Hori Shingo (KADOKAWA Sakura Knights) drew the start of a double in game 2 on table A, four pairs of honors and a , one from a for and , a hand nobody has won in the league. He didn't get there. He won four hands in a row by tsumo instead, two of them , for the top. Okada Sayaka had already won game 1 on the same table with six wins and no deal-ins and 62,800 at the end. That was round 34, Tuesday, November 10. Sakura Knights took 148.6, their fifth same-day double of the season, and lead TEAM RAIDEN by 380.4. On table B, Honda Tomohiro (Raiden) matched Okada's six wins and no deal-ins for +82.3, which put Raiden back in second. HIRO Shibata (EARTH JETS) was last with three hands to go in game 2 and won all three for the top.
Game 1: Okada (Sakura Knights) +82.8 on table A, Honda (Raiden) +82.3 on table B. Game 2: Hori (Sakura Knights) +65.8 on table A, Shibata (Jets) +59.3 on table B.
Results at a glance
| Game | Place | Player | Team | pt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1A | 1st | Okada Sayaka | KADOKAWA Sakura Knights | +82.8 |
| 1A | 2nd | Sonoda Ken | Akasaka Drivens | +13.5 |
| 1A | 3rd | Asakura Koshin | U-NEXT Pirates | -35.3 |
| 1A | 4th | Date Arisa | KONAMI Mahjong Fight Club | -61.0 |
| 1B | 1st | Honda Tomohiro | TEAM RAIDEN | +82.3 |
| 1B | 2nd | Miura Tomohiro | EARTH JETS | +2.8 |
| 1B | 3rd | Tojyo Rio | BEAST X | -22.0 |
| 1B | 4th | Hinata Aiko | Shibuya ABEMAS | -63.1 |
| 2A | 1st | Hori Shingo | KADOKAWA Sakura Knights | +65.8 |
| 2A | 2nd | Watanabe Futoshi | Akasaka Drivens | +12.9 |
| 2A | 3rd | Takizawa Kazunori | KONAMI Mahjong Fight Club | -27.8 |
| 2A | 4th | Suzuki Yu | U-NEXT Pirates | -50.9 |
| 2B | 1st | HIRO Shibata | EARTH JETS | +59.3 |
| 2B | 2nd | Shiratori Sho | Shibuya ABEMAS | +15.2 |
| 2B | 3rd | Kurosawa Saki | TEAM RAIDEN | -16.8 |
| 2B | 4th | Nakada Kana | BEAST X | -57.7 |
Table A, game 1: Okada's six wins, Asakura's two climbs
Asakura Koshin (U-NEXT Pirates) dealt into the first two hands and never got back to even. Sonoda Ken (Akasaka Drivens) won their battle in east 1 for 5,200 with . In east 2 Okada riichi'd with , a and a red five, Asakura cut his only pair to fold, and paid 8,000. In east 3 Asakura's riichi tile hit Okada's for 4,800. Two hands later Okada riichi'd, drew a red five, and turned over three : riichi, tsumo, red, ura 3, 6,000 all, and 57,900, with Asakura under zero a hand later.
Asakura climbed out twice. In south 1, with Asakura as dealer, Sonoda pon'd chun, added a and called a south for an open with , and Asakura riichi'd into it on a 6m with and a red five, pushing a 5s that Sonoda pon'd into his own tenpai. Asakura drew the 6m: riichi, tsumo, , red, ura, 4,000 all, from -1,300 to 10,700 and third. Okada won the next two, a 2,000 all and a 3,900 off Asakura in south 3 with two , and Asakura was last again. The was for third. Date Arisa (KONAMI Mahjong Fight Club), dealer and without a win all game, had a 7,700 with a dora on turn five and kept it , because a riichi stick would have left her on 1,900 and any 2,000 would have been last. Asakura called twice into a with two dora and a 2s-5s wait, and on turn 13 Date cut the 5s: 3,900 and third. Date finished on -1,000. M Data Lab's model puts the decisive hand at east 3 with two , Okada's 6,000 all, worth +36.8 to her expected score.
Table B, game 1: Honda's four wins, Miura's fold for second
Honda Tomohiro (TEAM RAIDEN) won four hands in the east round, with one draw in between, and dealt into nothing all game. A turn-four riichi tsumo'd for 1,300/2,600. A chun off Hinata Aiko (Shibuya ABEMAS) for 1,500. In east 3 with two honba, a 6p riichi that Miura Tomohiro (EARTH JETS) dealt into on his last draw. Riichi, a dora, three ura: 8,000. In east 4 Honda riichi'd with a pair of the dora west and a red five. Hinata chased, and the last tile of the wall was the 8m she cut: riichi, , two dora, a red, 8,000 again. Honda had 51,300 at the halfway point, 29,600 clear of Tojyo Rio (BEAST X).
Miura's game was the one the kinmaweb match report followed. After the 8,000 with three ura he won second back twice over: a riichi, , pinfu 3,900 off Hinata in south 1 with one honba, after giving up on a fold, drawing her winning 5m, keeping it and pairing it with a second, and a dama for 6,400. In the all-last he was dealer, second by 6,400, so one 6,400 deal-in from third. He drew a 9s, cut a 6s instead, and then folded with an 8p rather than push 2,000 points into a 6,400 lottery. Lesson 2 below has the read. Honda's tsumo ended it, 62,300 to Miura's 22,800. Hinata's four deal-ins came to 22,100 and she ended 3,100 under zero. M Data Lab's model puts the decisive hand at east 3 with two honba, Honda's 8,000 off Miura, worth +26.8 to his expected score.
Table A, game 2: Hori's double yakuman that wasn't, then four tsumo
East 1 was two flush hands at once. Watanabe Futoshi (Akasaka Drivens), dealer, built a with two dora and Suzuki Yu (U-NEXT Pirates), Yu from here, a souzu one worth . Watanabe pon'd hatsu into a 1p-2p and drew the cheap side: honitsu, hatsu, two dora, 4,000 all, then a riichi tsumo iipeikou 2,600 all on top.
Then Hori drew the hand. Four pairs of honors on turn four, a hatsu to pair up, a chun pon, and he was one hatsu from a tenpai for and , 64,000 points, with two hatsu left in the wall. The last time he got this close, by the kinmaweb match report's count, was March 29, 2024, 957 days earlier, a and tsuuiisou tenpai. Watanabe riichi'd in . Takizawa Kazunori (KONAMI Mahjong Fight Club) called into a tenpai, in himself, and pushed a second hatsu, which Hori, holding one, couldn't call. The hand ran out with the last hatsu, the west and the north all deep in the wall. Hori's line afterwards, as the report quotes it: not a millimeter of nerves. Then he won four in a row: a chun for 300/500 in east 2, and in east 3 a riichi, tsumo, pinfu, red, ura 2,000/4,000. In south 1 with one honba all four players sat dama with or better, Watanabe's a worth 18,000 and Hori's a pinfu with one winning tile left in the wall, and Hori drew it: 3,000/6,000. Next hand a riichi, tsumo, pinfu, tanyao, dora, ura for 3,000/6,000 again, and 50,400. The one deal-in of the game was his: in the all-last Takizawa, 500 ahead of Yu for third, cut a red 5s from an open hand and Hori fed him a 7s to end it. Watanabe second on 32,900, Takizawa 12,200, Yu 9,100. M Data Lab's model puts the decisive hand at south 1 with one honba, Hori's 3,000/6,000, worth +36.9 to his expected score.
Table B, game 2: Shibata from last to first in three hands
HIRO Shibata (EARTH JETS) had six tops in 15 games this season going in, after three in 28 last season. The kinmaweb match report opens with that count. He started well. Nakada Kana (BEAST X) riichi'd on turn seven of east 1. Shibata drew into a tenpai with a choice: a kanchan 2s, or a on 1s and hatsu. He took the shanpon, because the 1s was Nakada's safe tile and the hatsu had just passed, pushed the dora to riichi, and Nakada dealt him the 1s for 2,000. Then he dealt in twice. In east 4 with one honba he had a tenpai on a kanchan 3s and dealt the 6m into Shiratori Sho's (Shibuya ABEMAS) dama tanyao pinfu for 8,000. In south 1 with one honba, tenpai with a 2m that was Kurosawa Saki's (TEAM RAIDEN) safe tile and Shiratori's winning tile, he weighed the that had all passed, the report says, cut it anyway, and paid 5,500. Last, with his dealer turn gone.
Three hands left. In south 2 Nakada riichi'd first again and Shibata chased on 4s-7s. Nakada, holding two 7s, drew the third and had to cut it: Shibata's riichi, pinfu, red, ura, 8,000. In south 3 he cut the dora 5p from to keep a hatsu as his safe tile. The 2m he drew next confirmed iipeikou. He riichi'd on 3p-6p through Kurosawa's chase and the dealer's tenpai and tsumo'd the 6p: riichi, tsumo, pinfu, iipeikou, dora, two red fives, 3,000/6,000. Second, 3,700 behind Shiratori. In the all-last Kurosawa, dealer, called haku for a honitsu. Shibata a 9s from a 7-8s shape with the 789 sanshoku in plain view, paired the dora west and was tenpai on a 7m with no 7m left in the wall. Shiratori cut one. Sanshoku, two dora, 3,900. M Data Lab's model puts the decisive hand at south 3, Shibata's 3,000/6,000, worth +36.7 to his expected score.
Standings after round 34
| # | Team | pt | Games |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | KADOKAWA Sakura Knights | +578.1 | 52 |
| 2 | TEAM RAIDEN | +197.7 | 52 |
| 3 | KONAMI Mahjong Fight Club | +163.7 | 52 |
| 4 | Akasaka Drivens | +75.8 | 52 |
| 5 | Sega Sammy Phoenix | -69.4 | 50 |
| 6 | BEAST X | -105.8 | 52 |
| 7 | EARTH JETS | -127.7 | 50 |
| 8 | Shibuya ABEMAS | -201.2 | 50 |
| 9 | U-NEXT Pirates | -212.3 | 52 |
| 10 | EX Furinkazan | -298.9 | 50 |
By team on the night: Sakura Knights +148.6, Raiden +65.5, Jets +62.1, Drivens +26.4, ABEMAS -47.9, BEAST X -79.7, Pirates -86.2, Fight Club -88.8. Sega Sammy Phoenix and EX Furinkazan had the night off. Sakura Knights have 578.1, nearly three times Raiden's total. Raiden pass Fight Club into second after one night in third. Phoenix move up to fifth without playing, BEAST X drop to sixth after two bottom-half finishes, and Jets are seventh, 21.9 behind them. Pirates fall from seventh to ninth. Setokuma Naoki, idle again, stays top of the individual table at +503.8. Honda is second at +354.4, Okada third at +337.9 from 12 games, and Shibata fourth at +250.6.
| Team | Semifinals | Title |
|---|---|---|
| KADOKAWA Sakura Knights | 97% | 28% |
| TEAM RAIDEN | 73% | 9% |
| KONAMI Mahjong Fight Club | 77% | 12% |
| Akasaka Drivens | 78% | 15% |
| Sega Sammy Phoenix | 60% | 9% |
| BEAST X | 41% | 4% |
| EARTH JETS | 44% | 5% |
| Shibuya ABEMAS | 43% | 5% |
| U-NEXT Pirates | 52% | 9% |
| EX Furinkazan | 34% | 4% |
The biggest mover since Monday's table, by M Data Lab's count, is BEAST X, down from 51% to 41% for the semifinals and now below Jets' 44%. Sakura Knights' title chance is 28%, up five.
Three things to take to your own table
Build a chase wait out of their safe tiles. Shibata could have taken a kanchan 2s tenpai in east 1 and declared riichi with a tile that was already safe against Nakada. He took the shanpon on the 1s and hatsu instead, two tiles the table would cut, and pushed the dora to declare. Pick the wait from the tiles the other three are about to cut. Find the safe declaration tile second.
Read a call before you read your own hand. Miura drew a 9s in the all-last with a 6s already in hand. Tojyo needed 8,000 to pass him, and her open 3-4-red 5s meld meant that hand was a tanyao with reds and dora, a shape that almost never waits on the 6s. The 9s was live against two closed hands that could be chiitoitsu, and a 6,400 from either would have dropped him to third. He cut the 6s, then folded. Read the open meld for what the caller can't be waiting on before you count your own safe tiles.
Count what the riichi stick costs before you throw it. Date had a 7,700 hand in the all-last and kept it dama, because the 1,000 for the stick would have put her on 1,900, one 2,000-point deal-in from last. She still lost third on a 5s, but the sum was right. If the 1,000 for the stick drops you a place on its own, don't declare.
Sources
Results and pt from kinmaweb's monthly results page. Hand-by-hand from kinmaweb's text reports for table A, game 1, table B, game 1, table A, game 2 and table B, game 2, and its match reports on Asakura's two climbs, Miura's choice, Hori's double yakuman chase and Shibata's three in a row. Values cross-checked against jankaku's reports for table A and table B. Standings from kinmaweb's ranking page, updated November 10. Decisive hands, swings and semifinal odds from M Data Lab's odds page and its game pages for table A, game 1, table B, game 1, table A, game 2 and table B, game 2, rebuilt after the night's last game. The league's official highlight video for November 10 wasn't up when this went live.
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