As we get deeper into the M-League season, players start getting more comfortable. Their mindsets adjust and they get into a groove when they play. Whenever they get stuck, they are able to adjust and move along. And when they have the momentum, they move along smoothly and reach new records and new heights.
Things moved along quite well for some teams and players in the 8th week. With streaks and comeback and positive movements, things continue to be competitive on the big M-League stage.
There are many moments in mahjong that are great. A big hand, a big win, multiple wins in a row, all of them bring great satisfaction to the victors. But there are also many small moments that bring joy as well. Small wins, small gains, small movements in the standings, all of these small things show progress and improvement along the path of greatness.
In the 7th week of the M-League 2025-26 regular season, we had many moments great and small. From a yakuman win to seven teams gaining points (even if those gains were small), joy was spread to players and fans alike.
In mahjong, there is a lot of volatility. And with this volatility, shakeups can occur. Lucky draws and surprise uradora can suddenly change the winner of a game, which in turn can radically change the overall standings. And that’s what makes mahjong so fun.
This week, the 6th week of the M-League 2025-26 regular season, we had quite a shakeup at the top of the standings. Teams with big gains and big losses, the standings look nothing like they were just a week ago. And with all the teams getting closer and closer, nobody knew who would be on top by the end of it.
In mahjong, everyone strives for greatness. From small wins to contributions to the community, everyone builds their legacy. And with enough skill and time and effort, and through the lives they’ve touched, a small handful of people will be called one of the greats.
This week, we learned about the loss of one of these greats. This loss caused pain to many in the mahjong community. And through the pain, players played in memory of this person, honoured their legacy and recounted memories that they held dear.
Maehara Yudai (1956- 2025)
On October 12, 2025, former M-Leaguer Maehara Yudai passed away at the age of 68. Maehara was a member of the Konami Mahjong Fight Club from the 2018-19 season to the 2020-21 season. He was an integral part of the start of M-League and the Konami Mahjong Fight Club. He was most famous for exemplifying the team’s signature pose, even doing it at the table after winning a game.
Memories and tributes started flowing in from the mahjong community, including Shiratori Sho’s Tweet about how he learned the news and how the memories with Maehara started flooding back, to Sasaki Hisato’s note about how close the two of them were and how Maehara helped shape Hisato to be the pro he is today.
Before the games on October 16, 2025, a moment of silence was held to remember Maehara.
Former teammates Sasaki Hisato and Takamiya Mari also honoured Maehara by performing his famous pose at the end of their games that day.
The M-League Watch Team would like to give to send its deepest condolences to Maehara’s family and the mahjong community and wish everyone comfort in this difficult time.
Beginnings and endings are everywhere in mahjong. Winning streaks begin and winning streaks end. Explosive starts and amazing last-hand comebacks can define a game. Tenpai at the start of hands and wins on the very last tile can create amazing moments.
In the 4th week of the M-League 2025-26 regular season, we had many of these starts and ends. From two double riichi wins and a haitei, to a team getting their first three wins of the season, to the end of a powerhouse team’s reign, this week was full of moments that kept fans glued to their screens, excited every single second.
When you win a hand worth 6 or 7 han, that is called a haneman. A haneman is worth 12,000 for a non-dealer and 18,000 for the dealer. Winning a haneman puts you squarely between being unbeatable and within reach. In any case, a haneman will send a strong message to your opponents that you are not someone to be messed with.
In the third week of the M-League 2025-26 regular season, we had a lot of hanemans. We even had one game where four hanemans in a row! In addition to the hanemania, we also had a player overcoming a 54,700 deficit to win the game!
For the first time in M-League history, we have two games playing at the same time. Both in the same studio, two broadcasts running simultaneously. Twice the action, twice the fun.
This week, the second week of the M-League 2025-26, we had players and teams getting their first wins and a lot of Ura 3 wins. We even had an incredible hand repeated for the second week in a row~
Don’t think twice about it! Let’s get right into it, shall we?
After months of waiting, it’s finally here! The newest M-League season has finally begun! With a new team and new players, M-League excitement has never been greater. And the games this week did not disappoint. This week, we had three Ura 3 wins in a single game, newcomers winning in their debuts and an incredible surprise on the very first day!
There was so much action this week, so let’s just jump right into it, shall we?
Opening Ceremony
Fans gathered at the Bellesalle Shiodome to watch the very first day of the M-League 2025-26 season. With every moment of cheering, you could feel it come alive. The MC for the night was Hayashi Misaki.
After some brief introductions, each of the teams (going in reverse standings order from last season) came into the hall and onto the stage. The team captain of each team carried a flag with the team’s logo on it.
The final team, the championship-winning Sega Sammy Phoenix, came into the hall carrying their championship plate. Once they got on stage, M-League founder and chairman Fujita Susumu joined them. Team captain Kayamori Sayaka returned the plate back to the chairman, placing it back on the pedestal to symbolically mark the start of a new season.
After a few words from each of the teams and from Fujita Susumu, everyone on stage did a big cheer and the M-League 2025-26 season was officially opened!
On September 1, 2025 M-League revealed the uniforms that will be used for the upcoming 2025-26 season.
The M-League 2025-26 season begins on September 15, 2025.
Akasaka Drivens
2024-25
→
2025-26
The Akasaka Drivens are choosing to go a bit bolder this year, going with a more pronounced checker pattern with a brighter neon green. Within the darker patches of the checker pattern is a diagonal tartan pattern.
The Akasaka Drivens uniform remains the only one without any corporate logos (aside from the team logo and the sportswear company Mizuno [which is on all the clothing of every team]).
The Beast X have chosen to take an interesting approach to their uniform, placing the team name near the bottom of the shirt and their biggest sponsor, auPAY, in the centre where the team name would normally be.
The team maintains its camouflage design, but restricts it to the shoulds, arms and bottom of the shirt. The team name is also written in camouflage instead of the regular team logo. The rest of the shirt is white.
Earth Jets
2024-25
→
2025-26
With the Earth Jets making their M-League debut, they are also debuting their uniform. Their main design is a net-like lattice in front of a green base. In the centre is the Earth Jets logo with corporate sponsors above and below. Corporate sponsors are also found on the sleeves.
The left sleeve features a single green stripe, while the right sleeve has a single red stripe.
EX Furinkazan
2024-25
→
2025-26
The EX Furinkazan uniform has a more geometric look this season, featuring red triangles as the base background of the uniform. The sponsors on the uniforms no longer have a white background behind it. There is also a star just above the final N on the uniform, possibly to indicate that the team has won the championship once before (2020-21 season).
The Kadokawa Sakura Knights have chosen to feature blue more on their uniform, putting a stripe on the sleeves and making it their collar colour. The rest of the uniform is still mostly black except for the white sleeves and the stripes and sakura blossoms on the right side.
Aside from the new logo, the Konami Mahjong Fight Club jersey has a bit more blue and light red (almost pink) on the sleeves and the sides. There are also some additional sponsors on the jersey as well.
Team Raiden‘s overall design is relatively unchanged at first look aside from the brighter yellow on the sides. However, when you look more closely, you can see the lightning bolt shape all throughout the dark sections of the jersey.
U-Next Pirates
2024-25
→
2025-26
The U-Next Pirates uniform still features their signature blue look,, though the overall design now has horizontal zigzag lines representing waves. These waves are said to symbolize “eternity, challenge, achievement, and good fortune”.
On August 8, 2025, M-League released the schedule for the upcoming 2025-26 season. They also announced additions and adjustments to both the team and individual award prizes.
New Prizes
Starting in the 2025-26 season, the top prize for the championship winning team will be increased to ¥70,000,000 (up from ¥50,000,000 the previous season). In addition, the 4th place team in the finals will now receve a prize of ¥5,000,000. The prize for 2nd place and 3rd place in the finals will remain at ¥20,000,000 and ¥10,000,000, respectively. The prize for the top team in the regular season remains at ¥3,000,000.
For the individual awards, there is now a new award: most 1sts. The player with the most 1sts in the regular season will receive a ¥1,000,000 prize. This is in addition to the existing MVP award (¥2,000,000), highest hanchan (¥1,000,000) and 4th avoidance award (¥1,000,000).
Starting this season, players must play a minimum of 20 games and a maximum of 40 games, up from the previous 10 game minimum and down from the previous 45 game maximum. The 20-game minimum is also the minimum number of games to be eligible for the individual awards.
Schedule
With the addition of the Earth Jets, M-League has increased the number of games during the regular season to 300 games total (120 games per team).
To accomodate this, M-League will have simultaneous games being played on Thursdays and Fridays from September 25 to February 20.
The format of the semifinals and the finals will remain the same. The top 6 teams in the regular season will play 30 games total (20 games each). The top 4 teams from the semifinals will then go on and play 16 games to determine the champion.
The M-League 2025-26 regular season will start on Monday, September 15, 2025.
For your convenience, I have created a Google Calendar of the schedule (with times in JST), as well as one for each team. There is also an iCalendar (.ics) file that you can download to put the schedule on your computer’s calendar.
Any mistakes are purely my own. If there is any discrepancy between the calendar and the official M-League schedule, the official M-League schedule is correct.
M-League Watch 