The inaugural WRC put into form the long-held dream of our founder, Martin Rep. Paris brought together 120 players from all corners of the globe, with Hiroshi Yamai of Japan finally claiming the title of World Riichi Champion at this seminal event.

224 players visited the bright lights of Las Vegas from even more locations. Bigger and better, the tournament set a new standard for international riichi events. Masaharu Tomotake of Japan was the eventual winner after four days of games.

The global pandemic meant that the originally slated 2020 event had to be delayed. But WRC came back stronger. 152 players from 33 countries/regions fought it out with Keijun Nara of Japan being crowned our reigning world champion.