Event report: 4th Montréal Riichi Open

Twenty participants took part in the latest edition of the classic North American mahjong tournament (September 22-23, 2018), with a new champion taking the title: Lorenzo Desrosiers! The new champion took command after Day 1, and managed to hold on tightly in what eventually turned into a head-to-head competition.

This year’s edition was held at ÉTS ([fr] École de technologie supérieure) in the downtown area, providing a new venue for returning competitors to explore. Players have come from three Canadian provinces, as well as from Rochester (NY), Philadelphia (PA), and a French participant.

Alexandre Boily and Loïc Roberge, having taken on the challenge of organizing the tournament, dealt with issues that complicated organizational efforts. There were some tile defects discovered before the start of the tournament, and a food provider ended up not being open on Sunday. Player Yannis Bennadji was forced to withdraw mid-tournament due to a nasty cold season, and three more players left following hanchan 6 after six tornadoes, one rated EF3 and another EF2, touched down in the Ottawa/Gatineau region where they were from.

The staff did overcome these problems as they had enough volunteers to ensure things went smoothly. The overall impression was very positive, except for the process of randomly selecting opponents every round. While it does simplify organization, players do expect to be able to play as much of the field as possible, and not face some opponents three times while not facing others. The staff’s emergency preparations were sufficient to meet the challenges presented. Overall, an 8/10 effort, according to Alexandre Boily.

Rules used: World Riichi Championship (WRC) Rules [2015].
Settings in effect: 6 qualifying rounds, +1, +1 on points. Top 8, then 1-4 and 5-8.
Notes: Three players had to leave due to an emergency back home (natural disaster, tornadoes).