Thursday (February 19)

Table A

Table B

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Table A, Game 1

Rinshan

February 19, Table A, Game 1, E1-0

In E1-0, Akutsu is the starting dealer and starts out at 5-shanten for a standard hand, 4-shaanten for a pairs hand. In the first row, he makes a south triplet and a 3s dora, getting to 2-shanten. In order to secure it he either needs to draw another 3s dora or a 4s to create a sequence.

In the middle of the second row, Akutsu draws a 4s to get to a perfect iishanten. A turn later, he gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 14m ryanmen.

At the start of the third row, Akutsu draws a fourth 9s and concealed kan. WIth the kandora flip, Akutsu’s 3m becomes the new dora. On his rinshan draw, he gets…

…the 4m and wins the hand! Akutsu wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Rinshan/Dora 2 for 4,000 all.

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Date

February 19, Table A, Game 1

In E4-0, Date is the dealer in 2nd place 12,300 behind 1st place Akutsu.

Date starts off at 2-shanten with a secured dora 2m and two red fives. Within the first three turns, she sets up good shapes (including ryanmens with the red fives) and puts herself in a guaranteed good wait position. On turn 4, she gets to a ryanmen-ryanmen iishanten.

To her left, Katsumata is quickly advancing with calls. Having already called pon on the red dragon, he calls pon on Date’s 3s and gets to tenpai on a 3p tanki. A turn later, he draws the dora 2m to improve to a 23m wait.

Two turns later, Date gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 47p ryanmen, guaranteed at least a dealer mangan. In the middle of the second row, Katsumata discards the 4p and deals into Date. Date wins the hand with Riichi/Dora 1/Aka 2/Ura 1 for 12,000.

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Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p8555

In E4-1, Date is now just 300 from the lead.

Date starts at 2-shanten with two ryanmens and a floating dora 6m. Though she could take an iishanten for a pinzu straight on turn 3, she instead breaks the 12p shape to keep all the ryanmens. She fills in one ryanmen on turn 5 and then the other on turn 7. Still looking for a pair, Date decides to call riichi on a 6m dora tanki.

Within the go-around, Katsumata gets to tenpai on a green dragon/red dragon shanpon.

Katsumata started out with four winning tiles left in the wall, then Akutsu and Taro started to take them, leaving him with just one. On Date’s second-last draw, she gets the 6m and wins the hand. Date wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Dora 2/Ura 1 for 4,000+100 all.

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Results

Game 253

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Table B, Game 1

Houtei

February 19, Table B, Game 1, S1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p11044

In S1-0, Nakada is the dealer in 3rd place, 7,400 behind 2nd place Shiratori.

Nakada starts the hand filling in a kanchan to be at 3-shanten. Also in her hand is a connected dora 7p and a pair of easts. The first row gets her one step closer to 2-shanten, but the east pair remains untouched. At the start of the second row, she calls pon on the east to secure her yaku, then calling pon on the 8s soon after that. But, she is met with a challenge as Shiratori calls riichi and waits on a 36p ryanmen.

Being already iishanten and lacking safe tiles, Nakada keeps pushing. Towards the end of the second row, Nakada pairs up the 4m and gets to tenpai on a 69p ryanmen. A few turns later, Shiratori calls a concealed kan on the 1p. With the flip, Nakada gets an additional han. On Nakada’s last draw, she gets the 7p dora and switches to a 7p/4m shanpon. Then, on Shiratori’s turn, the last tile in the live wall, Shiratori draws and discards the 7p, dealing into Nakada. Nakada wins the hand with East/Houtei/Dora 2/Aka 1 for 12,000 plus a riichi stick.

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Might Miura

February 19, Table B, Game 2, S2-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p11547

In S2-0, Miura is the dealer in 1st place with a big 25,900 lead over 2nd place Nakada.

Miura starts out with a 4-shanten hand with a pair of white dragons and a floating dora red dragon. With a bunch of pinzu draws in the first row for Miura, his hand naturally goes towards honitsu. By turn 8, he is already iishanten with a likely 678p iipeikou. In the middle of the row, he pairs up the red dragon and waits dama on a white dragon/red dragon shanpon. Guaranteed at least a haneman, a red dragon or any tsumo will give him a dealer baiman. Two turns later, Nakada discards the red dragon trying to take tenpai and deals into Miura. Miura wins the hand with Honitsu/Iipeikou/Red Dragon/Dora 3 for 24,000.

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Results

Game 254

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Table A, Game 2

Sonoda

February 19, Table A, Game 2, E4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p7057

In E4-0, Sonoda is the dealer in 3rd place, 6,200 behind 2nd place Takizawa and 9,000 behind 1st place Nagai.

Sonoda starts out the hand at an annoying 5-shanten hand, but he does have two ryanmens and a connected dora 2p. Within the first row, he pairs up the 2p dora and the east, getting him to 3-shanten. In the second row, he completes a 345m sequence and calls pon on the east for iishanten. A turn later, he gets to tenpai on a 14s ryanmen.

In the third row, he draws a red 5m to boost him to a 5-han hand. Then, a big surprise comes to Sonoda. With a concealed kan by Takizawa, Sonoda’s east triplet now becomes dora, boosting his mangan hand to a sudden baiman. On his very next turn, he draws the 1s and wins the hand. Sonoda wins with Double East/Dora 5/Aka 1 for 4,000/8,000.

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Hori

February 19, Table A, Game 2, S3-0

In S3-0, Hori is the dealer in 4th place, 11,700 behind 3rd place Nagai.

Hori starts out the hand 4-shanten for seven pairs and 5-shanten for a standard hand. With a pair of red dragons, a single green dragon and a single white dragon, the dream is distant but there. On turn 3, he pairs up the green dragon. Calling pon on the red dragon soon after, he secures a yaku and gets things going. Before the row ends, he calls pon on the green dragon to get to iishanten.

To his left, Nagai wants to challenge the rest of the table, who has been calling left and right. At the end of his first row, Nagai makes the incredible move of calling riichi on a 3m kanchan, even with daisangen still alive.

Within the go-around, Hori gets to tenpai on a white dragon tanki.

And with a 567s chii, Takizawa gets to tenpai on a 4m kanchan.

Near the end of the second row, Hori gets the white dragon and wins the hand. Hori wins with Shousangen/Green Dragon/Red Dragon for 4,000 all plus a riichi stick, moving up to 3rd.

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Nagai

February 19, Table A, Game 2, S4-0

In S4-0, Nagai is in 4th place in a very close game, 1,900 behind 3rd place Hori, 8,000 behind 2nd place Takizawa and 9,300 behind 1st place dealer Sonoda. A mangan ron off Hori would put him tied for 2nd, a mangan ron off Takizawa would put him into sole 2nd, a mangan ron off Sonoda would put him tied for 1st, and a mangan tsumo would put him into sole 1st place.

Nagai starts out the hand at 2-shanten With a triplet of souths and a pair of 9m dora, already guaranteed three han if he wins. On turn 2, he makes the 3p pair into a triplet, getting him to iishanten. On turn 4, he draws a third 9m dora, getting him to mangan range. At the start of the second row, he calls a 678m chii and gets to tenpai on a 47p wait. His final placement depends on how he wins it. Two turns later, Takizawa discards the 7p and deals into Nagai. Nagai wins the hand with South/Dora 3 for 8,000, finishing the game in 2nd place.

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Results

Game 255

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Table B, Game 2

Daigo

February 19, Table B, Game 2, E3-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p9542

In E3-0, Daigo is the dealer in 2nd place, just 800 behind 1st place Shiratori.

Daigo starts out the hand at 3-shanten, needing only to shift the 13m shape away for tanyao. After making a pair of 3s dora on turn 4, Daigo begins the break. In the second row, though, Kazuma puts pressure on the table by calling riichi on a 5s/9m shanpon.

Having held onto some safe honours, Daigo is able to push, even as Daisuke is iishanten for thirteen orphans. With a 678s chii in the middle of the second row, Daigo gets to tenpai and waits on a 36p ryanmen. In the third row, Kazuma discards the 3p and deals in. Daigo wins with Tanyao/Dora 3 for 12,000 plus a riichi stick.

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Shiratori

February 19, Table B, Game 2, S1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p9044

In S1-0, Shiratori is in 2nd place and 11,200 behind 1st place Daigo.

Shiratori starts out at an annoying 4-shanten with only three blocks. In the first row, makes five blocks and creates a flexible manzu cluster. After filling in an 8p kanchan and a pair of 9m, Shiratori has a chance to be tenpai on a 3p kanchan. But, Shiratori instead chooses to stay iishanten to utilize the flexible manzu shape. His gamble pays off as he draws the red 5m on his very next turn and calls riichi on a 147m wait, wanting the 7m for an additional han.

Within the go-around, Kazuma calls a 345p chii and gets to tenpai on a 58p ryanmen.

At the start of his third row, Shiratori draws the 7m and wins the hand. Getting an uradora, Shiratori wins the hand with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Iipeikou/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 3,000/6,000.

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Results

Game 256

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