M-League Watch

Mahjong is volatile. With a single bad hand, a player’s rank can change in an instant. In a single game, a team can drop or rise by many ranks. In the sixth week of the M-League 2023-24 season, this volatility was clear. Half of the teams that played this week changed their rank by three places. Also this week, we had many uradora surprises, many hanemans and a player tying an M-League record! With so many changes, let’s get updated and get right into it, shall we?

Intro | Highlights | Results | Standings

Mahjong is a series of battles. The best tacticians know when to push and fold, finding the ideal times to gain the advantage. In the 5th week of the M-League 2023-24 season, we saw many of these battles and the best plays play out, from three riichi calls within the last ten draws to South 4 comebacks to a lot of haneman wins. Also this week, we had 4-sided flush wait, a hadaka tanki and a player who registered their first win of their M-League career! Let’s not fight the urge read on and get right into it, shall we?

M-League x RED° TOKYO TOWER

On October 20, it was announced that RED° TOKYO TOWER will be doing a collaboration event with M-League from November 24, 2023 to January 28, 2024. The special collaboration found in Tokyo Tower Foot Town will feature M-league themed food and drink, M-League public viewings for each of the nine teams and special merch.

Intro | Highlights | Results | Standings

Mahjong consists of a series of unlikely events converging together to create a beautiful game. Four players from different places coming to a single spot, sometimes hoping for a 1% miracle to happen. In the fourth week of the M-League 2023-24 season, a single tile beat a two-sided wait, two furiten wins and four hands containing three uradora or more. We also had a player winning back-to-back dealer hanemans, a 70 fu hand and one team winning three times in a row. It’s unlikely that you’ll want to wait any longer, so let’s get right into it, shall we?

Special Issue

This week, the newspaper Sports Hochi released an M-League special issue. The special issue highlights all of the teams and features comments from each player. The cost of the issue is 880 yen at any Lawson Print store and includes stickers with the logo of the league and each of the nine teams.

Intro | Highlights | Results | Standings

When streaks keep going, they are unbroken. When you win a hand within the first go-around of your riichi call (with no calls interrupting), your win is unbroken. In the third week of the M-League 2023-24 season, both these senses of unbroken were on display. From teams and players continuing their wins, to players quickly winning their riichi calls, the M-Leaegue madness continues. Also this week, we had a player winning their first M-League game, a South 4 where all four players were within the 20,000’s range and a player returning to the table after a long absence. Let’s not take a break and get right into it, shall we?

Intro | Highlights | Results | Standings

Sometimes the wall is generous. It gives you the right tiles at the right time, giving you comebacks, big hands and rare yaku. In the second week of the M-League 2023-24 season, we saw all that and more. From waiting patiently with damas leading to epic improvements, to perfect uradora flips, the wall provide all the anticipation and excitement we hoped for. Also this week, we also saw a two-hand comeback, yaku that we’ve only see about a half dozen times and even a sanbaiman! With a whole pile of highlights waiting, let’s jump right into it, shall we?

Intro | Highlights | Results | Standings

When the 2022-23 season ended, we sat patiently, waiting for M-League to return. Now, after months of waiting, we are back for a new season of M-League! This week, we had a team and multiple players making their debut, new graphics and new goods for fans. We also had some classic M-League plays of sneaky waits, ura flips, and even a yakuman chance! With so much to discover in this first week, let’s get right into it, shall we?

Opening Ceremony

At 17:30 JST on September 18, 2023, the opening ceremony for the 2023-24 season began. With Matsushima Momo as the MC, all nine teams were introduced. The Beast Japanext was introduced first, then the rest of the teams went afterwards going in reverse order of the 2022-23 final standings. Each player walked up the stage individually through four aisles in the crowd.

The M-League 2023-24 season officially begins next week! With the new season about to start, let’s take a look back and see my picks for the top 5 plays of last season.

The 2023-24 Season starts in just over two weeks! Today, we will be going over all the new things that have been announced over the past few months to get you ready for this upcoming season.

This article will cover all the news since the M-League 2023-24 Preseason: Late May Update published on May 27, 2023.

On June 30, 2023, the M-League 2023-24 draft took place and seven new players were drafted. Today, we’ll take a look at which players each team drafted and learn more about them.