With the scores close going into today’s games, Day 2 of the M-League 2020 Finals offered some extra excitement today! A nice comeback, a furiten tsumo and some perfectly-timed riichi calls, the day was a lot of fun to witness!
Before the Game
At the beginning of the broadcast, we were introduced to our commentator, Matsushima Momo, and our guest commentators, Setokuma Naoki and Kurosawa Saki from Team Raiden. After a brief review of Monday’s game, the standings going into today’s game was shown.
With the standings quite close near the top, everyone was excited for the game to start!
After a week off, M-League action is back! We are in the M-League finals where, after 12 games, we will find out who will be crowned the 2020 M-League Champions! The first two games of the M-League 2020 Finals sure didn’t disappoint! With all that, let’s get right into it, shall we?
Before the Games
Though the Konami Mahjong Fight Club failed to make the finals this year, Sasaki Hisato and Takamiya Mari appeared alongside Hiyoshi Tatsuya as commentators for the game. After a short recap of what happened in the semifinals, they showed the scores going into the finals.
Standings before Game #1
With the stage set, the first game of the finals was set to begin!
The Shibuya Abemas had an amazing regular season. Breaking the record for the highest total score for a single season, the Abemas crew is also the only team to have all of their players in the positives and the only team to have three players in the triple digits.
Semifinals: +536.9pts (+209.5pts gain, 5/6/3/2)
The team had quite a few struggles in the first half of the semis, going 0-4-3-1 over the first 8 games of the semis and dropped down to 2nd place. However, the team made a big comeback in the 2nd half of the finals. Solid playing from both Ooi and Shiratori, an incredible comeback from Hinata in game 21 and a suuankou from Matsumoto in game 22, the team had a record of 5-2-0-1 to earn +323.7pts. Just like the regular season, the team had the best record in the semifinals and got the most points, thereby extending their lead over the 2nd place team, the Kadokawa Sakura Knights.
Going Into the Finals: +218.5pts
As the only team to make the finals for all three of the seasons that M-League has existed, the time is now for the team to take it all. With the continued success of the team through the regular season and semifinals, the team starts out with a 121.2pts head start over the Kadokawa Sakura Knights. Though this seems like a big gap, a 1st from the Kadokawa Sakura Knights and a 4th from the Shibuya Abemas could make them fall to 2nd place. However, if they are able to treat the finals the same way they did the regular season and the semifinals, they can come out on top.
2. Kadokawa Sakura Knights
Uchikawa Kotaro
Uchikawa Kotaro (内川幸太郎)
Hori Shingo
Hori Shingo (堀慎吾)
Okada Sayaka
Okada Sayaka (岡田紗佳)
Sawazaki Makoto
Sawazaki Makoto (沢崎誠)
Regular Season: +497.3pts (24/20/22/24)
Though not 1st place in the overall standings, the Kadokawa Sakura Knights had a really solid outcome in the regular season. With Uchikawa Kotaro and newcomer Hori Shingo bringing in really good results, the team ends the regular season with +497.3pts, higher than the 1st place team in the 2019 season.
Semifinals: +294.5pts (45.8pts gain, 4/4/3/5)
The semifinals performance for the Kadokawa Sakura Knights was pretty average, having a 4-4-3-5 record. However, some big wins from Hori and Okada meant that the team was able to just able to get a positive result. The top player of the team for the semis was Okada, who had a 1-1-2-0 record and +56.7pts.
Going Into the Finals: +147.3pts
2nd place isn’t a bad place to start off, but it isn’t 1st. The team needs to focus on sabotaging the Shibuya Abemas, possibly to the point of targeting them for rons. However, they cannot be overly aggressive, as the risk of dropping too far away is too great. Sending Hori will be their best choice and they should avoid sending Sawazaki out too much.
3. Akasaka Drivens
Murakami Jun
Murakami Jun (村上淳)
Suzuki Taro
Suzuki Taro (鈴木たろう)
Sonoda Ken
Sonoda Ken (園田賢)
Maruyama Kanako
Maruyama Kanako (丸山奏子)
Regular Season: -3.2pts (28/21/20/21)
The Akasaka Drivens had a really good start to the regular season, but things fell downhill after their great start. With some good results at the last minute, they were able to bring themselves back up to almost positive. With the other teams having difficulties, they were able to take 3rd place to end the season.
Semifinals: +26.6pts (28.2pts gain, 4/4/5/3)
The Akasaka Drivens had a really good games and really bad games. In the first half, they got four 1sts, getting +72.0, +58.6, +81.8 and +80.9 for them. At the end of the first half, they got within 32.0pts of 2nd place. However, they were unable to get a single 1st place in the 2nd half, having a 0-2-5-1 record, including a -11.9pts 2nd place. Though they were able to get a positive result by the end, they are still a good distance away between 1st place.
Going Into the Finals: +13.3pts
The Akasaka Drivens are in a difficult predicament in 3rd place. They are 255.2pts away from the 1st place Shibuya Abemas, meaning that they have to be aggressive in order to aim for top spot. If the mess up though, they can easily fall to 4th and miss out on the prize money. The team should focus on ruining the Abemas’ and Sakura Knights’ dealer turns, preventing them from getting too far ahead. All of the players have been doing decently, so an equal-opportunity lineup will be good for both the team and their fans.
4. EX Furinkazan
Takizawa Kazunori
Takizawa Kazunori (滝沢和典)
Nikaido Aki
Nikaido Aki (二階堂亜樹)
Katsumata Kenji
Katsumata Kenji (勝又健志)
Regular Season: -108.8pts (20/22/25/23)
The EX Furinkazan started the season off really well taking an early 1st place and had a high standing for a good part of the season. The team was in the positives for a long time, with them only falling to the negatives in week 18. The continued struggle until the end of the season caused the team to end up in 4th place.
Semifinals: -82.9pts (-28.5pts loss, 4/3/5/4)
The EX Furinkazan had a big challenge on their plate to start off the semifinals. Knowing that it’s a do or die situation, they had to bring their best. In the 1st quarter of the semis, the pressure was too great and the team had the worst performance of all the teams that quarter. They ended that quarter in 6th place. The end of the 2nd quarter, the poor performance from Team Raiden and the Konami Mahjong Fight brought the EX Furinkazan into 4th place, but a bland result for the team meant that 3rd place was out of reach and they would need to defend 4th place with their life. In the 3rd quarter, the record-breaking game from Sasaki brought the Konami Mahjong Fight Club in 4th place. By the end of the 3rd quarter, the EX Furinkazan was in 5th place and 154.3pts from 4th place. Seemingly an impossible task, the team had to bring everything they had in the 4th quarter. Takizawa started off really well in the first game, getting a good 1st place and making Konami 4th. In the 2nd game, he got another 1st to get them back to 4th. The comeback from Hinata in Konami’s 2nd last game and Matsumoto’s Suuankou in Konami’s last game gave the EX Furinkazan some breathing room. In the 2nd last game for EX Furinkazan, Takizawa ended up last and put EX Furinkazan within points of falling out. However, Katsumata was able to keep the team from drowning and the EX Furinkazan just barely makes the finals.
Going Into the Finals: -41.4pts
With the team being in 4th place and 309.9pts from 1st place, they have to be realistic. Of course, 1st place isn’t impossible, but it may be difficult. Of course the team will need to aim for 1sts in all their games, but they will need to choose their goal. By the midway point of the finals, they will need to choose whether to aim for 3rd or 1st. Their choice will determine who they will be targeting. At the very minimum, the team will be aiming for 3rd so that all of the players stay in the lineup for next season. Them being 4th place may also be a good thing, as the past two M-League champions started the finals at 4th place.
Half of the points that were accumulated in the semifinals will be carried over to the finals (shown below). Each team will then play a total of twelve games. Whichever of the four teams has the most points by the end of the twelve games will be declared the winner.
Team
Score
1st
Shibuya Abemas
+268.5pts
2nd
Kadokawa Sakura Knights
+147.3pts
3rd
Akasaka Drivens
+13.3pts
4th
EX Furinkazan
-41.4pts
The scores going into the finals (after being halved)
The Schedule
Games will be held on May 10, 11, 13, 14, 17 and 18 starting at 19:00 JST (UTC +9). Each day will consist of two (2) games.
The Prizes
The 2019 champions, the U-Next Pirates, holding the 50 million yen cheque
The winning team will win the M-League Championship Plate, as well as receive 50 million yen. The second place team will receive 20 million yen, while the third place team will receive 10 million yen.
The hand above was the last hand won in this season’s semifinals. This hand decided the fate of two teams and the careers of three players. High-pressure and intense games, the last 6 games of the semifinals were no walk in the park. We were on the edge of our seats with every single hand, every single second of the game.
In this quarter, we had a player bringing it all for their team, another winning huge hands and another dealing-in under unfortunate circumstances. We also teams losing all hope and teams pushing as hard as they can to make it work. With all that, let’s get into it, shall we?
Opportunities seized, opportunities lost. Good plays, bad plays. Good waits losing and bad waits winning. Slaughter and be slaughtered. That’s what the game is all about.
In the 3rd quarter of the M-League 2020 semifinals, we had a lot of slaughtering. We had a highest-scoring game of all time, good waits being killed and some textbook riichi calls that had unfortunate results. Let’s not delay any longer and let’s get into it, shall we?
3,200 points. Doesn’t seem much, does it? In fact, this hand was the most exciting and most influential hand of the semifinals.
In the past 6 games, we had a lot of big wins. Half of those games had the winner take over 60,000 points. One of those games had a completely dominated east round, while another had the famous 3,200 point win. We also had a classic rivalry and a seemingly hopeless hand being won at the last moment. There’s a lot to cover, so let’s get into it, shall we?
After a whole month of waiting, the semifinals are finally here! With so much at stake, there was stress and pressure everywhere. This week, we had two expensive dragon hands, two yakuman chances and some nice South 4 wins. We had some shifts in the standings and teams catching. I won’t keep you waiting too long, so let’s get to it, shall we?
Abema Premium Changes
With the start of the semifinals, there have been a few changes to the viewing options. All previous games and highlights are now under paywall. This means the only way to watch the M-League games for free is to watch them live. In order to view past games and highlights, you must have Abema Premium.
Being the only team to make the finals in both the 2018 and 2019 season, the Shibuya Abemas want to make the third time a charm. Ever since the week 5, they have only gone up and even since week 13, they have been in 1st place. From Matsumoto’s Suuankou to Hinata’s 3rd to 1st comeback to Ooi’s closed chinitsu even when he was already at 44,300, all the team members have been solid. Even in the 2nd last game of the season, Shiratori didn’t take his foot off the gas pedal and won the game for +76.4pts.
Going Into the Semifinals: +327.4pts
In 2019, the 4th place cutoff was -3.5pts when there were two teams in the negatives (6th place had -101.1pts to start the semis) going into the semifinals. This year, there are currently 4 teams in the negatives that are going into the semis with the lowest team being -105.2pts. With that, it can be safely assumed that the cutoff will be below 0pts. As long as they don’t get an unreasonable number of 4ths, they are certainly going to make the finals for the 3rd year in a row. All the team has to do is not play recklessly and avoid dealing in when all the other teams are being very aggressive.
2. Kadokawa Sakura Knights
Uchikawa Kotaro
Uchikawa Kotaro (内川幸太郎)
+468.7pts (12-4-5-5)
Hori Shingo
Hori Shingo (堀慎吾)
+275.6pts (9-9-5-5)
Okada Sayaka
Okada Sayaka (岡田紗佳)
+33.6pts (4-4-3-4)
Sawazaki Makoto
Sawazaki Makoto (沢崎誠)
-280.6pts (3-4-7-7)
Regular Season: +497.3pts (24/20/22/24)
For the first half of the season, the Kadokawa Sakura Knights were at the bottom half of the standings for the first half of the season and were even in last place at almost -300.0pts. From there, Uchikawa went all out. Since the halfway point of the season, Uchikawa went ham. In the 2nd half, Uchikawa earned 432.1pts and went 9-2-3-2, one of the best records for all the players. Along with some really good playing from newcomer Hori, the team ended up in 2nd place and is challenging the 1st place Shibuya Abemas. Some highlights for the team includes Uchikawa’s dealer haneman to put him over 80,000 and Hori’s rinshan suuankou yakuman.
Going Into the Semifinals: +248.7pts
Though their regular season performance was good, the Kadokawa Sakura Knights don’t do too well in elimination stages. In the finals last year, they had a 0-2-3-7 record and fell from 1st going into the finals and ending up 4th. If they want to do well this playoff season, they need to make sure it doesn’t happen again. However, with Uchikawa’s South 4 performance this season, things are looking up for them.
3. Akasaka Drivens
Murakami Jun
Murakami Jun (村上淳)
+122.9pts (8-4-10-4)
Suzuki Taro
Suzuki Taro (鈴木たろう)
+6.5pts (7-5-8-6)
Sonoda Ken
Sonoda Ken (園田賢)
-28.7pts (7-9-2-10)
Maruyama Kanako
Maruyama Kanako (丸山奏子)
-103.9pts (2-2-2-4)
Regular Season: -3.2pts (28/21/20/21)
At the start of the season, the Akasaka Drivens were doing really good. For the first 6 weeks, they were always between 1st and 3rd place. However, starting week 7, everything just went downhill. The team just kept dropping and dropping and dropping, eventually getting down to last place in week 19. For the last three weeks, they pulled it together and started to rise up. With all the other teams so low, they were able to surpass the other teams and eventually get to 3rd place.
Going Into the Semifinals: -1.6pts
As the team that won the whole thing in 2018 and was in 7th in the 2019 season, this will be their time for redemption. Their performance in the 2018 finals and the last 3 weeks of this season shows their strength in high-pressure situations. This is also the time for Maruyama to show how well she plays in these important games. Playing the minimum number of games this regular season, the team needs to give this Saikouisen Women’s League A1 player more chances to show her strength.
4. EX Furinkazan
Takizawa Kazunori
Takizawa Kazunori (滝沢和典)
+2.0pts (8-6-10-7)
Nikaido Aki
Nikaido Aki (二階堂亜樹)
-37.5pts (6-7-9-6)
Katsumata Kenji
Katsumata Kenji (勝又健志)
-73.3pts (6-9-6-10)
Regular Season: -108.8pts (20/22/25/23)
From the start of the season, the EX Furinkazan were doing really well. They were the first team to get over +400.0pts, doing so by the end of week 6. From week 10-14, they were in 1st place. It wasn’t until week 18 that they dropped into the negatives. From there, they continued to struggle, but managed to hold out until the end of the regular season.
Going Into the Semifinals: -54.4pts
The EX Furinkazan have really upped the stakes for themselves. On Twitter, the team announced that they imposed the following conditions:
If the team gets 4th place overall, they will replace the lowest ranked player as well as get a 4th player
If the team fails to make the semifinals, they will be replacing ALL of their players and get four new players next season
With the high-pressure situation and all players at risk of being kicked, they really need to bring their a-game. As long as the team can replicate what they did at the beginning of the season, they will make it out just fine.
5. Konami Mahjong Fight Club
Sasaki Hisato
Sasaki Hisato (佐々木寿人)
+494.1pts (13-6-6-5)
Fujisaki Satoshi
Fujisaki Satoshi (藤崎智)
-164.8pts (3-6-5-5)
Takamiya Mari
Takamiya Mari (高宮まり)
-246.0pts (3-4-7-6)
Maehara Yudai
Maehara Yudai (前原雄大)
-251.8pts (4-5-4-8)
Regular Season: -168.5pts (23/21/22/24)
This regular season was all about Sasaki Hisato. From start to finish, he played almost flawlessly and his score reflected it. From his Riichi/Rinshan/Tsumo/Sanankou/Dora 7/Aka 1 and record-breaking game to the South 3 4th to 1st comeback, his play was truly incredible. With Fujisaki, Takamiya and Maehara having a difficult season, Sasaki’s +494.1 helped keep the team in playoff position.
Going Into the Semifinals: -84.2pts
Historically, the Konami Mahjong Fight Club hasn’t done well in the playoffs. They placed 4th in the finals in 2018 and fell from 3rd to 5th in the semis to be eliminated in 2019. Being in 5th position, they are already in elimination range. 4ths must be avoided and as the team with the highest deal-in rate, the will have to strike a balance between being aggressive and defensive.
6. Team Raiden
Kurosawa Saki
Kurosawa Saki (黒沢咲)
193.3pts (10-6-9-6)
Setokuma Naoki
Setokuma Naoki (瀬戸熊直樹)
57.0pts (9-7-9-7)
Hagiwara Masato
Hagiwara Masato (萩原聖人)
-460.8pts (3-8-4-12)
Regular Season: -210.5pts (22/21/22/25)
There are two stories within Team Raiden. The first story is the rivalry between Kurosawa and Setokuma. The two of them had been consistently near the top of the individual standings, often within points of each other. With each game, they tried to one up one another. The other story is one of Hagiwara’s struggle. Hagiwara consistently got 4ths and had quite a few deal-ins. Even when he was on the cusp of getting a good result, he would either deal in or someone else was able to make a comeback. It wasn’t until around Christmastime that Hagiwara managed to win a game. However, the work that his two teammates has kept the team from sinking too deeply.
Going Into the Semifinals: -105.2pts
Being in 6th place going into the semifinals could be good for Team Raiden. The past two championships were won by teams that were the lowest ranked going into the playoffs. With Hagiwara’s aggressive playing, it may be his time to shine.
Games will take place every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from April 12 to April 30. All games will start at 19:00 JST.
Week 1: April 12, April 13, April 15, April 16
Week 2: April 19, April 20, April 22, April 23
Week 3: April 26, April 27, April 29, April 30
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 Watch 