Samstagstreffen fällt am 07.11. aufgrund belegter Räumlichkeiten aus.

HAMbaiman Riichi Open 2026

Overview

The HAMbaiman Riichi Open tournament took place for the second time on the weekend 18 - 19 September 2026. This year we had six tables, 24 players competing in the tournament, and of course for our yearly "Mr./Ms. HAMbaiman contest". As our club continues to expand, 13 of our club members participated in the tournament, and we were also very happy to welcome other players from Berlin, Frankfurt and Hannover etc..

A total of 8 Hanchans were played. Usually there would be at least one Yakuman hand scored in a tournament, but surprisingly there was not any this time - perhaps due to the smaller tournament size. Expensive hands were rare as well, that nobody was able to actually win a Sanbaiman hand with at least 11 Han. The closest hit was a closed Chinitsu hand won by Miłosz, which was in fact a Sanbaiman chance:

This may as well be a scoring challenge! With a strong 3-sided wait on 3, 6 and 9-Bamboo, Miłosz declared Riichi and won with the 9-Bamboo. The Ura-Dora was revealed - 4-Bamboo, scoring 2 extra Han, resulting in a total of 9 Han: Riichi, Chinitsu, Ura 2.

Had he won the hand with 3-Bamboo or 6-Bamboo, the hand would have actually been Sanbaiman!

3-Bamboo: Riichi, Iipeikou, Ittsu, Chinitsu, Ura 2 = 12 Han (note that Pinfu is not scored because of the best interpretation rule: the hand would need to have a pair wait or an edge wait of 3-Bamboo to score Ittsu)

6-Bamboo: Riichi, Pinfu, Ittsu, Chinitsu, Ura 2 = 12 Han

Miłosz won another closed Chinitsu hand with 8 Han later: Tsumo, Chinitsu, Dora 1 (2-Man).

With these rare beautiful hands, it was well agreed that Miłosz became the Mr. HAMbaiman of the year.

The competition for the trophies was also fierce. Before the last Hanchan, Miłosz was leading by about 26000 points. The second to the seventh places were very close to each other. With an interval seating for the last Hanchan, every winning hand could change who would stand on the podium. In the South 3 game at Table 1, Ben obtained a direct Mangan hit from Miłosz: Double South, Toitoi, as Miłosz declared Riichi. This hand eventually secured Ben's victory: the second runner-up in HAMbaiman 2025 finally became the champion in HAMbaiman 2026. Kenneth was the first runner-up and Miłosz the second runner-up, just with a difference of 1000 points.

This last Hanchan and the following prize ceremony concluded the HAMbaiman Riichi Open 2026. We especially thank Julius for once again serving as the referee, Ly, Max, Lin, Urlike, Ronald, Lennart and Tammy for helping with the organisation and serving as substitute players. The HAMbaiman Riichi Open tournament will receive the MERS certification again in 2027. We look forward to organising again a bigger tournament and welcoming more players from Europe!