BADEN / Vienna, Austria - The General Assembly of the European Mahjong Association will soon take a decision about the next European Riichi Mahjong Championship.

During the Third Open European Mahjong Championship (MCR), the General Assembly will have its traditional meeting. Decisions will be made not only about the venue of the next OEMC (2011) - which most likely will be Mestre, Italy -, but also about the EC Riichi Mahjong 2010.

The first EC Riichi was held last year in Hanover, Germany. It was organised by a group of individual riichi players from the Netherlands, in cooperation with the German mahjong league (DMJL), i.e. a group of Hanover mahjong fanatics.

The Hanover team was so enthusiastic, that they also want to organize the next EC Riichi. The great advantage of Hanover is that it is an attractive location for the three countries where there are the most riichi players: Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands.

After the first EC Riichi, this mahjong variant is fastly gaining popularity. The two Dutch riichi events attracted more players than ever before, Next month's German Riichi Championship is already sold out. Subscription has started for the Austrian Riichi Championship (July 26), which will conclude the July Super Mahjong Month.