The M-League 2022-23 season just ended a week ago and there’s already a ton of new news! From a new competitor to schedules to upcoming drafts to contract renewals to tournaments, the M-League action seems to never stop! With a lot to cover, let’s get right into it, shall we?
New Team
On May 26, M-League announced the creation of a new M-League team owned by the broadcasting company BSJapanext. The team’s name and logo will be announced on May 31.
More information can be found in the article: BSJapanext Sponsors 9th M-League Team
Off-Season Schedule
In a news release posted on May 26, M-League outlined some important dates for the off-season:
- June 19: Deadline to announce contract renewing/expiration
- June 30: M-League Draft
- July: Official contract confirmation
- Around Fall: M-League 2023-34 Season starts
M-League Draft
In the same news release, they also announced the details of the M-League 2023-24 Draft that will be taking place.
The M-League 2023-24 Draft will be taking place on June 30 starting at 17:00 JST. The event will be broadcasted live on the ABEMA Mahjong Channel and will last for about an hour.
The new team owned by BSJapanext will have the opportunity to draft all four of their players first. Then, each team which has the ability to draft (i.e. teams that do not have 4 players) will pick one player, going in reverse standings order of the M-League 2022-23 season. This will be repeated as necessary until all spots are filled.
Contract Statuses
So far, only three teams have confirmed their contract signing statuses.
On May 19, the EX Furinkazan team manager confirmed that all four of their players (Nikaido Aki (二階堂亜樹), Katsumata Kenji (勝又健志), Matsugase Takaya (松ヶ瀬隆弥), Nikaido Rumi (二階堂瑠美)) will be staying for next season.
On May 21, the Kadokawa Sakura Knights confirmed that they will be keeping their team (Uchikawa Kotaro (内川幸太郎), Okada Sayaka (岡田紗佳), Hori Shingo (堀慎吾), Shibukawa Nanba (渋川難波)) the same for next season
On May 25, the Sega Sammy Phoenix renewed the contracts for Uotani Yuumi (魚谷侑未), Kayamori Sayaka (茅森早香) and Tojo Rio (東城りお).
On the other hand, Kondo Seiichi (近藤誠一) chose not to have his contract renewed and stepped down as a player. However, he accepted a new position on the team as team manager. More information can be found in the article: Kondo Seiichi Steps Down As A Player, Replaces Yoshino Shinichi As Team Manager
This leaves the Shibuya Abemas, U-Next Pirates, Konami Mahjong Fight Club, Team Raiden and Akasaka Drivens to confirm who will have their contracts renewed. For the Akasaka Drivens, they are forced to replace at least one player after not making the finals two years in a row.
As of this writing, at least 6 new players will be drafted at the upcoming draft (4 by the BSJapanext team, 1 male player by the Sega Sammy Phoenix and at least 1 by the Akasaka Drivens)
Rule Changes
In the same news release as the draft, M-League also announced a new rule change regarding forced team changes.
Since the 2020-21 season, a team that has failed to make the finals two seasons in a row with the same team lineup is forced to change their roster and replace one of their players. The U-Next Pirates fell victim to this rule at the end of the 2021-22 season and were forced to change their lineup. At the end of the 2022-23 season, the Akasaka Drivens also fell under this rule and are forced to drop someone during this offseason.
However, starting this upcoming season, the rule has been relaxed a bit. Now, any team that has failed to make the semifinal two years in a row with the same lineup must change their roster. Instead of four teams getting a strike each season, only three will (with 6 teams making the semifinals and 3 teams failing to advance). Note that as before, a player cannot fire a player and redraft them in the same season to get around the rule.
For teams that failed to make the finals in the 2022-23 season, their strike carries over to the 2023-24 season if they have not changed their lineup. With the Sega Sammy Phoenix (8th last season) changing their lineup and the Akasaka Drivens (7th last season) being forced to do so, both of their strikes have been erased. That means if the Kadokawa Sakura Knights (6th last season), who have confirmed that everyone will be stay, fail to make the semifinals next year, they will be forced to change their roster. The same will apply to the U-Next Pirates (5th last season) should they choose to keep all their members.
M-League x Saikyousen
On Sunday, May 28 at 15:00 JST, the M-League x Saikyousen: 2023 Saikyousen M-League Special Match will take place. The event will be broadcast live on the ABEMA Mahjong Channel.
The top 8 players from the M-League 2022-23 season will be competing in this tournament and split between two tables. Each table will play a single game and the top 2 players will advance to the final game. The winner of the final game will earn their spot in the Saikyousen main tournament which will take place in December.
Table A
Table B
IKUSA
Over the past few months, the EX Furinkazan created a tournament called IKUSA and pros and amateurs competed.
Back in January, the EX Furinkazan teased the IKUSA event and a few days later revealed more details about it through a slideshow.
In the amateur tournament, non-pros competed through multiple rounds and the final four players played in multi-game finals that was streamed on the EX Furinkazan Youtube Channel. In the end, Shumo (しゅも) won and booked their ticket to the IKUSA semifinals.
In the pro tournament, 212 pros registered to join. Some players got some bonus starting points depending on how many social media followers they have and what titles they have won. Each played 20 games and the top 7 players advanced to the IKUSA semifinals. The top 7 players are:
- Ichinose Yuri (一瀬由梨) (JPML)
- Hitotsui Shinya (一井慎也) (JPML)
- Asai Takaki (浅井堂岐) (NPM)
- Aikawa Megumi (逢川恵夢) (NPM)
- Sato Takayuki (佐藤孝行) (JPML)
- Shiki Yudai (志岐祐大) (Saikouisen)
- Hayakawa Kenta (早川健太) (JPML)
On Twitter, a poll was released where the public can vote on who they think would win, with the player with the most votes getting an extra +50.0pts.
Starting on Monday, May 29, the IKUSA semifinals will begin. The games will be broadcast live on the ABEMA Mahjong Channel. The schedule is as follows:
- Semifinals: May 29, May 30, June 1, June 2 (15:00 JST on all days)
- Finals: June 3, June 4 (17:00 JST on both days)
The winner of the tournament will receive a 1 million yen prize and will be the team’s Special Sparring Partner (SSP) so long as they are not drafted by another team. They will also be seeded as a finalist for any future new member auditions for the next three years.
BSJapanext Team Draft Nomination Audition
To determine one of the players on the new BSJapanext team, the team will be holding a competition.
Soon after the new team was announced, the team posted a news release detailing the tournament and a website to accept submissions.
Applicants who wish to join the competition must:
- Be a member of one of the five major pro organizations (JPML, NPM, Saikouisen, Mu, RMU)
- Be able to make appearances on TV and all scheduled events
- Be able to become an M-Leaguer if they win
- Have an aggressive playstyle
- Be able to express themselves in words
- Have the desire to spread the fun and exitement of mahjong
Each applicant must also submit a 1-minute video of why they should be chosen and fill out a form about themselves.
On May 31, along with the announcement of the team’s name and logo, 8 individuals will be contacted by phone during the TV broadcasts say that they will be moving onto the next round.
Qualifying rounds will take place on June 3 and 4, the semifinals will take place on June 10 and the finals will take place on June 17. All broadcasts will start at 12:00 JST and will be shown live on the ABEMA Mahjong Channel. The winner of the tournament will be drafted by the BSJapanext team.
M-Tournament
On May 5, M-League announced an off-season tournament called the M-Tournament. This tournament will feature all the M-League 2022-23 season M-Leaguers and 20 select top pros. The tournament was created by M-League Chairman Fujita Susumu so viewers can get to know some more pros outside of M-League and potentially get a glimpse of these potential future M-Leaguers.
M-Leaguers
20 Select Top Pros
- Waktsu Akira (和久津晶) (JPML) (Former Sega Sammy Phoenix)
- Takeuchi Genta (竹内元太) (Saikouisen) (Current Saikoui)
- Asai Takaki (浅井堂岐) (NPM) (Current Mahjong King)
- Hiro Shibata (HIRO柴田) (JPML) (Current Hououi and Grand Prix Max Title Holder)
- Kouno Takashi (河野高志) (RMU) 2013, 2020, 2021 Reiwai)
- Shirogane Saki (白銀紗希) (JPML) (Current Cherry Blossom Cup Title Holder)
- Daigo Hiroshi (醍醐大) (Saikouisen) (2020 Saikoui)
- Yajima Tooru (矢島亨) (NPM) (Current Autumn Championship Title Holder)
- Fujishima Kenjiro (藤島健二郎) (JPML) (2018 First Half WRC League Champion, Adam Driver Pro)
- Ishii Yoshiki (石井良樹) (JPML) (Current King’s Cup Title Holder)
- Sakamoto Masashi (坂本大志) (Saikouisen) (Current Advent of the Four Gods Title Holder)
- Nara Keijun (奈良圭純) (JPML) (Current WRC Champion)
- Kondo Hisaharu (近藤久春) (JPML)
- Seki Shotaro (関翔太郎) (Saikouisen)
- Ishidate Takehiro (石立岳大) (JPML) (Current WRC League Champion)
- Mizusaki Tomomi (水崎ともみ) (NPM) (Current Mahjong Queen)
- Asai Yusuke (浅井裕介) (Saikouisen)
- Abe Takanori (阿部孝則) (RMU) (Former Mahjong Masters winner)
- Yamawaki Chifumi (山脇千文美) (JPML)
- Oshida Yukio (忍田幸夫) (Mu) (Current Mu Title Holder)
Format
Out of the 52 players in the M-Tournament, the 4 players on the championship winning team (i.e. Hinata Aiko (日向藍子), Matsumoto Yoshihiro (松本吉弘), Ooi Takaharu (多井隆晴), Shiratori Sho (白鳥翔) of the Shibuya Abemas) will automatically be seeded in the quarterfinals. The other 48 players start in the 1st round.
At each round, players play 2 hanchan at their table and the top 2 players will advance to the next round.
After the first two rounds, the 12 players will be divided between 4 tables (containing 3 players plus 1 seeded Shibuya Abemas player) and the tournament continues until the finals, where the top player after two games will be proclaimed the winner.
All games will be broadcast live on the ABEMA Mahjong Channel. For all the rounds except the finals, the games will start at 15:00 JST on each broadcast day and four games will be played. During the finals, it will start at 19:00 JST and only two games will be played. The broadcast schedule is as follows:
- First Round: June 12, 15, 19, 22, 26, 29 (15:00 JST start)
- Second Round: July 3, 6, 10 (15:00 JST start)
- Quarterfinals: July 15, 22 (15:00 JST start)
- Semifinals: July 30 (15:00 JST start)
- Finals: August 6 (19:00 JST start)
And those are all the new changes and upcoming events happening in the world of M-League! To follow all the action with other English-speaking fans, make sure to join the M-League Watch Discord Server. Which players will stay and which players will go? Who will be our new players? Who will win the tournaments? As always, we’ll just have to wait and see!
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