Hexball Round 6: League-Leading Tokei Hex Beats Owari, Ritsu Kishiura Scores Multiple Sides for First Time in Four Games

Round 6 of the Hexball league was played at the Bay Arena on the night of the 10th, with league-leading Tokei Hex facing Owari and winning 7-4 (2 corners). Having suffered its first loss of the season to Fukagawa Pelicans in the previous round's "Bay Derby," Tokei Hex returned to winning form, moving to 5 wins and 1 loss and holding sole possession of first place. Owari fell to 3 wins and 2 losses.

Owari led 3-2 in the first half on the strength of its previously reported newcomer from Hanyang, but Tokei Hex scored sides in succession in the second half to take the lead and eventually pull away.

Tokei Hex's ace, Ritsu Kishiura, 24, had seen his streak of four straight games with multiple sides broken in the previous round, but recorded 2 sides this time to right himself. "If I let one loss throw off my rhythm, the season won't hold together," he said afterward. "Today felt like getting back to normal." The team's manager credited the players: "Last round's loss created a good kind of tension. The players righted the ship themselves."

The same day, at the Bay Arena, Fukagawa Pelicans beat Naniwa Six 6-4 (1 corner), carrying forward the momentum of handing Tokei Hex its first loss of the season and moving to 3 wins, 1 loss, 1 draw. Captain Shu Enami, 26, previously reported, said, "I think this comes from not getting carried away with the Bay Derby win and just counting the next game, and the next." Naniwa Six fell to 1 win, 2 losses, 1 draw.

Among the five clubs this paper tracks, the standings after Round 6 are: Tokei Hex, 5-1 (first place, 6 games played); Fukagawa Pelicans, 3-1-1 (5 games); Owari, 3-2 (5 games); Naniwa Six, 1-2-1 (4 games); and Hokuto, 0-4, with no game this round. Hokuto remains winless in the matches this paper has followed; pairings for the coming rounds have yet to be announced.

A company employee, 38, who had traveled from Owari's home turf, said, "I didn't want it to end on last round's loss, so watching today's comeback felt good." A regular supporter in her sixties cheering for Fukagawa Pelicans smiled and said, "Not resting on the Bay Derby win and properly winning the next one too — that's very much this year's Pelicans."

The Hexball league has twelve member clubs, but as previously reported this paper focuses its coverage on five clubs centered on the bay-area rivalry. Tokei Hex has kept its record to a single loss across six games since the opener and looks set to keep leading the title race on its own barring a major stumble. Fukagawa Pelicans and Owari, chasing behind, could still swap places depending on how the remaining fixtures — including their own head-to-head meeting — fall. Hokuto again had no match this round and remains at 0-4 in this paper's tally with no change. League officials said, "We'd like to cover matches involving Hokuto and the other clubs more often going forward as well."

Pairings for the next round are expected to be announced within the week. Tokei Hex's Kishiura said, "I don't want this to be just one game with multiple sides — I want to keep it going." Fukagawa Pelicans' Enami, too, looked ahead: "We're not focusing too much on the gap with first place. Just concentrating on the match in front of us." Both teams head into the next round carrying momentum.