Meet the team
Chair: Tom Pearson
Hi, I'm Tom! I was first shown riichi in 2016 at a work board game night. It took Final Fantasy XIV to add its own riichi minigame in 2019 to push me into learning it properly, and I've been hooked ever since! I love teaching mahjong to anyone who'll listen... (sorry to colleagues at my last two jobs!) and organised meetups in Leeds before moving to Bristol in 2021.
Live tournaments are my favourite way to play, and since joining the European Mahjong Association's tournament scene at the UK Open in 2022, the game has taken me to many great cities and introduced me to many great people! I represented the UK at the European and World Championships in 2024 and 2025 and am currently the reigning UK riichi mahjong champion!
I find riichi to be a wonderfully social game, with new puzzles and surprises at every turn, and I want as many people playing it as possible!
