Hexball: Tokei Hex Suffers Its First Loss of the Season as Fukagawa Pelicans Win the 'Bayside Derby'

In Round 5 of Hexball — the "Bayside Derby" — Tokei Hex and the Fukagawa Pelicans met at Bayside Arena on the night of the 1st. Hex, unbeaten through an opening four-game win streak and alone atop the table, lost 6–5 (1 corner) to the Pelicans — the team's first defeat of the season. The win was the Pelicans' second of the season, in their fourth match, following their previously reported victory over Hokuto, and brought their record to two wins, one loss and one draw.

As previously reported, Hex's ace Ritsu Kishiura, 24, had scored on multiple edges in four straight matches since Round 2, but was held to a single edge this time. "Their defense kept shutting down the corner we rely on," Kishiura said candidly after the match. "I've always said form can live outside the hexagon too, but I guess tonight it wasn't there either." Hex led 3–2 at the half, but the Pelicans came back in the second half and won the late exchanges.

The Pelicans had notched their first win of the season in the previously reported match against Hokuto in September, after a draw with the Naniwa Six. Captain Shu Enami, 26, stayed composed: "Beating them in the derby is the one result we wanted most. Hex is a strong team, so we're not getting carried away — we'll start fresh again for next week's opponent."

The standings after Round 5: Tokei Hex, 4 wins and 1 loss, in first place; Owari, 3 wins and 1 loss in four matches played; the Fukagawa Pelicans, 2 wins, 1 loss and 1 draw in four matches; the Naniwa Six, 1 win, 1 loss and 1 draw in three matches; and Hokuto, winless in four. As previously reported, Owari had its own unbeaten run ended by Hex on September 26, and the gap to first place has now narrowed further with Hex's loss.

One match official said afterward, "Hex's defense has a kind of strength where you know which corner it's coming from and still can't stop it. Tonight, Fukagawa read that before anyone else did." The Pelicans had an uneven start to the season, including a bye in Round 3, but their defensive coordination held steady through September. Kishiura, too, looked ahead: "The game film from a loss usually has more to teach you than a win does. I'll have it fixed by next week."

The schedule for the next round is expected to be announced soon. A league spokesperson commented, "The season is only a sixth of the way through. This isn't the stage to read too much into one derby result." As previously reported, the twelve-club Hexball league runs on a long schedule through next March.