｢Saimoe ‘12｣ “Groups G & H – Day 2″ ~ Third Round Results

What a battle in the H upper half–the assasination attempt by Airi backed by the Saki team just fell short thanks to one of the craziest final-minute rushes that has happened, masked by fake votes.  Shana lives on to fight another day as the two remaining Kugimiya knights seem to be the last bastion of hope (along with a certain Amusement Club member) to prevent a Saki team victory in the Grand Final, but she has to defeat Sena next round first to get this opportunity.  Ako exorcists the last of the spirits, so now we have three guaranteed Elite Eight spots for the mahjong team.
I must admit: The Saki faction knows how to play the system, everything from setting about thirty weaker candidates to block out potential other strong fighters to the tactical voting against the Kugimiyas.  The fact that they have around sixteen strong candidates (eight from each of the veterans and newcomers) also helps.  And now, two of these veterans duke it out in the Block A final.  It seems like there is a lot of déjà vu among the Saki battles this year, and surely our fighters don’t need any introduction to each other. 
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We now have another rematch of a Nagano prefectural match, but this time it may not end up like the source.  Koromo has consistently been one of the strongest entrants among the combined mahjong team, one of only nine fighters in the competition’s history to make two Elite Eights.  No doubt the support for Kodomo has not waned despite not having a role in the national high school tournament arc, as she hopes to become the first ever three-time quarterfinalist.
Meanwhile, her archrival Saki, in the culmination of the prefectural tournament, defeated Koromo to prevent Ryuumonbuchi from returning to the inter-high tourney, but when the main character of your show only ranks fourth among her own school in Saimoe rank, it shows both how strong the overall anime team is and how weak the title character surprisingly is.  Astronomers might want to take note, though: tonight is a new moon, where Koromo’s powers may be at their weakest.
The first team Saki quarterfinalist will soon be revealed at the table.  My vote and prediction are still both for Koromo, considering the strength disparity between the two duelists.