M League Holds Draft Meeting Ahead of Opening

All seven league-affiliated teams participated in the draft, selecting three players each from among thousands of professional mahjong players belonging to five professional mahjong organizations. They secured negotiation rights.
The venue featured round tables for each team, a stage for the lottery draw, and large monitors. The event unfolded in a glamorous atmosphere, complete with staging reminiscent of a professional baseball draft meeting. Attendees included model and professional mahjong player Saka Okada, and actor Masato Hagiwara, who obtained his professional license aiming to join the M League.
The proceedings were broadcast live on AbemaTV's Mahjong Channel.

The meeting commenced with an opening declaration by Representative Director Shin Fujita (President of CyberAgent).
The draft format mirrored professional baseball: each team announced their first-round pick. If multiple teams selected the same player, representatives from those teams drew lots to determine negotiation rights. Teams that lost the draw could re-select, repeating the process until no duplicates remained.

In the first and second rounds, no player was selected by multiple teams, and negotiation rights were determined smoothly. Each time a player's name was called, the audience reacted with murmurs and applause.
In the third round, Taro Suzuki was selected by three teams. After a lottery, the Akasaka Drivens secured negotiation rights and celebrated with a fist pump. The Drivens representative showed a relieved expression, stating, "This is the most important lottery I've ever participated in."
Hagiwara was selected by TEAM RAIDEN in the first round, securing their negotiation rights.
Each team will now negotiate with the players they secured negotiation rights for, with plans to officially announce their roster by the October season opener.