By Galo S Mirth
ABEMA tournaments changed how many fans experience professional shogi. Instead of a long time-control game in a traditional hall, viewers get fast Fischer-clock battles, team strategy, and live drama designed for streaming audiences.
This article explains how ABEMA tournaments developed, what format made them stand out, and why they had real impact on modern fan culture.
How ABEMA tournaments started
The first event began in 2018 as AbemaTVトーナメント Inspired by 羽生善治. The concept was a short-time, broadcast-friendly format with increment, now commonly described as Fischer style in Japanese coverage. Early editions were individual events, and from the 3rd edition the tournament shifted to team competition.
That shift was important. Team drafts, lineup mind games, and match-order decisions gave fans a new way to follow players across a full season instead of only one title match at a time.
Format and rules that changed the viewing experience
ABEMA tournament matches are built for speed. A common setup is 5 minutes plus 5 seconds increment per move. This creates tense endgames while still allowing enough time for quality play.
- Fast tempo: each game can swing quickly, especially in byoyomi-like pressure moments.
- Team strategy: in team editions, captain decisions and player order matter, not only board strength.
- Draft storytelling: the draft meeting itself became part of the entertainment cycle.
- Broadcast-first design: commentary, graphics, and serialized episodes made it easier for new fans to keep up.
Highlights across editions
As the format matured, ABEMA tournaments produced recurring rivalries and memorable team identities. Japanese records pages and summaries note repeated deep runs by top players and titleholders, and strong audience attention to draft choices and rematches.
The project also expanded into related events such as women-centered and regional formats, showing that the core streaming model could be adapted for different audiences and narratives.
Why ABEMA tournaments matter for modern shogi fandom
ABEMA tournaments helped normalize a different way of following shogi: episode by episode, team by team, with heavy emphasis on live commentary and social reaction. For many viewers, this became an entry point before they moved into longer title-match coverage.
In that sense, ABEMA tournaments did not replace traditional title culture. They complemented it, widened the funnel for new fans, and gave professional players a new stage with different competitive and media skills.
Sources (Japanese)
- Wikipedia日本語版「ABEMAトーナメント」: https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABEMAトーナメント
- ABEMA公式 将棋チャンネル: https://abema.tv/now-on-air/shogi
- 将棋連盟100周年記念サイト（ABEMA地域対抗戦の案内含む）: https://www.shogi.or.jp/100th/
- Wikipedia日本語版「フィッシャー方式」: https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/フィッシャー方式