Cecile BLANC@WRPM

French mahjong player. World Riichi Mahjong Pro.
2024 French champion. "Baguette de riichi" team in WR online team leagues.

[Cecile BLANC@WRPM @Altaise13]

@jpdm_mahjong @MakaiNoShinki @NanZriichi This marks the end of our previous WROTL team and of a great journey toward becoming professional WRPM players. My WROTL team will be announced very soon. As a result, this year we’ll have the chance to play against each other.

[Tianshen (Jerry) He 何天深@WRPM @TSH53212087]

Following the recent M-League x World Riichi event, I would like to share a few reflections on my journey in Mahjong, my evolving perspective on the game, and the responsibilities of a professional player.

I would like to start with how I first became a fan of M-League. Three years ago, when I first started learning mahjong, I had this mistake of ponning every yakuhai pair regardless of how good or bad my hand is. And my coach said to me, you should go watch Takaharu Ooi’s commentary in Aiko Hinata’s video series “Mahjong no Takumi” (Artisans in Mahjong). His famous quote “if you want to win in mahjong, then you should not want to win in mahjong” first introduced the concept of offense-defense balance to me, but what’s more, I was amazed at how he was able to extract so much information from the discards. “I do commentary work, so I can express more of my thoughts than average pros, but I think I’ve only conveyed 50% of my thoughts in the videos”, as he said. What a remarkable person! Where can I watch more of his games? That’s how I found out about M-League, and naturally I became a fan of the team Shibuya Abemas.

Next I want to share with you why I like mahjong and why I like playing mahjong. Before mahjong, I was a competitive bridge player and Texas Hold’em player. There is this same concept of mangan cutoff, and vulnerable / invulnerable situation maps to mahjong’s dealer / non-dealer. The concept of offense-defense balance is the same as poker’s aggressor / defender. Being asymmetric information games, they share the same ultimate goal of approaching Nash Equilibrium, GTO. Mahjong is a four-player game, so unlike the standard poker heads-up situation where there’s one unique Nash Equilibrium point, there could be multiple Nash Equilibrium points, which leads to variance of play-styles. Last but not least, there is this mathematical beauty of the complex shapes. When I first got introduced to the shape 22334557 actually being 233457 ryanmen-kanchan + 25 wing shape pairs, I felt like I was looking at Mona Lisa: this kind of hidden and asymmetric beauty really fasinates me.

This analytical background, however, fostered a restrictive mindset. To me, mahjong has never been any sort of entertainment. Mahjong to me is an interesting math problem that needs to be researched and solved. And therefore, I used to think that M-League is a group of elite players exhibiting peak technical execution. I prioritized the game's purity while entirely neglecting its human element.

I was very strict with beginners. I used to say things like “why don’t you read these chapters in these books”, “why don’t you use NAGA more often”, and “why do you care about yakuman at all”. I felt absurd watching people laughing over the most unreasonable kan. But as the saying goes “with great power comes great responsibility”. I failed to recognize that engaging with the community is a fundamental task for professionals.

But observing the M-Leaguers interacting with the US fans profoundly altered my perspective. I remember on Saturday’s after hour event, Uchikawa-pro despite being very physically uncomfortable, still finished all the games and laughed and interacted with all the players. I remember some of the M-Leaguers despite being exhausted at the autograph session, when people come to ask for their autographs they immediately switch to smiling and passionately offering kind words. They demonstrated that professional responsibility extends far beyond technical mastery; it demands elevating and welcoming the community. Moving forward, my focus will not only be on refining my strategic skill, but also on cultivating the character required of a true professional.

I extend my sincere gratitude Dave for organizing this amazing event, and helping me become a better mahjong pro. Many thanks to other staff—Laura, Jenn, and so many others—and to the M-Leaguers for traveling all the way here. I’m looking forward to seeing you again in the 2028 New York WRC.

[Cecile BLANC@WRPM @Altaise13]

Amazing

[あた⚡⚡☬ata☬ @ambrosia314]

極悪配牌を跳満にした黒沢さん流石でございます✨

２回戦は3着フィニッシュ
9s悔しいー

後半戦ファイトー！！

#女流桜花

[World Riichi (WRC) @WorldRiichi]

We are LIVE!

[Cecile BLANC@WRPM @Altaise13]

What great news! Two books on mahjong strategy have been translated into English! And more titles are coming...

[World Riichi (WRC) @WorldRiichi]

The M.LEAGUE × World Riichi U.S. Tour kicks off very shortly and we have a special announcement to start the festivities:

World Riichi has secured the English-language publishing rights to two essential riichi mahjong strategy books by top Japanese professionals.

[Cecile BLANC@WRPM @Altaise13]

congratulation

[山脇千文美🔸キチ @chiya0402]

第2期昇龍戦優勝しました〜🏅ｽｺﾞｲ！
予選からずっとガレナ良くて、ネット麻雀のガレナが良いだけかと思ってたけど
謎にリアル麻雀もツイてて勝った笑
最強戦にも出れるぞー！ｽｺﾞｲ！
応援ありがとうございました😆💓
これからも頑張ります💓
ちな、古橋さんの充電器勝手に使ったら勝てました。

[World Riichi (WRC) @WorldRiichi]

Congratulations Christiaan Göbel for being the 2026 WRL Europe Champ! And seeing off two pros to grab the title.

We can’t wait to see you at WRC 2028!

[World Riichi (WRC) @WorldRiichi]

Live now! The winner will be going to WRC 2028!

https://t.co/xRM4EQFPlk

[Cecile BLANC@WRPM @Altaise13]

I didn't manage to qualify, but three French players did. Good luck to all three of them. My favorites are the two WRPM Pro.

[World Riichi (WRC) @WorldRiichi]

Tomorrow we're streaming the finals of our WRL season for both Europe and the US. The winner of each respective season will be qualified to attend WRC 2028! A lot is on the line.

You can watch and cheer on here from 12.00 UTC:

https://t.co/ceyDnLvBdG

[Cecile BLANC@WRPM @Altaise13]

@tikinnyaro 1p wait 25678 . It is 11 tiles for minimum baiman and even sanbaiman on the last 5p.
I like chiitoi. But waiting on 147 will be a lost of efficiency and value.

[Jérémie@WRPM @jpdm_mahjong]

I'm playing this Saturday in the finals of the World Riichi Europe League season

8 players, only 1️⃣ seat for the next WRC 🔥

[内川幸太郎 @kotarouchikawa]

WROTLに世界チャンピオンチームとして参戦します🔥
チームメンバーは、
第一回フランス大会、山井弘
第二回ラスベガス大会、朝武雅晴
第三回ウィーン大会、奈良圭純
第四回日本大会、内川幸太郎

世界中の麻雀プレイヤーの挑戦待ってます。
Let's play WROTL！

[World Riichi (WRC) @WorldRiichi]

It's that time of year again! The World Riichi Online Team League (WROTL) is back again. Get your team mates together and come and fight it out potentially for a seat at the WRC 2028!

[World Riichi (WRC) @WorldRiichi]

ANNOUNCEMENT

We are very excited to announce that World Riichi has formalised its arrangements with four major Japanese professional organisations. This is an opportunity for mahjong and our groups to grow even further and offer even more benefits to our members.

[Cecile BLANC@WRPM @Altaise13]

Big news for World Riichi Professionnal Mahjong. I'm rallye looping forward to visiting Japan soon to compète in a Japanese pro tournament

[World Riichi (WRC) @WorldRiichi]

Full announcement (English): https://t.co/O2quRZxqiw

[Cecile BLANC@WRPM @Altaise13]

Congrats

[妖精くるる🐓(麻雀系HKVtuber) 🀄 @jpmj_blog]

Announcement

I am please to announce that I received the exam pass notification from World Riichi Professional Mahjong (WRPM) today.

While I have not officially registered as a WRPM Pro just yet, I am incredibly excited and fully prepared to contribute to the promotion and growth of Riichi Mahjong community in Hong Kong and across the world!

As a fresh mahjong pro , I still have much to learn. I humbly welcome any guidance, advice, and constructive feedback from everyone in the community.

Thank you all so much for your continued support!

Yousei Kururu (Mahjong Vtuber from Hong Kong)

[Cecile BLANC@WRPM @Altaise13]

Congratulations for your victory!

[伊達朱里紗（だてありさ） @_datex_]

第4期紅龍戦優勝しました！
ありがとうございました！✨

[Cecile BLANC@WRPM @Altaise13]

Thank you all for all the games on the first day of the main Internet Mahjong Championship!
It wasn't a great day for me today. I made a few costly mistakes, and my opponents were just too strong today. 4 3 3 3 1 4 3 3.
I’ll try again tomorrow and do my best

[Cecile BLANC@WRPM @Altaise13]

@jpdm_mahjong Good Luck Jérémie

[香野蘭🌍放浪系雀士 @majanran]

ウィーンで行われたリーチ麻雀世界選手権2022に参加した際、選手の熱量に感動し、もっと世界にリーチ麻雀が広がっていくのだと感じました。
世界中で麻雀が打てる未来を見たい。そのために少しでも動ける存在になりたいです。

プライベートで旅をする時も現地の麻雀で交流していて、香港では実際にリーチ麻雀をしてきました🀄️

英語も麻雀も勉強して世界に麻雀の魅力を伝えられる、選手同士の架け橋のような存在を目指します！

I’m very excited about this new initiative. I’ll do my best to earn the opportunity to participate in world championships.