Friday (November 7)

Table A

Table B

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Table A, Game 1

Aikawa Advances

November 7, Table A, Game 1, S3-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p11518

In S3-0, Aikawa is in 2nd palce and is 13,100 behind 1st place dealer Matsumoto.

Aikawa starts out the hand at 2-shanten with a floating red 5m, wanting a dora 6m for good value. On her very next turn, she gets that 6m to create a ryanmen. After making a 4s triplet, she gets to a ryanmen-ryanmen iishanten. By the end of the row, Aikawa is tenpai and calls riichi on a 47m ryanmen. In the middle of the second row, she draws the 4m and wins the hand. With the uradora flip, the 4s triplet becomes the uradora and upgrades the hand to a surprise haneman. Aikawa wins the hand with Riichi/Tsumo/Dora 1/Aka 1/Ura 3 for 3,000/6,000, moving into 1st place.

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Hitman

November 7, Table A, Game 1, S4-5
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p9021

In S4-5, Matsumoto is in 2nd place and is 4,900 behind 1st place Aikawa. Matsumoto needs a 1/30 direct hit, a 2/40 or 3/20 tsumo, or a 3/30 ron for top spot.

Matsumoto starts out the hand at 4-shanten with a single west dora. Matsumoto takes the standard our by trying to be flexible, but he holds onto the lone west to fish for value. By the end of the first row, he is 2-shanten.

At the start of the second row, Matsumoto draws a red 5p to make a 567p sequence, getting to iishanten. In the middle of the row, his steadfast belief on the west pays off as he pairs it up for tenpai and calls riichi on a 7s penchan. Any win will be enough for 1st place.

Within the go-around, 4th place Daigo chases and calls riichi on a 47p ryanmen.

As if two players in riichi wasn’t enough, Taro calls riichi at the start of the third row and calls riichi on a 36m ryanmen, needing one more han to move into 1st place.

Three people in riichi, only one can win. In the middle of the third row, Daigo discards the 7s and deals into Matsumoto. Matsumoto wins the hand with Riichi/Dora 2/Aka 1 for 8,000+1,500 plus two riichi sticks, finishing the game in 1st place.

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Results

Game 89

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Table B, Game 1

Straightforward

November 7, Table B, Game 1, E1-1

In E1-1, Date is in a 2nd place tie and 3,000 behind 1st place dealer Nakada.

Date starts out the hand at 3-shanten with two ryanmens. The first row gives Date a triplet of 8m and gives the potential for a souzu straight, needing a 6s and 8s to complete it. In the middle of the second row, Date gets the 8s for iishanten.

Looking around the table, Nagai is actually tenpai with an 8s tanki, but he has no yaku and can’t win off Nakada’s discarded 8s. Posing a bigger threat is Nakada, who is iishanten and has a triplet of easts in hand. With a 234p chii, Nakada gets to tenpai on a 25s ryanmen.

Within the go-around, Nagai decides to call a furiten riichi on a 258p wait (declining the non-furiten 147p wait with fewer waits available).

Right after, Date draws the red 5m to make a pair and calls riichi on a 36s ryanmen, wanting that 6s for the straight. Two turns later, Nakada discards the 6s and deals into Date. Date wins the hand with Riichi/Ittsuu/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 8,000+300, moving into 1st.

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Sanshoku

November 7, Table B, Game 1, E4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p7520

In E4-0, Nagai is in 2nd place and is 7,100 behind 1st place dealer Date.

Nagai starts off 4-shanten for a standard hand and 3-shanten for pairs. Within the first row, Nagai makes a 9s triplet and gets to 2-shanten, but otherwise doesn’t do much.

In the second row, Nakada is the first to tenpai with a 5s pon and waits on a south/1p shanpon, only allowed to win on the south.

On Nagai’s turn, he creates a 6s kanchan and gets to iishanten. With a 567m sequence already completed and a 47p ryanmen in hand as well, Nagai could get a sanshoku. With a 7p draw on his next turn, Nagai gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 6s kanchan with sanshoku guaranteed. On the ippatsu draw, Nagai gets the 6s and wins the hand. Nagai wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Sanshoku for 2,000/4,000.

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Ippatsu

November 7, Table B, Game 1, S1-0

In S1-0, dealer Nakada is in 3rd place, 19,000 behind 2nd place Date and 23,900 behind 1st place Nagai.

Nakada starts out the hand at 2-shanten with a secured 8s dora and a pair of red dragons. On turn 3, Nakada draws a third red dragon for iishanten. On turn 5, he adds a 7p triplet for tenpai and calls riichi on a 25m ryanmen. On her very next turn, she draws the 5m and wins the hand. Nakada wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Dora 1 for 4,000 all, moving to within 7,900 of 1st place.

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Results

Game 90

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Table A, Game 2

Takaki Triplets

November 7, Table A, Game 2, E4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p9513

In E4-0, Takaki is in 4th place, but the game is very close and is just 1,900 behind 1st place Hinata.

Takaki starts out the hand with pairs of white dragon, 6p, 6s and 3m. A turn later, he pairs up the 7m to put him chiitoi iishanten. Over the next few turns, Takaki draws a third 6p and a third white dragon, shifting him to a standard hand. In fact, he is one-away from yakuman tenpai. At the end of the row, Takaki decides to just call pon on the 3m and get to tenpai on a 6s/7m shanpon, wanting to draw it himself for a mangan.

Within the go-around, Futoshi gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 7p/north shanpon.

On Takaki’s very next turn, he gets the 7m and wins the hand. Takaki wins with Toitoi/Sanankou/White Dragon for 4,000 all plus a riichi stick, moving into 1st place.

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Shortcut to Haneman

November 7, Table A, Game 2, S3-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p7020

In S3-0, Futoshi is in 2nd place and is 10,700 behind 1st place Takaki.

Futoshi starts out the hand at 4-shanten for both a standard hand and pairs. In the first row, Futoshi adds three more pairs to his hand (including one with a red 5s) to get to iishanten. In the second row, Futoshi pairs up the red 5m and stays dama on a white dragon dora tanki, guaranteed a haneman if he wins.

Across the table, Takaki is also going for pairs. In the middle of the second row, Takaki gets to tenpai on an east tanki, also waiting dama.

Two turns later, Futoshi draws the white dragon and wins the hand. Futoshi wins with Tsumo/Chiitoi/Dora 2/Aka 2 for 3,000/6,000, moving into 1st place.

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Results

Game 91

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Table B, Game 2

Ippatsu

November 7, Table B, Game 2, E3-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p10521

In E3-0, Yu is the 2nd place dealer and is 5,000 from 1st.

Yu starts out the hand at 2-shanten with a secured red 5p and a floating dora 2s. It’s clear early on that the rest of the table wants to be competitive, with Takamiya calling one and Tojo making two yakuhai calls. However, Yu’s speed can compete against it. In the middle of the first row, Yu discards the 2s as he gets to iishanten, having his groups secured. Two turns later, Yu fills in an 8s kanchan and calls riichi on a 58m ryanmen. Immediately after, Tojo discards the 5m and deals into Yu. Yu wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Pinfu/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 12,000.

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Ippatsu

November 7, Table B, Game 2, E4-0

In E4-0, Tojo is the dealer in 4th place and is 7,800 behind 2nd place Takamiya.

Tojo starts out the hand at 3-shanten with a secured dora 5m. Within the first row, Tojo gets herself to iishanten and is just a 6m and 8m away from a manzu straight.

In the middle of the second row, Tojo creates a 234s sequence, abandoning the straight to go for a wider iishanten. Two turns later, he draws the red 5m double dora and calls riichi on an 8m kanchan. Immediately after, Nagai discards the 8m and deals into Tojo. Tojo wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Dora 2/Aka 1 for 12,000, moving up to 2nd.

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Honitsu Hit

November 7, Table B, Game 2, S4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p11017

In S4-0, Tojo is the dealer in 2nd place and is just 1,100 from 1st, a great comeback from the east round dealer mangan deal-in.

Tojo starts out with a very impressive 3-shanten standard hand (2-shanten for pairs), having pairs of east, west and white dragon. With a connected 6m and some other manzu, it looks like a quick and expensive honitsu hand. With a red 5m draw on turn 2, she breaks her 4p pair to pursue the half flush. With a west pon within the go-around, he gets to iishanten. Two turns later, she draws the 3m and gets to tenpai on an east/white dragon shanpon, guaranteed a mangan either way.

At the end of the row, Yu discards the white dragon and deals into Tojo. Tojo wins the hand with Honitsu/White Dragon/Aka 1 for 12,000.

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Results

Game 92

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