Tuesday (April 14)

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Game 1

Kurosawa

April 14, Game 1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p10061

In E2-0, Kurosawa is the dealer in 3rd place and is just 1,300 from the lead.

Kurosawa starts out the hand at 2-shanten with sequences clearly being the theme. By turn 5, is iishanten and has a decent chance at a good wait. At the start of the second row, Kurosawa pairs up the 4p. Unfortunately, it gives her a bad wait with no yaku. As such, she stays dama, waiting for either a dora, pinfu or iipeikou improvement. On her next turn, she creates a ryanmen and calls riichi on a 25m ryanmen, guaranteed pinfu and has a chance to get the 2m dora. On her ippatsu draw, she gets the 2m dora and wins the hand. Kurosawa wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Pinfu/Dora 1 for 4,000 all.

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Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p10062

In E2-1, Kurosawa starts at 4-shanten, but again has sequences in the cards for her. On turn 4, she creates a 58m ryanmen, going along with her 58p ryanmen and her 5678s shape. She now opens up the possibility at a 567 or 678 sanshoku. On turn 5, she draws a red 5p giving her a 245667p shape, still holding the wide acceptance rate. At the end of the row, she draws the 3p, completing the 234p sequence and 567p sequence.

Two turns into the second row, Kurosawa pairs up the 8s and calls riichi on a 58m ryanmen. Guaranteed at least a mangan, she will have a haneman if she gets the 5m. At the end of the second row, she draws the absolutely perfect tile, the red 5m, and wins the hand. Kurosawa wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Tanyao/Sanshoku/Aka 2 for a huge 8,000+100 all baiman, taking her up to 61,300.

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Hisato

April 14, Game 1

In E4-2, Hisato is the dealer in 2nd place, but still has a long way to close the 38,100 gap between him and 1st place Kurosawa.

From his first 13 tiles, he is already iishanten with three sequences and a ryanmen. Though he doesn’t get any of the four tiles that would get him to tenpai, he does draw the red 5p for some potential value. On turn 4, he pairs it up and calls riichi on a 14p ryanmen. In the middle of the 2nd row, Shimoishi discards the 1p trying to keep his perfect iishanten and deals into Hisato. Hisato wins the hand with Riichi/Pinfu/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 12,000+600, cutting down Kurosawa’s lead to 25,500

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Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p8566

In E4-3, Hisato starts at 4-shanten with a secured red 5m. Quite early, it’s clear that he will be challenged. By turn 3, Futoshi calls a concealed kan of the norths while iishanten. At the same time, Shimoishi is calling up a storm, having ponned the red dragon and called chii on a 789p sequence. Before the row is done, he calls a 5p pon and gets to tenpai on a 3s penchan.

Hisato has gotten to 2-shanten with his hand, but he has to tread carefully. After a 6m dora draw and a bit of pushing, Hisato manages to get to iishanten in the middle of the second row, guaranteed a good wait.

Right after, though, Futoshi finally gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 36s ryanmen.

On Hisato’s turn, he gets to tenpai and chases with a 36m ryanmen. On his ippatsu draw, Hisato gets the 3m and wins the hand. Hisato wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Pinfu/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 6,000+300 all plus a riichi stick, moving him to 1st place with 52,600, being 700 above Kurosawa.

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Kurosawa

April 14, Game 1, S2-0

Even though she started the game with quite a strong lead, Hisato was able to catch up and move ahead of her. With a bit of scuffling, she now has a 7,900 lead going into her dealership. She wants to make that lead even bigger.

Kurosawa starts out the hand making a ryanmen in souzu to get to 2-shanten. But, she has a bunch of manzu and loose honours, as well as pairs of green dragon and south. With a potential manzu honitsu, the ryanmen might not be needed. On turn 2, she pairs up the wests and starts breaking the souzu shape. After filling in a 3m kanchan and calling pon on the green dragon, Kurosawa gets to tenpai on a west/south shanpon.

Holding one of those winning tiles is Futoshi, who is already folding, not wanting to deal in while in a precarious 3rd place.

Shimoishi and Hisato, on the other hand, are both trying to move up in rank. In the middle of the second row, Shimoishi gets to a mangan tenpai, waiting on a 2s kanchan.

With Shimoishi’s discarded red dragon, Hisato calls pon and waits on a 69p ryanmen.

The danger for Kurosawa doesn’t last too long as she draws the south two turns later and wins the hand. Kurosawa wins with Honitsu/South/Green Dragon for 4,000 all.

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Results

Game 11

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Game 2

Sonoda

April 14, Game 2, E2-0

In E2-0, Sonoda is the dealer in a 2nd place tie, 10,000 behind 1st place Honda.

With his first draw, Sonoda creates a white dragon tripet to get to 3-shanten. After getting a 5s to advance to 2-shanten, he calls pon on the north to be one-away from tenpai. On his next turn, he draws the 4s. With all but the manzu fitting into a souzu honitsu, he discards the 34m block to pursue it. At the end of the row, he draws the 3s dora and waits on a 69s ryanmen.

Two turns into the second row, Date discards the 6s and deals into Sonoda. Sonoda wins the hand with Honitsu/White Dragon/Dora 1 for 12,000.

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Tojo

April 14, Game 2, E4-1

In E4-1, Tojo is in 4th place, 2,200 behind 3rd place Date and 17,600 behind 2nd place dealer Honda.

Tojo starts out the hand already at 2-shanen with three ryanmens, guaranteed a good wait. On turn 3, Tojo gets to iishanten. Though her hand is decent, her only value is pinfu. All she can do is hope for red fives or a potential 678 sanshoku.

Around the table, both Date and Honda are at iishanten before the end of the first row. Though three of the players are iishanten, none of them are able to get to tenpai by the end of the second row.

Two turns into the third row, Tojo is the first to tenpai and calls riichi on a 47p ryanmen. Since she has a red 5p for value, she only needs an uradora to get to a mangan.

With the hand getting late, all the players look to at least be tenpai. With a chii, Honda gets to tenpai ona yakuless 36s ryanmen. Sonoda does the same with two calls. And though Honda does draw his 3s, he can’t win with no yaku. Calling chii as well, Date gets to tenpai on an 8m kanchan, holding no yaku either. When all seemed lost and that Tojo would be the only one losing points this hand, she ends up winning on the final tile, Sonoda’s discarded 4p, and wins the hand. Tojo wins with Riichi/Haitei/Pinfu/Aka 1 for 8,000+300, moving up to 2nd.

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Honda

April 14, Game 2, S4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s80_p3246

In S4-0, Honda is the last dealer in 2nd place, 4,200 behind 1st place Sonoda. He just needs a 3-han hand to move into 1st.

Honda starts out the hand strong with pairs of 5p (including the red 5p), 5m, 7m and the yakuhai south. Despite this strong contender of a hand, Eyes are on Tojo with her 2-shanten hand with a pair of the red dragon dora. As she discards the south, Honda calls pon. Though Honda could discard the single red dragon in his hand, he keeps it. When he calls an added kan on the south, the red dragon becomes the double dora. Within a few turns, Tojo gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 25m ryanmen, guaranteed at least a mangan, enough for 1st place.

At this point, Honda is iishanten. He has a lack of safe tiles and still a chance to move into 1st, so he plows ahead. At the start of the second row, Sonoda gets to tenpai on a 7m kanchan, but stays dama without a yaku.

In the middle of the second row, Honda draws the red 5m. He could take tenpai, ubt that would require him to discard the yet-unseen double dora. Taking the big risk, he discards it. He survives and is now tenpai on a 7p penchan.

At the end of the second row, Date discards the 7p trying to call riichi and deals into Honda. Honda wins the hand with South/Aka 2 for 9,600 plus a riichi stick, moving into 1st place.

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Results

Game 12

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Intro | Standings