M-League 2021 Semifinals: Games #7-12

With the games on Tuesday coming to an end, we are officially halfway through the M-League 2021 Semifinals! Tensions, pressure and emotions have been high the past few games. This quarter, we saw some old friends, some dragons and a closed honitsu. We also had a dora tanki, two valuable uradora, three valuable uradora and other dora nonsense! With all that, let’s get right to it, shall we?

Seeing Old Friends

With the Akasaka Drivens and Team Raiden eliminated from the semifinals, we saw some of their players helping with the commentary.

From left to right: Maruyama Kanako (丸山奏子), Suzuki Taro (鈴木たろう), Matsushima Momo

On March 25, Maruyama Kanako (丸山奏子) and Suzuki Taro (鈴木たろう) of the Akasaka Drivens were guest commentators commentating alongside Matsushima Momo.

From left to right: Setokuma Naoki (瀬戸熊直樹) (With a mini Kurosawa Saki (黒沢咲) and a mini version of himself), Kobayashi Misa

On March 29, Setokuma Naoki (瀬戸熊直樹) of Team Raiden was commentating alongside Kobayashi Misa. Kurosawa Saki (黒沢咲) was supposed to be commentating with them, but she was feeling unwell. So, Setokuma brought a mini version of her into the commentating booth to be with him.

Intro | Highlights | Results | Standings

Pages: 1 2 3 4

M-League 2021 Semifinals: Games #1-6

The semifinals of the M-League 2021-22 season have begun! Six teams are vying for the four spots in the finals! As always the competition was fierce. This quarter, we had a tie, a player beating another by 100 points and two kans of great importance. We also saw an old friend that we hadn’t seen since April 29, 2021! With all that, let’s get right to it, shall we?

Intro | Highlights | Results | Standings

Pages: 1 2 3 4

M-League 2021 Semifinals: What You Need To Know

Games

There will be 24 games played in total for the semifinals, with each team playing in 16 of those games.

Scores

Each team carries over half of their score from the regular season (rounded up to the nearest tenth)

RankTeamRegular Season ScoreSemifinals Starting Score
1U-Next Pirates+377.1+188.6
2Shibuya Abemas+328.2+164.1
3Konami Mahjong Fight Club+249.0+124.5
4EX Furinkazan+184.4+92.2
5Sega Sammy Phoenix+184.2+92.1
6Kadokawa Sakura Knights+177.0+88.5

Schedule

Games will take place every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from March 21 to April 8. All games will start at 19:00 JST.

  • Week 1: March 21, March 22, March 24, March 25
  • Week 2: March 28, March 29, March 31, April 1
  • Week 3: April 4, April 5, April 7, April 8

Qualification for the Finals

The top 4 teams with the highest score after the semifinals will move on to the 12-game finals, where they will compete to win the 50 million yen grand prize and the M-League championship plate.

M-League 2021 Week 22: The Final Push

This is it. The last week of the regular season. Four games for each team and then it’s over. For two teams, these four games will be the last games they will play this season. The battle for the league MVP award brews. Teams try to take the lead in the standings. With action keeping us on the edge of our seats, let’s get right into it, shall we?

Intro | Highlights | Results | Standings

Pages: 1 2 3 4

M-League 2021 Week 21: Just Around the Corner

At the end of next week, the regular season will finish and six teams will have passed the first test. Beyond that, they will have to pass a second test before moving on to the final challenge. In the 21st week of M-League 2021, teams and players know that the end of the regular season, the semifinals and the finals are just around the corner. They are trying to get their team in a good spot. They are studying and practicing and figuring out the best strategy against their opponents. And through this study and practice, fans get to see some amazing plays! From a team on a mini-comeback to some perfect timing, a rinshan to a yakuman tenpai, fierce competition was on full display. With all that, let’s get right to it, shall we?

Intro | Highlights | Results | Standings

Pages: 1 2 3 4

M-League 2021 Week 20: Antepenultimate Action

The end of this week marks the last full week of February. And as February turns to March, fans and players know that the regular season will soon end. In the 20th week of M-League 2021, teams were fighting for position and fighting for their life. This week, we had some hard decision to make, hands taken to the limit and some great luck. We also had repeated wins, timely wins and surprising wins. With all that, let’s get right into it, shall we?

Intro | Highlights | Results | Standings

Pages: 1 2 3 4

Stocks Down After Late M-League Finish

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down and the S&P 500 falls into correction territory after the M-League game that started on February 22 finished around 40 minutes past midnight in Japan.

Early reports indicate that workplace productivity was down and absences spiked throughout Japan after sleeplessness befell the country. In North America, more employees were reported to be late to work.

In contrast, taxi services are recording record profits after many were left stranded after train service had ended. Vending machine data shows that late-night coffee sales were up as well.

Suzuki Taro, who played in the late-night game, still managed to do a livestream game review in spite of the late finish.

Top economists agree that this event was just a one-time event and is unlikely to occur again. However, mahjong experts agree that if a team can get 4th in 37.50% and has more 4ths than 1sts and 2nds combined, then anything is possible.

In other news, there was an major increase in the number of people trying to claim a senior’s discount after the years of COVID and the February 22 game gave people the sense that many years had gone by.

M-League 2021 Week 19: Positioning

Standings are changing. Players are battling. Points are being exchanged. Teams are securing playoff spots.

In the 19th week of M-League 2021, teams are trying to put themselves in a good position as the end of the regular season approaches. Some are putting themselves in furiten to try to gain a more valuable hand. Others are rejecting a tsumo to gamble getting a bigger win. Even others are chasing rare yakuman! With all this action, let’s get right into it, shall we?

Intro | Highlights | Results | Standings

Pages: 1 2 3 4

M-League 2021 Week 18: On the Horizon

In the distance, we see the finish line. On the horizon, we see the goal. Though we may not be there yet, we know that it is coming. The end of the 18th week of M-League 2021 means that in around a month, in 28 days, the regular season will be over and the six teams that will move on to the semifinals will be decided. With end coming in the near future, teams are figuring out their game plans. With winning streaks to yakuman chasing to tricky riichi calls, we saw a lot of movement in the standings. With that, let’s get right to it, shall we?

Intro | Highlights | Results | Standings

Pages: 1 2 3 4