Thursday (February 5)

Table A

Table B

---

Table A, Game 1

Haitei Hit

February 5, Table A, Game 1, E2-0

In E2-0, Yu is in 2nd place, 4,200 ahead of 4th place and 19,400 behind 1st place.

Yu starts the hand at 3-shanten with two ryanmens and a floating red 5m. In the first row, he connects the red 5m with a 6m, then completes the sequence with a 7m, getting him to iishanten. In the second row, he improves it to a ryanmen-ryanmen iishanten, guaranteed pinfu if he stays closed and wins.

To his left, league leader Nagai Is also iishanten and holds a red 5p. At the start of the third row, he is the first to tenpai and calls riichi on a 6p kanchan.

Immediately after, Yu gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 47p ryanmen.

Both players have two winning tiles left in the wall, but Nagai gets the short end of the stick as his 6p are eaten up. When it looked like the hand might go to a draw, Yu draws the 4p as the very last tile in the live wall and wins the hand. Yu wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Haitei/Aka 1 for 2,000/4,000 plus a riichi.

---

Asami Max

February 5, Table A, Game 1, S2-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p7049

In S2-0, Asami is the dealer in 4th place, 15,100 behind 3rd place Nagai, 20,100 behind 2nd place Yu and 21,600 behind 1st place Genta.

Asami starts off at 3-shanten with two ryanmens. On turn 4, Asami makes some nice advancement with a red 5m kanchan fill, completing a sequence. At the end of the row, she makes an 8p triplet and gets to iishanten. Tanyao is not guaranteed, but if she manages to build around the dora 5s, she will get it.

At the start of the second row, Asami draws the 4s, getting that connector. She calls riichi and waits on a 36s ryanmen, guaranteed at least a mangan if she wins. Three turns later, she draws the 6s and wins the hand. With an uradora hit, Asami wins the hand with Riichi/Tsumo/Tanyao/Dora 1/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 6,000 all, catapulting her up to 1st place.

---

Takeuchi Top

February 5, Table A, Game 1, S3-3
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p9540

In S3-3, Genta is in 2nd place and is 5,000 behind 1st place Asami. A riichi stick and three honba are in the pot.

Genta starts out the hand at a very strong 2-shanten with his first draw with a good lean towards tanyao. On his second turn, he completes a 345m sequence in a 34445m shape for iishanten. Pairing up the dora 8s on his third turn, he gets to tenpai on a 4m/8s shanpon, staying dama and hoping for improvement in manzu.

To his right, Asami is already trying to rush the hand, having already called pon on the east. After calling pon on the 1s and creating a 234m sequence, she gets to tenpai on a 3p penchan at the end of the first row. In the second row, she switches to a 1p tanki.

Though Genta has been wanting the manzu improvement, he hasn’t been getting it. But, none of it matters as he draws the 8s near the end of the second row to win the hand. Genta wins with Tsumo/Tanyao/Dora 3 for 2,000+300/4,000+300 plus a riichi stick, easily moving into top spot.

---

Results

Game 229

---

Table B, Game 1

Shiratori Show

February 5, Table B, Game 1, S1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p9042

In S1-0, Shiratori is in 4th place, 700 behind 3rd place dealer Hagiwara, 8,900 behind 2nd place Kazuma and 10,800 behind 1st place Daisuke.

Shiratori starts out the hand at 4-shanten with a pair of 1m dora, some good value for a potential comeback. Though the 1m was his only pair from the start, the wall decided that he should go for a pairs hand. On turn 2, 4, 5 and 6, he drew a pair, getting to iishanten by the end of the first row. At the start of the second row, Shiratori gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a red dragon tanki. A few turns later, Shiratori draws the red dragon and wins the hand. Shiratori wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Chiitoi/Dora 2 for 3,000/6,000, moving from 4th to 1st.

---

Results

Game 230

---

Table A, Game 2

Sonoda Start

February 5, Table A, Game 2, E1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p7050

In E1-0, Sonoda is the starting dealer and incredibly starts with five ryanmens and a pair, giving him an almost guaranteed good wait. By turn 4, he is already at a ryanmen-ryanmen iishanten, improving to a perfect iishanten at the start of the second row.

Across from him, Takaki is hoping for his second win since his return. After calling pon on the white dragon, he calls a 456m chii in the second row and gets to tenpai on a 25s ryanmen.

With this wait, it puts Sonoda’s hand at risk with a 223s shape. Luckily, he draws a third 2s for tenpai and calls riichi on a 14p ryanmen, with the 4p giving him a mangan.

In the third row, Katsumata gets to tenpai on a 2p tanki, but is furiten. Wanting to maintain safety, he breaks tenpai a turn later. Within the go-around, Nakabayashi gets to tenpai on a 2p kanchan. A turn later, Katsumata draws the 2p, getting him back to tenpai and waits dama on a 7p/6m shanpon.

All players are tenpai, but only one can win. On his second-last draw, Sonoda draws the 4p and wins the hand. Sonoda wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Tanyao/Aka 1 for 4,000 all.

---

Results

Game 231

---

Table B, Game 2

Shibata

February 5, Table B, Game 2, E4-3
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p11542

In E4-3, Shibata is in 4th place, but is within a mangan tsumo of 1st place.

Shibata starts out the hand at 3-shanten with a pair of 5s dora. On turn 3, he draws the red 5s double dora to create a triplet. By turn 5, he is iishanten.

To his left, dealer Honda has already called pon on the green dragon and is trying to get the rest of his hand in shape. At the end of the second row, Honda calls an added kan on the green dragon. The kandora reveals the 2p as the new dora. Even better, he drwaws the 2p as the rinshan and gets to tenpai on a 47p ryanmen.

At the start of the third row, Shibata gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 7m penchan. On his very next turn, he draws the 7m and wins the hand. Shibata wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Dora 3/Aka 1 for 3,000+300/6,000+300, moving him from 4th to 1st.

---

Great Geki

February 5, Table B, Game 2, S3-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p11041

In S3-0, Shimoishi is the dealer in 2nd place, 5,500 behind 1st place Shibata.

Shimoishi starts out the hand already at 2-shanten with a connected red 5m and a strong chance at tanyao. On turn 2, he fills in a 3s kanchan for iishanten. On turn 3, he is already tenpai on a 6m kanchan. He stays dama while holding a 3-han hand, hoping for some potential improvement. At the end of the row, he draws a red 5s and guarantees him mangan minimum.

The improvements continue in the second row. Pairing up the 7m, he ups the hand to 5 han and gets a 36m ryanmen wait. On his next turn, he creates a 456s iipeikou for haneman minimum. In the middle of the row, Honda discards the 6m and deals into Shimoishi. Shimoishi wins the hand with Tanyao/Iipeikou/Dora 2/Aka 2 for 18,000, pushing him up to 51,100.

---

Results

Game 232

---

Intro | Standings