M-League Watch

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!

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Intro | Game #9 | Game #10

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.

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Intro | Game #7 | Game #8

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.

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Intro | Game #5 | Game #6

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!

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Intro | Game #3 | Game #4

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!

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Intro | Game #1 | Game #2

The M-League 2024-25 Finals begin on May 5! Today, we’ll take a look at which teams will be playing, how they got here and what they will need to do to succeed.

Continue reading “M-League 2024-25 Finals: The Teams”

The M-League 2024-25 Final Series start on May 5! Today, we will be taking a look at all the information you need to know about the upcoming M-League Finals.

The Teams

The Format

The team’s final score from the semifinals will be cut in half (rounded up to the nearest tenth) and will be carried over to the finals (shown below). Each team will then play a total of sixteen (16) games. Whichever of the four teams has the most points by the end of the sixteen games will be M-League champions.

	Team	Semifinals Score	Finals Starting Score
1st	Akasaka Drivens	+714.8pts	+357.4pts
2nd	U-Next Pirates	+626.7pts	+313.4pts
3rd	Sega Sammy Phoenix	+512.9pts	+256.5pts
4th	Team Raiden	-9.9pts	-4.9pts

The Schedule

Games will take place on May 5, 6, 8, 9, 12, 13, 15 and 16 and will be broadcasted on the ABEMA TV Mahjong Channel. Each broadcast will begin at starting at 19:00 JST (UTC +9), with the exception of the 16th when it will start at 17:00 JST to accomodate the Awards Ceremony. Each day will consist of two (2) games.

The Prizes

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.