s pon, Honda gets to tenpai on a 679s wait, only allowed to win on the 67s.

But, as has been the narrative so many times before, the call shifts the wall to someone’s advantage. On Yu’s next turn, he draws the 3m to win. Yu wins the hand with Honitsu/South for 2,000 all, moving him into 1st place with a 2,300 lead going into the final hand.

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Results

Game 79

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Table B, Game 2

From The Ashes

October 31, Table B, Game 2, S2-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p9512

In S2-0, Takaki is in 4th place, 10,900 behind 3rd place dealer Ooi, 21,100 behind 2nd place Miura and 28,800 behind 1st place Hori. With the Sega Sammy Phoenix at the bottom of the rankings, they sorely need a win.

Takaki’s starting hand is relatively unremarkable, having pairs of 9m, 7p and 2s, as well as a red 5p as part of a ryanmen. On turn 3, he pairs up the 4s, then the 2m a turn later. Over the next two turns, he draws a 4s triplet, then a 7p triplet. From the unremarkable start, Takaki has transformed it to be one away from a yakuman tenpai. He just needs to make the 2m, 9s or 2s into a concealed triplet for tenpai.

In the second row, Takaki ends up making a 9p triplet. Though he could shift to seven pairs, he discards the 9p pair to go big.

On turn 11, Takaki draws a third 9m. With his tenpai, he calls riichi and waits on a 2m/2s shanpon. Winning on tsumo will give him a yakuman. Two winning tiles remain in the wall.

In the third row, Miura gets to tenpai on a 7p kanchan, but none remain in the wall, proving no problem for Takaki.

Then, just two turns later, Takaki draws the 2s and calls a very confident tsumo! Takaki reveals his hand and wins with a huge 8,000/16,000 Suuankou yakuman, catapulting him up to 1st place.

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Sakura Surprise

October 31, Table B, Game 2, S4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p8015

In S4-0, Hori is still in contention for 1st place despite Takaki winning the yakuman. Sitting 12,600 behind dealer Takaki, Hori needs a 3/50 or 4/25 direct hit, a haneman tsumo or a baiman ron.

Hori starts off the hand at 2-shanten with a secured red 5m and very likely to be tanyao. The first row doesn’t give him much, but the possibility of a 456 sanshoku shows up. To get there, he would need a 5s and a 5p. On turn 7, he draws the red 5s, adding value and getting him to iishanten. Creating a 23456p shape over the next two turns, Hori gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 147p three-sided wait. If he draws any of them himself, he will be in 1st. If he calls ron on the 4p and gets a booster, he will have a baiman for 1st place.

Also wanting to go up a rank is Miura. Within the go-around, he calls riichi on a 58p ryanmen. If he gets one booster, he can upgrade to a mangan and pass Hori for 2nd place.

Because of the riichi stick, Hori’s winning conditions have changed. Any haneman ron will be enough for Hori to move into 1st, meaning a 1p or 4p ron will be enough, and a 7p ron will need only one booster to get there.

Soon after, Ooi discards the 1p trying to keep his iishanten and deals into Hori. Hori wins the hand with Riichi/Pinfu/Sanshoku/Aka 2 for 12,000 plus one riichi sticks, giving him just enough to pass the yakuman winner and win the game.

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Results

Game 80

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