2024 was a busy year in mahjong for me, with lots of ups and downs. Let's take a look.
The year kicked off in January with the Seattle Open. I had a great tournament, finishing 14/91. If the tournament had only 8 more participants and I got the same result, I would have gotten enough ARA qualifying points to put me a hair's distance away from being in the Top 64 for the Invitational in 2025. Of course since I'm qualifying through Hungary I wouldn't be eligible anyway, but it's fun to consider. I was also the Observer for this event, taking on the role of guinea pig, bc this was the first event to have an ARA observer report. I ended up erring on the side of caution and noting down 99% of the complaints, hopefully I did a good + fair job.
Next up was the PML invitational, a non-ratified event that featured 4 rounds of set play (3 hanchans each). I advanced past the first 2 rounds, losing to Stanley and Matthew K in round 3. I came 2nd on my table in round 4, so I generously noted myself as 6/32. Set play was really fun format for me, I hope to do more of it in the future. I also got to witness some of the crazies in the Bay Area, so I will probably not move there after Japan (I was considering this a little bit).
In April, I helped organize / host / run the DC Open, which I think was an overall success. This was the first time I organized a tournament and I made several mistakes. Luckily none of them were catastrophic, and I think the players had a great time! I hope to take part in organizing many more tournaments in the future. Even though I don't get to play as the organizer, it's still a rewarding experience and makes me feel like I'm helping mahjong grow.
In May I played two tournaments in Europe: Bucharest and Oss. These were well run tournaments w great people (shout out to all the folks on the Romanian Discord), unfortunately my performance was terrible-- I finished in the bottom quartile in both.. I think I also picked up some kind of flu in Romania (I also caught Covid there in 2023), and this was the time of my life when my relationship of 2.5 years fell apart...
Fast-forward to July, when I played my first tournament in Belgium, in Louvain La Neuve. This was probably my favorite tournament of the year. I did pretty well (14/52) and got to meet some wonderful people, like Henri, Constance, Linh, and Leonie. LLN is also a surprisingly charming college town, considering it's laid out like a Counter-Strike map.
Next up was the first World Riichi League event in Cologne, which probably had the highest level of play out of all of my tournaments so far. Hanging out with some of the strongest players in Europe and watching Gemma demonstrate proper manners expected from Pro players, I got the sense that this was the beginning of something special. Despite some strong hanchans and (partly) due to a completely unnecessary / stupid chombo (premature ryoukyouku reveal), my final result wasn't particularly good (23/36). Still, the vibes were great and I love the team in Cologne. Oh, and I passed the ref test to become an official WRC certified referee!
At the end of August I returned to the US to ~~get my citizenship~~ play at NAO (North American Open). This was an important event for not just playing, but also networking. I got to meet folks from Mahjong Stars for the first time, learned about Saikouisen and had fun drinking and playing with some of the strongest players in America. My own performance was nothing to write home about (80/135) and I also committed another chombo...
A few months later I had another mid performance at the Sparrow's Nest in NYC (35/64). I love the location and the organizers, but for some reason, I keep getting my butt kicked at the nest. However, the week before I got to meet online celebs Jenn and Garthe at Sparrow's Nest, which was definitely the highlight of my fall. Drinking beers while listening to crazy stories from Japan was tons of fun and something I hope to do more of in the coming months (if I can ever get a hold of Garthe).
During the year, I tried to improve my play by not only playing online + at meetups, but also seeking structured play (in DC we call them WRC hell days -- we play 6 hanchans under strict rules + time controls). I also tried to improve by getting coaching from stronger players, big thanks to Steve, Matt, Wrath and especially Xkime for patiently helping me stumble forward. As part of DC Nomi's mentorship program, I also coached someone else for the first time -- Bianca would probably be A2 in ARML even without our sessions, but I hope I helped a little.
I finished the year strong, coming in 2nd at Cologne WRL Event 2. This was a small event with some big names during which I had a fair bit of luck, but I also hit a magical flow state for the first time. I could tell with a high degree of accuracy (80%+) what tiles merely looked dangerous and what tiles people were actually waiting for. As I was building hands, I surfed the balance of safety / efficiency intuitively, and folding -- normally an exercise in discipline through gritted teeth -- came easily. Because of the few entrants, there were no trophies at this event (instead we got to eat delicious schnitzels), and I wish I got a certificate or something to help me celebrate my first podium finish.
The last event of the year was ERMC, the European (Invitational) Championship. This was the biggest event I've played in so far and it was great to play with so many different people. Maybe it was because some big names were notably absent (can anyone claim to be a European champion without going up against Manuel or Jeremie?), but I was slightly disappointed by the level of play by the European elite. I finished 32/172, which shows that I did have a fair bit of luck. With Cologne, this was my second consecutive tournament of avoiding coming in 4th during any hanchans, making it 22 consecutive hanchans. My most fun matches were against the strong Chinese MCR players who demolished the field. Now if only Japanese Pros were also there...
Amid all this, there were countless meetups in DC, hours of grinding Tenhuou (peak 4dan / 1900R), studying chinitsu waits, gyakuten conditions, the occasional poker chip being mixed in with the tenbou and of course lots of joy and sorrow as is the way of mahjong. I have some goals for 2025, but that will have to be another post because this is already too long for any human to read, much less enjoy. For now, I'll just wish everyone a Yoroshiku Onegaishimasssssssss.
The year kicked off in January with the Seattle Open. I had a great tournament, finishing 14/91. If the tournament had only 8 more participants and I got the same result, I would have gotten enough ARA qualifying points to put me a hair's distance away from being in the Top 64 for the Invitational in 2025. Of course since I'm qualifying through Hungary I wouldn't be eligible anyway, but it's fun to consider. I was also the Observer for this event, taking on the role of guinea pig, bc this was the first event to have an ARA observer report. I ended up erring on the side of caution and noting down 99% of the complaints, hopefully I did a good + fair job.
Next up was the PML invitational, a non-ratified event that featured 4 rounds of set play (3 hanchans each). I advanced past the first 2 rounds, losing to Stanley and Matthew K in round 3. I came 2nd on my table in round 4, so I generously noted myself as 6/32. Set play was really fun format for me, I hope to do more of it in the future. I also got to witness some of the crazies in the Bay Area, so I will probably not move there after Japan (I was considering this a little bit).
In April, I helped organize / host / run the DC Open, which I think was an overall success. This was the first time I organized a tournament and I made several mistakes. Luckily none of them were catastrophic, and I think the players had a great time! I hope to take part in organizing many more tournaments in the future. Even though I don't get to play as the organizer, it's still a rewarding experience and makes me feel like I'm helping mahjong grow.
In May I played two tournaments in Europe: Bucharest and Oss. These were well run tournaments w great people (shout out to all the folks on the Romanian Discord), unfortunately my performance was terrible-- I finished in the bottom quartile in both.. I think I also picked up some kind of flu in Romania (I also caught Covid there in 2023), and this was the time of my life when my relationship of 2.5 years fell apart...
Fast-forward to July, when I played my first tournament in Belgium, in Louvain La Neuve. This was probably my favorite tournament of the year. I did pretty well (14/52) and got to meet some wonderful people, like Henri, Constance, Linh, and Leonie. LLN is also a surprisingly charming college town, considering it's laid out like a Counter-Strike map.
Next up was the first World Riichi League event in Cologne, which probably had the highest level of play out of all of my tournaments so far. Hanging out with some of the strongest players in Europe and watching Gemma demonstrate proper manners expected from Pro players, I got the sense that this was the beginning of something special. Despite some strong hanchans and (partly) due to a completely unnecessary / stupid chombo (premature ryoukyouku reveal), my final result wasn't particularly good (23/36). Still, the vibes were great and I love the team in Cologne. Oh, and I passed the ref test to become an official WRC certified referee!
At the end of August I returned to the US to ~~get my citizenship~~ play at NAO (North American Open). This was an important event for not just playing, but also networking. I got to meet folks from Mahjong Stars for the first time, learned about Saikouisen and had fun drinking and playing with some of the strongest players in America. My own performance was nothing to write home about (80/135) and I also committed another chombo...
A few months later I had another mid performance at the Sparrow's Nest in NYC (35/64). I love the location and the organizers, but for some reason, I keep getting my butt kicked at the nest. However, the week before I got to meet online celebs Jenn and Garthe at Sparrow's Nest, which was definitely the highlight of my fall. Drinking beers while listening to crazy stories from Japan was tons of fun and something I hope to do more of in the coming months (if I can ever get a hold of Garthe).
During the year, I tried to improve my play by not only playing online + at meetups, but also seeking structured play (in DC we call them WRC hell days -- we play 6 hanchans under strict rules + time controls). I also tried to improve by getting coaching from stronger players, big thanks to Steve, Matt, Wrath and especially Xkime for patiently helping me stumble forward. As part of DC Nomi's mentorship program, I also coached someone else for the first time -- Bianca would probably be A2 in ARML even without our sessions, but I hope I helped a little.
I finished the year strong, coming in 2nd at Cologne WRL Event 2. This was a small event with some big names during which I had a fair bit of luck, but I also hit a magical flow state for the first time. I could tell with a high degree of accuracy (80%+) what tiles merely looked dangerous and what tiles people were actually waiting for. As I was building hands, I surfed the balance of safety / efficiency intuitively, and folding -- normally an exercise in discipline through gritted teeth -- came easily. Because of the few entrants, there were no trophies at this event (instead we got to eat delicious schnitzels), and I wish I got a certificate or something to help me celebrate my first podium finish.
The last event of the year was ERMC, the European (Invitational) Championship. This was the biggest event I've played in so far and it was great to play with so many different people. Maybe it was because some big names were notably absent (can anyone claim to be a European champion without going up against Manuel or Jeremie?), but I was slightly disappointed by the level of play by the European elite. I finished 32/172, which shows that I did have a fair bit of luck. With Cologne, this was my second consecutive tournament of avoiding coming in 4th during any hanchans, making it 22 consecutive hanchans. My most fun matches were against the strong Chinese MCR players who demolished the field. Now if only Japanese Pros were also there...
Amid all this, there were countless meetups in DC, hours of grinding Tenhuou (peak 4dan / 1900R), studying chinitsu waits, gyakuten conditions, the occasional poker chip being mixed in with the tenbou and of course lots of joy and sorrow as is the way of mahjong. I have some goals for 2025, but that will have to be another post because this is already too long for any human to read, much less enjoy. For now, I'll just wish everyone a Yoroshiku Onegaishimasssssssss.