M-League 2023-24 Semifinals: Games #1-6

The M-League 2023-24 Semifinals have officially begun! 6 teams battle it out over 30 games for a coveted spot in the final series! In the first 6 games of the M-League 2023-24 Semifinals, we had a lot of movement in the standings, a lot of South 4 comeback and a player returning after being absent for over a month. We also had a headbump, a rinshan and a player who will soon be eating a lot of takeout. Let’s get started and get right into it, shall we?

Mahjong Meal Battle

On April 4th, a special tournament called the “Mahjong Meal Battle” was hosted by M-League and sponsored by “menu delivery“.

The rules were mostly the same as M-League, but four additional “menu” tiles were added to the tile set. These tiles (each with a different letter of the word “menu” written on it) would act like kita dora in sanma, where they can be set aside and are worth a dora. In addition, the number of “menu” tiles in a hand will translate to 2,000 yen menu coupons that could be won by viewers in menu’s social media campaign.

8 M-Leaguers were divided into two tables and the top player from each table would move onto the finals. After the final game played out, Kobayashi Go was the winner, earning himself 1,000,000 yen worth of menu coupons.

The matches can be watched for free on ABEMA TV.

Commentary + Interviewer Photo Cards

Starting April 16, official bromides featuring, Hiyoshi Tatsuya, Matsushima Momo, Kobayashi misa and Matsumoto Kayo will be available to print at any LAWSON print store. L size bromides will cost 300 yen and 2L size bromides will cost 500 yen.

M-League Pop-Up Shops

Over the next few months, M-League will be opening up pop-up shops in five different locations in Japan.

Intro | Highlights | Results | Standings

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Shibuya Abemas Replace Matsumoto Yoshihiro With That One Random Staff Guy Who Won A Chiihou

The Shibuya Abemas have announced that they will be replacing long-time team member Matsumoto Yoshihiro (松本吉弘) with a member of the M-League techinical staff.

On January 19th during the pre-game equipment check, the M-League staff played a mock game in order to make sure everything was working. One of the staff members was sitting in this season’s lucky south seat where Matsumoto would be sitting. In the very first hand, he drew his winning tile and won a chiihou!

During a press conference, the new Shibuya Abemas coach Tsukamoto Yasutaka told reporters

Sure, Matsumoto is good and all, but he has yet to win a chiihou in his five and a half years with the league. This person did it on the first hand without even being in the league. This staff member has unimaginable, untapped flow. I have never seen someone with so much flow. This flow needs to be released on the big stage.

Even though they were confused at the choice since they aren’t a pro, the chiihou staff member was still happy to be chosen.

I would have liked a lifetime supply of instant noodles, but I guess one bowl of instant noodles and an M-League contract is a close second.

Matsumoto, who is still salty about the yakuman that was supposed to be his, simply answered reporters questions with

My 32,000! Ore no 32,000!

It is said that while he is out of a job, Matsumoto will be writing a manga called “That Time I Was Fired By The Shibuya Abemas And Was Replaced By That One Random Staff Guy Who Won A Chiihou”

M-League To Be Replaced With Staring Contest

M-League has announced that all mahjong events will instead be replaced with a staring contest.

In a statement, M-League wrote:

*stare*

Staring into the camera was popularized on February 19, 2024 after Nakabayashi stared at the camera after winning his game. When asked about the change, Nakabayashi simply replied:

*stare*

A day after Nakabayashi, Taro stared at the camera. When faced with reporters’ cameras, Taro looked into them and went

*stare*

On February 29, Kayamori stared at the camera as well. Posting on social media, Kayamori said:

*stare*

A day later, Yu stared at the camera. In an exclusive one-on-one interview, Yu told us

*stare*

Rumour has it that a 5-minute news conference is scheduled for the near future. It is expected that M-League chairman Fujita Susumu will go up to the podium, stare at the audience in silence, then leave.

Konami Mahjong Fight Club Forms Actual Fight Club

The M-League team Konami Mahjong Fight Club has started a group where physical violence is commonplace and posted on social media.

In a statement, team officials said that they want to be more honest and transparent to their fans. As such, they will be staying true to their “Fight Club” name and will be showing more and more violence and letting their fans fans see it online.

The Konami Mahjong Fight Club is currently the most popular team on social media, boasting over 100,000 followers on Twitter/X.

Asking second-round pick Takamiya Mari, whose nickname is the “Lady Berserker”, about the change, she told us

Haven’t you ever been so mad that you wanted to hit your teammate who got 4th place in a game? I’m glad that it can now be a reality!

– Takamiya Mari

After Takizawa lost the first game on February 27, 2024, Takamiya pretended to welcome him by opening the curtain for him. Instead, the curtain rod crashed down onto his head, just like his score.

When Sasaki Hisato, team captain and first-round pick back in 2018, was asked about it by reporters, he said

Wait, we weren’t an actual fight club before? You mean I wasn’t supposed to slap Takizawa back then?

– Sasaki Hisato

The slap in question was made after the first game on October 11, 2021. Hisato had just gotten the team’s first 1st place of the season and went back to the locker room. Takizawa gave him a bowl of Nissin U.F.O yakisoba and received a slap in return.

Like Takamiya, Takizawa Kazunori was also glad about the change, excited to finally get his revenge on Hisato.

I offered him food to celebrate his win and all I get is a slap! It’s curtains for him!

– Takizawa Kazunori

As Takamiya was coming back from the second game of February 27, 2024, Takizawa and Hisato set up the curtain for her. Little did Hisato know that he was being ambushed. As Hisato peeked his head out, Takizawa dropped the curtain on him to exact his revenge. In response, Hisato gave Takizawa yet another slap.

We have yet to get a response from their fourth member, Date Arisa. However, as she is a big hit in the voice acting world, we expect her to be a big hit in Fight Club as well.

M-League to be Replaced With W-League Suika Championship

The popular professional mahjong league M-League will soon be replaced by a league featuring the ever-popular “Suika Game“.

In a news release, M-League wrote:

Move aside, seven pairs! It’s time for seven pears! Say no to pon and yes to dekopon! Capitalizing on the increasing popularity of e-sports, the league has decided to broaden its audience and start playing Suika Game. Orange you glad?

The W-League (short for “Watermelon League”) pits players against each other to see which player can get the highest score . With the new multiplayer mode DLC released on February 21, players will also fight through both timed and attack modes.

The league has assured fans that players that are currently in M-League will not be cut, but some teams will have to change their name (like the Konami Suika Fight Club). EX Furinkazan player Matsugase Takaya, who finished this season in last place, was ecstatic to hear the news.

I have put in a lot of practice over the past few months. Maybe I’ll finally win a game.

– Matsugase Takaya

Out of all the M-Leaguers, Matsugase has the highest score of 3,861. With scores above 3,000 are Ooi Takaharu, Matsumoto Yoshihiro and Shibukawa Nanba.

Reception from fans has been mixed. For long-time M-League fans, they were disappointed.

I kan’t believe they would do this. I think they made the ron decision. Someone will pei for this.

Others welcome the change, noting its accessibility.

Nobody knows how to play mahjong. Nobody. You keep hearing people ask what a “yaku” is and what this “furiten” is. You don’t hear anybody ask what a watermelon is.

The decision to change the league was also praised by dietitians.

As a sports league, it is important to promote other things that are needed to a healthy lifestyle, such as healthy eating. Eating fruit is healthy. Eating tiles is not.

It is rumored that most of the commentary will be done by M-League commentator Matsushima Momo, whose name literally means “peach”.

M-League 2023-24 Week 27: The Final Week

With the games on March 29 completed, the M-League 2023-24 regular season is officially finished. With the results all tabulated, the individual awards have been determined and the six teams will be advancing to semifinals. This week, the 27th and final week of the M-League 2023-24 regular season, we saw the last-minute pushes by teams and individuals wanting to advance and win awards. From, back-to-back wins and epic comebacks, we saw the skill and mastery of all the players in full force. Also this week, we had a rinshan win, a yakuman tenpai and even a double yakuman tenpai! You’ve waiting many months for this moment, so let’s get right into it, shall we?

Super Premium Night

On March 26, M-League hosted a Super Premium Night at Tokyo Dome City Hall. The event featured merchandise for sale and was attended by all the M-League players.

A video from backstage was posted on ABEMA TV after the day’s events.

Intro | Highlights | Results | Standings

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M-League 2023-24 Week 26: Pursuing Playoffs

The penultimate week of the season has just finished. Only six teams will advance to the next stage, leaving three teams behind. In the 26th week of the M-League 2023-24 season, we saw teams pushing as hard as they can to secure a playoff spot. This week, we saw a player break into the top 2 of the MVP race, a 100 point comeback and a huge ura 4. We also had a big fu hand, a baiman direct hit and even a yakuman tenpai! Let’s keep this energy going and get right into it, shall we?

Intro | Highlights | Results | Standings

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M-League 2023-24 Week 25: Antepenultimate Advancement

This week was the third-last week of the regular season. For the teams near the bottom of the rankings, it was imperative to gain as many points as they can to give themselves a shot at a playoff spot. In the 25th week of the M-League 2023-24 season, there is one team in particular that made quite the advancement indeed. Also this week, we had a lot of riichis, a lot of doras and a lot of comebacks! Anticipation is growing, so let’s get right into it, shall we?

Intro | Highlights | Results | Standings

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