OC Invitational

The OC Invitational is a three-day invite-only tournament that will take place during Labor Day weekend, on Saturday, September 3 to Monday, September 5. The Invitational aims to bring together sixteen of the best players in America in a competitive setting.

The tournament features untimed, set-based games with clear win conditions, non-WRC ruleset, and strict etiquette. All tables will be automatic tables with Japanese size tiles and point display. Snacks and drinks will be provided.

Results

1st Place: Bichen W.

Finalists: Bryant L., Luce C., Rachel H.

Registration

Discounted Registration Fee: $249*

Registration Fee: $399

*Save $100 on registration by staying at our venue!

*Register by May 31, 11:59 PM PDT for an additional $50 Early Bird discount!

Location & Lodging

Event Site: SpringHill Suites Irvine Lake Forest Meeting Room.

Please book with the hotel directly. Instructions for a discounted rate are in the Discord server.

Suggested Nearby Airports:

John Wayne SNA (10 mi)

Long Beach LGB (30 mi)

Ontario ONT (47 mi)

Los Angeles LAX (50 mi)

COVID Policy

While the State of California no longer requires the use of a mask in indoor settings, wearing one in public indoor settings is still strongly recommended and everyone is required to be fully vaccinated to enter the venue. If you sit at a table with a player who requests you wear a mask, we will have disposable masks available if you do not have your own. All COVID guidance is subject to change in accordance with local, state, and federal mandates.

Format

Game Format

Tournament Format

  • Sets of five hanchans (cumulative score with the same players), one set per day.

    • In the event of a tie in terms of cumulative score, the player with the previous higher standing will place higher.

  • Top 2 of each table will advance.

  • Finalists (final 4) compete for 1st as their sole objective.

Etiquette & Penalties

Etiquette

  1. Clearly indicate tsumogiri and tedashi by not putting the drawn tile in your hand before discarding.

  2. No gambling, alcohol, or drugs in the competition space.

  3. Correctly score your own hands and verify the scores of others' hands.

  4. Display good attitude and sportsmanship.

  5. Refrain from casual conversation during a game.

  6. Make calls in a timely manner. Excessively late pons will not have priority over chi.

  7. Make calls verbally before revealing tiles.

  8. Take called tiles before discarding.

  9. Dealer is responsible for operating the table and splitting the wall.

  10. Put the rinshan tile down before flipping the dora indicator.

  11. Do not separate the dead wall.

  12. Minimize total point stick exchange.

Penalties

  1. Having too many or too few tiles is a dead hand.

    1. Drawing and flipping up sixteen tiles at the beginning of the hand is also a dead hand.

  2. Placing the drawn tile into the hand or on your non-dominant hand side before discarding results in a warning. Starting from third occurrence in a hanchan, each time tsumogiri and tedashi is obfuscated will result in a dead hand.

  3. All false or invalid calls (pon, kan, chi, riichi, tsumo, ron) result in a dead hand. Corrections cannot be made.

  4. Displaying wrong tile(s) while making a call results in a dead hand unless the player can correct the call by showing the correct tiles. An invalid call will not carry through and the player must draw from the wall.

  5. While drawing starting hands, if a player were to take the previous player’s tiles, the offending player will receive a dead hand for the round. Restore the original order.

  6. Before discarding their first tile, the dealer is responsible for enforcing that all other players have drawn their 13th tile and the dora indicator is flipped over. Failure to do so will result in a dead hand.

  7. Drawing out of turn results in a dead hand.

  8. Discarding out of turn is a dead hand. The tile is taken back.

  9. Illegal discard after calling a tile (swap calling) results in a dead hand. The discard will carry through and play will continue.

  10. Revealing a non-winning hand before ryuukyoku is a chombo.

  11. Calling with a dead hand is a chombo. The kyoku will not reset.

  12. Declaring a riichi without being in tenpai is a chombo at ryuukyoku.

  13. Declaring a false tenpai, including showing tenpai with a dead hand, at ryuukyoku results in a chombo. The kyoku will not reset. Tenpai payments will still be exchanged as if the player is not tenpai.

  14. Knocking over five or more tiles from the wall after the dealer’s dice roll is a chombo.

  15. Causing irreparable damage to the wall is a chombo.

  16. Players who leave the table or use their phones during an active kyoku will receive a chombo. This is to ensure the integrity of the game. If you need to leave the table for a few minutes (e.g. to use the restroom), please do so between kyoku and after asking the other players to be excused.

  17. Illegal post-riichi kan is a chombo when the hand is revealed. Even if this is revealed during ryuukyoku, the kyoku will still reset.

    1. It is considered breaking the rules when a player declares a kan after riichi if the kan will remove a possible interpretation of their hand. This is different from Tenhou, as Tenhou only checks if a player has changed their wait.

    2. (See image below) This applies regardless of yaku or fu considerations. For example, if a player declares riichi with 111p22233444s11m, they cannot declare a kan on 2s or 4s. Although in all situations under which this hand will be scored, the 2s and 4s will be considered triplets, kanning the 2s will remove the possible interpretation of winning on 3s as a kanchan.

Schedule

NOTE: Due to the nature of untimed sets, the final hanchan of a set tends to run long and may go as late as 9PM. If you are booking travel, such as plane/bus/train tickets, we recommend not planning on leaving the venue on Monday until after 9PM.

DAY 1 - SATURDAY 9/3

9:00AM Check-in starts
9:30AM Check-in ends, Orientation
10:00AM Hanchan 1
-- After this point, each table manages their own schedule. Rough time suggestions are as follows:
11:30AM Hanchan 2
Lunch
1:30PM Hanchan 3
3:00PM Hanchan 4
4:30PM Hanchan 5
6:30PM End of set, free play
9:00PM End of free play (Hotel Quiet Hours)

DAY 2 - SUNDAY 9/4
9:00AM Check-in starts
9:30AM Check-in ends, Hanchan 1
-- After this point, each table manages their own schedule. Rough time suggestions are as follows:
11:00AM Hanchan
2
Lunch
1:00PM Hanchan 3
2:30PM Hanchan 4
4:30PM Hanchan 5
7:00PM End of set, free play
9:00PM End of free play (Hotel Quiet Hours)

DAY 3 - MONDAY 9/5

9:00AM Check-in starts
Hanchan 1 starts as soon as everyone is present
-- After this point, each table manages their own schedule. Rough time suggestions are as follows:
11:00AM Hanchan 2
Lunch
1:00PM Hanchan 3
2:30PM Hanchan 4
4:30PM Hanchan 5
7:
30PM End of set, award ceremony, and free play
9:00PM End of free play (Hotel Quiet Hours)

No-Show Policy

Please notify event staff on Discord as soon as possible if you might not make it on time for registration on Day 1. The event might not be able to provide a substitute if notice is received after 7AM on Day 1.

The event will do its best to provide substitute players as some players are traveling to the venue by plane and may encounter delays outside of their control. If the event is able to provide a substitute player, the substitute player will play in the player's place during Day 1 until the player arrives. As long as the player can make it to the venue before the start of Day 2, the player can take over and continue in the tournament with no penalty as such delays are not the player's fault. If the player misses the start of the second day, the player loses their chance at making it to the grand finals but are still welcome to play in the remainder of the event.

In the unlikely case where the event is unable to provide enough substitute players, the player may lose their chance at making it to the grand finals. The event will still facilitate play in the remainder of the event when the player arrives.

Players who need to cancel for reasons outside of their control will receive credit for a future OC Mahjong event.

Invitee List

Aaron L.
OC Mahjong
CRMA 2022 Semifinalist

Alex W.
Pacific Mahjong League
Whale Cup 2022 Finalist
2-time CRMA Qualifier

Austin T.
Pacific Mahjong League
Emerald Cup Champion

Bichen W.
Pacific Mahjong League

Bryant L.
OC Mahjong
2x MJS Offical Event Winner
Multi time LAPOM/OC League winner

Crow S.
Riichi Mahjong Columbus
Commentator
Jinja Cup 2nd place Team/Top 30 individual 2020

Kenji B.
Riichi Mahjong Central

Luce C.
Seattle Riichi Mahjong Club

Nicky S.
OC Mahjong
3x OC Mahjong League Winner

Nima H.
OC Mahjong
First American Player to Become a LAPOM League Champion / 2018 LAPOM 1st League Champion
Current Jansei-i / 2019 Jansei-sen Champion
Saikouisen Tournament in LA 2019 Semifinalist
Received Special Invitation to 28th Ryuuou-sen
Technical Commentator for 1st Kizuna Cup
OC 4th League Finalist
CRMA 2021 Finalist
OC 5th League Champion

Oliver N.
Pacific Mahjong League

Patrick N.
Seattle Riichi Mahjong Club

Rachel H.
Pacific Mahjong League
Seattle Riichi Mahjong Open winner 2018 and 2020

Simon Y.
OC Mahjong
CRMA 2021 Champion

Zach S.
Norfolk, MA

Zemin M.
OC Mahjong
CRMA 2022 Finalist