Uchikawa Kotaro Dropped By Kadokawa Sakura Knights, Will Play In EX Furinkazan Draft Audition

On May 19, 2025, the Kadokawa Sakura Knights announced that they will be dropping Uchikawa Kotaro from the team. It was also revealed that Uchikawa is the “Mister X” who was teased for the EX Furinkazan Audition.

In a post on Twitter and through a video on YouTube coach Morii Takumi explained that the decision was made on April 7th and was related to his performance (as opposed to health or other reasons). The team was not able to use Uchikawa in the way that they wanted, especially in important situations. As a result, the team management decided not to renew his contract.

In a separate post, the team also announced that they will be renewing the contracts for Okada Sayaka, Hori Shingo and Shibukawa Nanba.

In a note, Uchikawa thanked fans and staff for their support over the past six years. Uchikawa explained that he wanted to announce his departure as soon as possible, but he was required to do it after the season ended due to contractual obligations. He also apologized to fans for not being able to answer sincerely to fans that told him to do his best next season.

Uchikawa was drafted by the Kadokawa Sakura Knights as their 1st draft pick when they first joined the league in the 2019-20 season. As team captain, he helped the team advance to the finals in 4 of their 6 years, including a championsip win in the 2021-22 season. However, he has also had negative results in 4 of his 6 seasons, including the most recent one where the team missed the playoffs for the first time.

However, Uchikawa also expressed his desire to continue competing in M-League as a player. At the same time that his contract expiration was announced, he announced that he would be competing in the EX Furinkazan Draft Audition. Previously, the mystery player had only been known as “Mister X”

In a note, it was explained that Uchikawa’s inability to announce his deparutre from the Kadokawa Sakura Knights caused delays in announcing the players for the EX Furinkazan Audition. As a solution, they made him Mister X. Uchikawa expressed his joy and excitement in seeing all the buzz about the true identity of Mister X.

The M-League Watch would like to wish Uchikawa well in his pursuit to become an M-Leaguer once again.

M-League 2024-25 Finals: Games #15-16 and the Awards Ceremony

This is it. This is the final day of the M-League 2024-25 season. It’s the last chance for these players to get the best result for their team. By the end of the day, only one team can be crowned champions.

Everything came down to the last day, the last game, the last hand. I don’t want to spoil too much, but it was truly an exciting finish.

Let’s get right into it, shall we?

Before the Games

For the final day, we had the irreplaceable commentary duo of Hiyoshi Tatsuya and Tsuchida Kousho.

At the Bellesalle Shiodome, fans packed the venue to watch the the final games live on the big screen.

One last time, we looked at the highlights from yesterday and took a look at the standings going into today.

The Sega Sammy Phoenix hold an 87.1pts lead over the 2nd place U-Next Pirates, with the 3rd place Akasaka Drivens not that far behind them. A big 1st place by either the U-Next Pirates or the Akasaka Drivens could put them on top. Team Raiden in 4th place and 268.7pts behind 3rd will need get a big win as well and do some targeting.

Intro | Game #15 | Game #16
Awards Ceremony | Final Thoughts

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M-League 2024-25 Finals: Games #13-14

For fans and players alike, adrenaline rushes through the body with every second of the game. Facing fierce opponents and rivals, a big win could mean a big shift in the standings.

In Games #13-14 of the M-League 2024-25 Finals, we witnessed one of the biggest games ever to be played in the finals. As a result, we had that a big shift in the standings.

Let’s get right into it, shall we?

Before the Games

For the penultimate day of games, we had Kobayashi Misa and Saikouisen’s Kouno Naoya doing commentary.

After a recap of Tuesday’s results, we took a look at the standings.

The Akasaka Drivens are in the lead, but it is far from a safe lead. The Sega Sammy Phoenix sit right behind them, just 26.6pts shy. The U-Next Pirates have a lot of work to do at 211.0pts behind, as do Team Raiden in the negatives.

Intro | Game #13 | Game #14

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M-League 2024-25 Finals: Games #11-12

Teams have been through a lot to get to this point. They’ve gone through a gruelling regular season, an intense semifinals and are more than halfway through the competitive finals. With six more games to go, everything is on the line. And believe me, they will fight like hell to get that championship.

In Games #11 and 12 of the M-League 2024-25 finals, we had big swings all around. From a big dealership win to an Ura 3 win to a houtei, we had quite an interesting day of games.

Let’s get right into it, shall we?

Before the Games

Commentating in their final games of the season are Matsushima Momo and former Akasaka Drivens player Murakami Jun.

After a review of Monday’s action, we looked at where the teams stood going into today.

The Akasaka Drivens have their biggest lead of the finals so far. Going down the list, each team is just over 100pts behind the next with six more games left to go.

Intro | Game #11 | Game #12

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M-League 2024-25 Finals: Games #9-10

Each game is critical in the finals. With a big win, they may rise like the sun in the morning. But if they lose, they may be left high and dry and the sun might set on their championship chances.

In the 9th and 10th game of the M-League 2024-25 finals, we had some spectacular comebacks and a lot of proof that no lead is safe.

There was a lot of cool action today, so let’s get right into it, shall we?

Before the Games

The commentators of the day were Hiyoshi Tatsuya and former Konami Mahjong Fight Club player Fujisaki Satoshi.

After looking at the highlights from Friday’s games, we took a look at the standings.

The Sega Sammy Phoenix have a very slim lead over the Akasaka Drivens. The U-Next Pirates are still within range of 2nd place, but are also in danger of dropping down to 4th place with the competitive Team Raiden.

And with that, we were off!

Intro | Game #9 | Game #10

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M-League 2024-25 Finals: Games #7-8

With every game, every team has a chance at great wins and great wounds. There’s no deciding on the result in advance. Anything can happen in mahjong.

In Games #7-8 of the M-League 2024-25 finals, teams continued to bounce around. We had standings shifts, a rare yaku chance and a team finally getting a win.

There’s no denying it, these are some exciting finals. Let’s get right into it, shall we?

Before the Games

Commentating today is the formidable Hiyoshi Tatsuya and former U-Next Pirates player Ishibashi Nobuhiro.

After seeing the menu delivery promotion and book release from yesterday, we again took a look at the standings.

After a lot of flip-flopping, the Akasaka Drivens is the leader going into today. Though, the Sega Sammy Phoenix are down by just 41.7pts. The U-Next Pirate are more than 200.0pts away from the top while Team Raiden is in the negatives.

Intro | Game #7 | Game #8

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M-League 2024-25 Finals: Games #5-6

The time is 19:00 JST. The place is the M-League Studio. Peace has not been reached. The face-to-face battle continues.

In Games #5-6 of the M-League 2024-25 Finals, the games continued to be close and the fight continued to be intense. Both games took until South 4 to confirm who would be the winner.

There’s a lot to cover, so let’s get right into it, shall we?

Before the Games

Our main commentator for the day is Kobayashi Misa. Joining her are Konami Mahjong Fight Club players Takizawa Kazunori and Sasaki Hisato.

As a promotion, menu delivery has an online crane game with M-League themed prizes, including merchandise and a special invitation to a public viewing next season.

In addition, they advertised a new book Akatsuki no Mahjong (暁のMリーグ) by Maeda Kenta, which releases on May 9 for 1,980 yen. The book outlines 16 stories from 16 M-Leaguers who were fundamental in the growth of the game.

As always, we took a look at the standings going into today:

The Akasaka Drivens are in the lead, but just 14.9pts ahead of Sega Sammy Phoenix. The Sega Sammy Phoenix placing above the Akasaka Drivens in the next game will flip these standings. The U-Next Pirates have some work to do to move above, while Team Raiden has a lot of work to do in their next 12 games.

Intro | Game #5 | Game #6

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M-League 2024-25 Finals: Games #3-4

A bad start does not mean a bad finish. A good start does not mean a good finish. This is how the game goes. This is the nature of mahjong.

In the second day of the M-League 2024-25 Finals, we had players that seemed like they would win getting hit with some bad luck. We also had players who were down suddenly make a great rise. We also had a haitei hit, dora boosts and ura bombs.

Come on, grab a friend and let’s check out all the action that happened in this exciting second day!

Before the Games

Our main commentator of the day is Matsushima Momo. Helping out are Shibuya Abemas players Shiratori Sho and Hinata Aiko.

We then took a look at the standings:

The Akasaka Drivens, Sega Sammy Phoenix and U-Next Pirates are pretty evenly separated, but a 1st place could easily shift those standings. Team Raiden is in the negatives and about 300.0pts behind 3rd place.

And with that, we were off!

Intro | Game #3 | Game #4

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M-League 2024-25 Finals: Games #1-2

The M-League 2024-25 Finals have begun! The challenge is to demand satisfaction, to get your team to the top and win the championship. Only one team can be the next M-League champions.

The first day was a quick affair, but it was filled with close games and small hands that made big impacts. There was a lot of excitement in the first day, so let’s get right into it, shall we?

Before the Games

Our commentators for the day are Hiyoshi Tatsuya and former U-Next Pirates player and championship winner Asakura Koushin.

Before the games, they played a highlight reel of the top moments in the semifinals. After going through the regulations, we got to see the standings going into today’s games.

The Akasaka Drivens are currently in the lead, but both the U-Next Pirates and Sega Sammy Phoenix can take that lead in a single game. Being the only team in the negatives Team Raiden has a lot of work to do, but they have 16 games to do it.

After the players for the first game were introduced, we were off to the races!

Intro | Game #1 | Game #2

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