M-League 2022-23 Week 18: Chase

Sometimes you fall behind early on. Sometimes a player calls an early riichi. Sometimes you are sitting outside of a playoff spot. But that’s when the excitement begins. The adrenaline rush of going after something just within your grasp. The pursuit riichi to throw your hat into the ring. The chase. In the 18th week of M-League 2022-23, we had a lot of chasing. From riichi calls to 4th place comebacks to yakuman chances to rare yaku to teams fighting their way out of the hole, we saw it all. Also this week, we saw shortcuts to haneman, last tile wins and 1sts unseen in over a year! With a lot of get into, let’s chase after it, shall we?

Intro | Highlights | Results | Standings

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M-League 2022-23 Week 17: Foresight

It is early February and we turn on our computers to watch M-League. As we see the dim studio lights casting shadows on the automatic table, we knew that there is just over 6 more weeks of the M-League regular season. In the 17th week of the M-league 2022-23 season, we saw many predictions that ended up paying off. From correct waits to timing the riichi perfectly, players moved up in the rankings and ended up getting their first wins in months. Also this week, we saw back-to-back hanemans, a chinitsu battle and a 1 han hand worth 6 times its value. With a lot get into, let’s get right into it, shall we?

Intro | Highlights | Results | Standings

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M-League 2022-23 Week 16: Run

Last week, a documentary was released that highlighted the connection between physical exercise (such as running) and better performance in mind sports. In the 16th week of M-League 2022-23, we saw what running looks like at the mahjong table. Multi-game winning streaks. Steady and consistent wins eventually leading to 1st place. Endurance games lasting over two hours. Using your opponents to your advantage. A last-minute sprint to the finish. We also had a quick dealer haneman, a cool furiten rinshan and a big 4th to 1st comeback! With a lot of ground to cover, let’s start running, shall we?

Intro | Highlights | Results | Standings

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M-League 2022-23 Week 15: Expensive

Baimans. Dealer hanemans. Ura 3. An ankou of dora. Thse are the hands we live to see. In the 15th week of M-League 2022-23, we were treated to such a spectacle. This week, we saw three baimans, big ura draws and four limit hands in a row. We also saw big gambles, big comebacks and very close games in South 4. With a lot to get into, let’s get right into it, shall we?

Intro | Highlights | Results | Standings

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M-League 2022-23 Week 14: Rise Up

When you’re living on your knees, you rise up. In the 14th week of M-league 2022-23, players who were down got back on their feet and fought back. Whenever they got hit with a big hand, they would get one themselves. Whenever they were in 4th place, they were fighting even harder and getting big comebacks. When the scores were close, they were aggressive and it paid off. Also this week, we had a cool haitei, a furiten riichi and a yakuman chance! With so much to cover, let’s get right into it, shall we?

Ametalk!

On January 12, M-League was featured on the Japanese comedy talk show “Ametalk!”. Along with the panel talking about the show, one of the panel members got to play a hand against Ooi Takaharu, Sasaki Hisato and Okada Sayaka with Hiyoshi Tatsuya commentating it.

Intro | Highlights | Results | Standings

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M-League 2022-23 Week 13: New Year’s Revolution

The new year is a time when people make changes in their life, usually a small change that they can carry through the rest of the year. However, in the 13th week of M-League 2022-23, the first week of 2023, big wins and changes in the standings were dominating the new year. This week, we had yakuman chances, dora bombs and huge comebacks. We also had close games, underdog wins and a new league leader! With a lot to go through, let’s get right into it, shall we?

New Year, New Life

On January 1, 2023, Murakami Jun of the Akasaka Drivens got married! On behalf of the M-League Watch team, congratulations to Murakami!

Premium Night

On January 6, 2023, Official M-League supporters had the opportunity to buy tickets and attend the M-League Premium Night at EX Theatre Roppongi. Fans filled the theatre to watch and cheer on their favourite team together. Merchandise and goods were also sold at the venue.

Intro | Highlights | Results | Standings

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M-League 2022-23 Week 12: Hope

Through the holiday season, people are filled with hope. M-Leaguers are no exception. In the 12th week of M-League 2022-23, M-Leaguers took their chances and had hope that they would triumph. Players passed rons hoping that they would tsumo their winning tile. Players taking wins and hoping for uradora. Teams winning games and being hopeful of what the new year will bring.

Also this week, we had some furiten wins, some big dora ankous and a players moving ahead by just 100 points. With a whole lot to cover, let’s get right into it, shall we?

The Battle Commences!

On Monday, December 26 at 19:00 JST, during the M-League holiday break, Abema will be broadcasting the “Nissin UFO Yakisoba x M-League: Mahjong Alien vs. Earth Delegation” match. Three masked individuals are tasked with defending the Earth against alien Ooi Takaharu. Will the alien invasion be successful or will the earthlings win out?

And a Happy New Year

On December 31 at 23:00 JST, Abema will be broadcasting an “End of Year Special” looking back at M-League over the past year. This event will be hosted by the three main M-League commentators: Hiyoshi Tatsuya, Kobayashi Misa and Matsushima Momo.

M-League Gets Its Wings

On December 23, it was announced that Red Bull Japan is now an official sponsor of M-League. Red Bull has been known to sponsor a variety of activities, from extreme sports to e-sports. With this sponsorship, they are now part of the world that is professional riichi mahjong.

Intro | Highlights | Results | Standings

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M-League 2022-23 Week 11: Improvement

There is always room for improvement, whether short-term or long-term. In the short-term, it is sometimes better to wait dama to try to improve your hand’s value. It is sometimes better to reject tenpai to improve your hand’s shape. In the long-term, a change in strategy could bring your team from the bottom and into the positives. In the 11th week of M-League 2022-23, we saw many examples of improvement, from comeback hands to delayed riichi calls to a whole team going from deep in the negatives to the positives. Also this week, we saw some epic riichi battles, many calls and lots of winning tiles stuck in the dead wall. With a whole variety of hands to cover, let’s get right into it, shall we?

Intro | Highlights | Results | Standings

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M-League 2022-23 Week 10: Last Minute Opportunity

Things can change drastically near the end. Near the end of a hand, players can have the opportunity to get to tenpai and win on haitei or houtei. Near the end of the game, a fortuitous win can put one into 1st place. Even a simple noten declaration at an exhaustive draw could have big results. In the 10th week of M-League 2022-23, these last minute opportunities were many. Also this week, we had many back-to-back limit hands, big streaks achieved and big news for the overseas community! With a lot to go through, let’s get right into it, shall we?

The Return to Normal

After almost two months since live M-League broadcasts were blocked to overseas viewers, good news came to the overseas M-League community. In a Tweet posted on Friday, December 9, ABEMA informed viewers that live broadcast will be available again starting on Monday, December 12.

This news was met with joy and relief from both overseas viewers and some big names involved with M-League.

Setokuma Naoki (Team Raiden)
Kobayashi Misa (M-League Commentator)

Intro | Highlights | Results | Standings

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