WORLD RIICHI CHAMPIONSHIP

VIENNA 2020: POSTPONED

It is with great regret that the World Riichi Championship 2020 has had to be postponed.

This has not been an easy decision to come to and we are well aware that some players will have made arrangements, including travel and holiday time, to attend the event. By the time the pandemic was announced, we were already so close to the event that we did not want to act in haste. However, as the days went by, it became clear that not only would proceeding be difficult but also perhaps impossible.

I'm sure everyone will appreciate how quickly the situation escalated. Trying to see the future has become a dark art and we had to make a call. The safety of players is, of course, paramount. We also remain concerned that international travel restrictions will not be fully lifted before August. Further, we do not expect social distancing measures to end soon, which would cause particularly severe problems for a game like mahjong.

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What will happen next?

New dates

We are in discussion with the Intercontinental and sponsors who have all been extremely understanding of the situation. As soon as the new dates are confirmed, we will publicize these. It is expected these dates will be in 2021.

Player lists are frozen

We started player qualifications before the coronavirus was declared a pandemic and so those who have already qualified will have this stand. I will not be able to accept any substitutions for the time being. The list on the website is out of date and we will concentrate on updating that and completing the process with our international partners. We will be able to accept substitutions at a later date.

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Please accept our apologies for this postponement. We understand that it is a far from ideal outcome, but given the circumstances we hope you can appreciate why we have came to this difficult decision.

Stay safe. Mahjong is only a game and your health is priority.

Gemma (World Riichi Championship) and Lena (Kasu, Vienna)

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Welcome to the official website of the World Riichi Championship!

Riichi means “Japanese mahjong” and is the rule set commonly played in Japan, but quickly gaining players and fans across the globe. World Riichi Championship (WRC) is the official and only authority for the WRC Rules. WRC Rules are an international standard rule set officially adopted by main national organizations and groups, including by professional organizations in its home of Japan.

The World Riichi Championship is an event run every three years in locations across the globe, bringing amateur and professional players to battle it out over the mahjong tiles for the title of World Riichi Champion. To date, two events have been run at locations in Paris, France and Las Vegas, United States in 2014 and 2017 respectively. The next event was scheduled for 2020 in Vienna, Austria but has had to be postponed. More information will be available at www.wrc2020vienna.com.

WRC's aim is to grow international riichi mahjong and provide a goal for all riichi players. We want to support groups big and small so please feel free to contact us using our contact form.

"World Riichi Championship", "WRC" and the WRC ippin logo are trademarks of the World Riichi Championship event.

Please find our privacy policy here.

All photography provided by Jamie Grant.