Game #1
EX Furinkazan
Team Raiden
Konami Mahjong
Fight Club
Beast X
Aki Ability
May 4, Game 1, E1-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p7571
In E1-0, Aki is the starting dealer in the first game of the finals and starts off drawing a 4s to her red 5s, getting her to 3-shanten. Within her first four turns, she creates a 23457s shape and fills in a 2p kanchan to get to tenpai on a 6s kanchan. Being this early with a few potential upgrades, Aki stays dama. On her next draw, she gets the dora 8s and calls riichi on a 69s ryanmen, now guaranteed at least a mangan.
All the players start to fold against the early dealer riichi, but both Daisuke and Hisato keep some semblance of a salvageable hand. At the start of the third row, Daisuke gets to tenpai and waits on an 8s dora tanki.
Immediately after, Aki draws the 9s and wins the hand. Hitting an uradora, Aki wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Dora 1/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 6,000 all, a big start to the finals.
Hisato Honitsu
May 4, Game 1, E4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s5_p8571
In E4-0, Hisato is in 3rd place, trailing 2nd place Setokuma by 6,500 and 1st place Aki by 18,100.
Hisato starts out the hand at 4-shanten with only a dora 4m for value. However, he manages to draw manzu and honours in each of his first four turns, allowing him to get rid of all pinzu and souzu (though he never had any to start with) in his hand to go for a half flush.
Eve though his hand seems the most promising for value, Aki’s is the fastest. On turn 5, she is the first to tenpai and calls riichi on a 69s ryanmen. Guaranteed at least a mangan, she can upgrade to a haneman with a 6s and one more booster.
Because of the stray honours, Hisato is able to maintain his core hand shape. At the start of the second row, he makes his first dangerous discard to accept iishanten. On turn 8, he fills in a 5m kanchan to secure the 4m dora, as well as a solidifying the 789m iipeikou and getting to tenpai. Calling riichi, he waits on a 2m/red dragon shanpon, guaranteed at least a baneman. On his very next turn, he gets the 2m and wins the hand. Hisato wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Honitsu/Iipeikou/Aka 1 for 4,000/8,000 plus a riichi stick, instantly moving into 1st place.
EX Ending
May 4, Game 1, S4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-1_s80_p3322
In S4-0, Aki is in 2nd place and is just 9,900 behind 1st place Hisato. To finish in 1st place, she needs a 3/40 direct hit, a mangan tsumo or a haneman ron.
Aki starts out the hand with at 4-shanten with no value, but the seven manzu tiles and three honours could be used in a manzu honitsu. However, she instead tries to build value through tanyao and a possible pinfu, getting rid of four of her honours in the first row. By the end of it, she is at 2-shanten with a secured 8m dora.
At the start of the second row, she pairs up the white dragon, ruining that plan. Still, she is iishanten. In the middle of the second row, she gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 3m kanchan. With only the 8m dora for value, she needs to tsumo or get a direct hit, as well as get one booster.
To her left, Daisuke is at a ryanmen-ryanmen iishanten with a red 5s and a dora 8m. Being the dealeer in 4th place with good value, he pushes. At the start of the second row, Daisuke gets to tenpai and chases with a 69m ryanmen, guaranteed at least a mangan.
Immediately after, Aki draws the 3m. All she needs to do is hit the uradora. She flips and reveals…
…the 8p indicator, making the 9p in her hand the uradora! Aki wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Dora 1/Ura 1 for 2,000/4,000 plus a riichi stick, finishing the game in 1st place by 1,100.
Final Scores
Standings
With Aki’s last-minute pass, the EX Furinkazan widens their lead, now having more than double 2nd place. And with Daisuke getting a negative 4th place, his team falls down to 3rd place. Though Hisato was passed, his team still went up one rank. And Team Raiden still has some work to do with their gap on the rest of the field widening.
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