We’re happy to announce our 3rd annual Riichi Open for the riichi community of Melbourne and beyond!
This time we’re bringing you a whole weekend of 10 full hanchan, so come join us for a fun weekend of mahjong, whether you’d like to compete for glory or simply enjoy some evening free play.
Dates
May 9-10, 2026
Location
Kensington Town Hall
30-34 Bellair Street
Kensington, VIC 3031
By public transport:
🚆 By train, it is a 5-minute (300m) walk from Newmarket station. Craigieburn and Upfield services depart from Southern Cross, Flinders Street, and Melbourne Central stations.
🚋 By tram, take Route 57 (towards West Maribyrnong) - Stop 26 (Newmarket Plaza/Racecourse Rd) with a 2-minute (200m) walk.
There is also street parking near the venue.
The floor plan can be found here. The number of tables may change depending on attendance.
The venue is wheelchair-accessible. There will be heating throughout the venue, and ventilation to expel hot air, however the Main Hall is not airconditioned.
Entry Fee
$70
A $10 early bird discount is available to the first 30 registrants. Use discount code VRMO26EARLY at checkout.
VRMA members who miss out on the early bird discount will still be eligible for an exclusive members-only $5 discount. Contact club staff for the code.
Registration Instructions
REGISTRATION IS NOW FULL. Join the wait list below, and you will be contacted as spaces fill up.
The tournament player cap is 80 players.
Players under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a legal parent or guardian at all times during the event, and their details must be provided to us upon registration.
Discord Server and Communication
Be sure to join us on our Discord to stay up to date on the latest changes, see the schedule, communicate with staff, and meet your fellow players. Important notices will also be sent through email.
Prizes
The winner will receive a championship dish and free entry to ARMO 2026 (location and dates TBD), and there will be medals and a trophy for the top 4.
There will also be a prize pool of items for the top 8 players to choose from, including pillows, scarves, a lamp, and even a mahjong set! Additionally the top 16 players will also receive a VRMA-branded bird pin.
As of March 26, this tournament was certified as an Australian Riichi Mahjong Association (ARMA) Certified Event. Based on the number of participants, eligible players attempting to qualify for the World Riichi Championship (WRC) through Australia will be awarded Qualification Points corresponding to their placement, as detailed on the ARMA Qualification System for WRC 2028.
Ruleset
WRC 2025 rules with 75 minute hanchan timers and the additional modifications:
Mod 2.1: Red Fives (Aka ari)
Mod 4.1: Uma (30/10/-10/-30)
Mod 6.3: Lower Penalties
The tournament procedures and etiquette expectations can be found here.
Players are expected to show good will and fair sportsmanship at all times.
Format
The tournament will have 10 hanchan.
There will be a top 4 cut after round 8. The top 4 will have scores reset to zero, and play Rounds 9 and 10 to determine 1st-4th. The top cut will play both rounds on an auto table, using the same timer as the rest of the tournament.
Players below the top cut will continue to play Rounds 9 and 10 without resetting their scores to determine their final placement.
For all 10 rounds, match pairings will be created using a fixed group count pairing system. This means that players are ordered by total score after each round, and then divided into a fixed number of groups to create the pairings for the next round, while minimising repeat pairings of the same players. After finishing the round, all players are sorted by score again, and the process repeats.
The first 5 hanchan of Day 1 will use 1 group, which is identical to a pure scramble among all players. The remaining 5 hanchan of Day 2 will use 2 groups: for each hanchan, the scoreboard will be split into a top and bottom half, and these halves are then scrambled separately.
Food and Drink
Snacks, water, coffee and tea will be provided on both days of the tournament, and there will be a catered lunch on Sunday, all offered complimentary with your admission.
There is also a diverse range of food and drink options of various cuisines within 500 m of the venue.
Schedule
Day 1 - Saturday, May 9th
| Registration | 8:30 am – 9:00 am |
|---|---|
| Opening Ceremony | 9:00 am – 9:15 am |
| Hanchan 1 | 9:15 am – 10:45 am |
| Break | 10:45 am – 11:00 am |
| Hanchan 2 | 11:00 am – 12:30 pm |
| Lunch Break | 12:30 pm – 1:45 pm |
| Hanchan 3 | 1:45 pm – 3:15 pm |
| Break | 3:15 pm – 3:30 pm |
| Hanchan 4 | 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm |
| Break | 5:00 pm – 5:15 pm |
| Hanchan 5 | 5:15 pm – 6:45 pm |
Day 2 - Sunday, May 10th
| Check In | 8:30 am – 9:00 am |
|---|---|
| Hanchan 6 | 9:00 am – 10:30 am |
| Break | 10:30 am – 10:45 am |
| Hanchan 7 | 10:45 am – 12:15 pm |
| Lunch Break | 12:15 pm – 1:20 pm |
| Hanchan 8 | 1:20 pm – 2:50 pm |
| Break | 2:50 pm – 3:15 am |
| Hanchan 9 | 3:15 pm – 4:45 pm |
| Break | 4:45 pm – 5:15 pm |
| Hanchan 10 | 5:15 pm – 6:45 pm |
| Award Ceremony | 7:00 pm |
The venue will be open for freeplay Friday 5:30 pm - 11 pm, and Saturday and Sunday nights until 11 pm after the regular games finish.
As the venue will not be made accessible to the general public, the front doors will close at 9:00 am each morning and not re-open until midway through the first hanchan. Please ensure you are on time to each of your games.
Additionally, the front doors will be closed during each hanchan, so if you choose to leave the building after you finish your game, you will not be allowed to re-enter the building until 5 minutes prior to the start of the next hanchan.
Entry and exit will be more flexible during freeplay hours.
Tournament Weekend Events
Friday, May 8th: The venue will be open from 5:30 pm - 11 pm for free play. The first round of the Team Event will also be played starting at 6:30 pm (details below).
Saturday, May 9th: The venue will be open until 11 pm for free play. The final round of the Team Event will be played during this time.
Sunday, May 10th: Day 2 of the VRMO Main Event runs from 8:30 am - 7:00 pm. There will be an awards ceremony, and free play until 10 pm.
Tournament Weekend Team Event
There will also be a TEAM EVENT. It will use M-LEAGUE rules:
25k start, 30/10 uma, 20k oka, 3 red fives
70-minute hanchan timer; end the game after the timer finishes, do not play another hand
Remaining riichi deposits go to the winner
Headbump ON
All abortive draws OFF
Kiriage mangan ON
Nagashi mangan, Agariyame, Tobi/Busting OFF
Any rules not listed here will follow WRC 2025 rules.
Update on April 21: The tentative team event schedule, which is still subject to change, is:
Friday Night, 6:30 pm: 3 Hanchan
Saturday Night, 7:30 pm: Top 4 team cut, scores unchanged - 2 Hanchan
Teams must register as a group of 4 or 5 players, and is open to tournament participants only. Interested individuals may register as free agents. Players without a full team of 4 may still register their team, with empty slots randomly assigned free agents.
Register using this Google Forms link.
List of registered Teams and Captains below.
Aka Hime Dama Cyu: Simon Hu (C), Elaine Cheng, Harry Huang, Steven Peng
Dama Sama: Dustin Dang (C), Max Peng, George Guo, Charles Phan
Doras Down South: Aaron Chee (C), Adas Cheong, Timothy Ling, Kevin Lin
Misregs: Charles Hui (C), Jaymond He, Sally Yuan, Allen Yu
We will we will ron you: Daniel Bell (C), Shirley C, Orlando Southcott, TBD
Refund and DNF Policy
By submitting payment you are agreeing to fully participate in both days of the tournament. Refunds for withdrawals and/or DNFs will only be honoured in the case of emergencies (e.g. serious illness, flight delays/cancellations). If you are unclear as to what constitutes a valid emergency, please reach out to us.
Players should plan to attend the entire tournament from first to last hanchan to respect the other players and staff. DNFs will be handled on a case-by-case basis, and may result in additional sanctions for the player.
Questions?
Join us on our Discord and message any of the organisers.
You can also send an email through our contact form.
Registered Players
Current Registrations: 68
| Name | State/Country | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Chee | VIC | ||
| Adas Cheong | SGP | ||
| Allen Yu | NSW | ||
| Bennet Allison | WA | ||
| Brian S | NSW | ||
| Chak Yan Chan | VIC | ||
| Charles Hui | NSW | ||
| Charlie C | FRA | ||
| Christine Mackrell | SA | ||
| Clarence Cheung | VIC | ||
| Daisy Zhang | VIC | ||
| Daniel Bell | SA | ||
| Daniel Simmonds | VIC | ||
| Daniel Sutanto | VIC | ||
| Devlyn Wu | VIC | ||
| Dustin Dang | VIC | ||
| Elaine Cheng | VIC | ||
| George Guo | VIC | ||
| Gula Tang | VIC | ||
| Han-Jui Chien | QLD | ||
| Hanbo Ding | VIC | ||
| Harry Huang | VIC | ||
| Hiu On Man | QLD | ||
| Hong Li | VIC | ||
| Iki Zhang | VIC | ||
| Ilyas Nurzhauov | VIC | ||
| Ivan Palko | VIC | ||
| Jaymond He | NSW | ||
| John Scobie | SA | ||
| Josh Tey | VIC | ||
| Joshua Rantai | QLD | ||
| Justin Chan | QLD | ||
| Kai Nam Kam | QLD | ||
| Ken Tsuji | VIC | ||
| Kevin Lin | NSW | ||
| Lea LPH | VIC | ||
| Lily R | VIC | ||
| Man Lee So | VIC | ||
| Marty Kim | VIC | ||
| Max Caruana | VIC | ||
| Max Peng | VIC | ||
| Michael Marrone | SA | ||
| Morio Freeman | WA | ||
| Noriko Itoh | VIC | ||
| Orlando Southcott | SA | ||
| Qi Li | VIC | ||
| Ryan Tay | SGP | ||
| Sally Yuan | NSW | ||
| Sam P | ACT | ||
| Seungwoo Son | NSW | ||
| Shikin Sasaki | WA | ||
| Shirley C | SA | ||
| Simon Hu | VIC | ||
| Stephen Philp | VIC | ||
| Steven Peng | VIC | ||
| Thomas Parasiuk | VIC | ||
| Timothy Ling | SGP | ||
| Toh Wei Han | SGP | ||
| Trong Nguyen | VIC | ||
| Tsz Kiu Pang | VIC | ||
| Vincent Nguyen | VIC | ||
| Will Breedon | VIC | ||
| Willson Fang | VIC | ||
| Xuan Liu | VIC | ||
| Yoshi Tjahyadi | VIC | ||
| Zhijun Yang | VIC | ||
| Ziheng Zhou | VIC | ||
| Zoe Zhang | VIC |