Yamada Ryuichiro Steps In for Team 11 in Splatoon 3 Tournament Practice

NIJISANJI — Yamada Ryuichiro joined Nijisanji’s Team 11 as a stand-in on Wednesday night, calling plays for Akagi Wen, Shirose Isumi and Saotome Berry in an inter-team match against Team 24 in Splatoon 3 (スプラトゥーン3). The match was part of the build-up to the #にじイカ祭り2026 tournament, and all four talents streamed it from their own channels.

Wen started the evening on his own, setting up a private lobby and playing with other Nijisanji members before the team came together around 11 p.m. Berry and Isumi opened their streams as the group formed. Yamada plays for Team 20 in the tournament’s B League, while the other three are in the A League, and the two sides agreed they hoped to meet in the finals. Isumi told viewers that a fourth member of Team 11 was sitting out that night.

“He went beyond what I’d heard about his skill, and the calls, in both quantity and quality, went beyond it too. I was surprised. I thought he was just too good.” — Saotome Berry, on Yamada Ryuichiro after the match

The team rotated through Splat Zones and Tower Control on several stages. Yamada, who said he only uses one Gal-type shooter, told teammates where to place their Booyah Bombs and when to fire specials, and called out enemy positions as they pushed. He said he had picked up the basics of in-game leading, or IGL, earlier that day, and his teammates complimented his calls throughout. Wen played the Dynamo Roller, Isumi tried several loadouts and said she was weighing support weapons, and Berry played with a barrier special and a Booyah Bomb weapon.

The team won rounds on a stage that had given it trouble in earlier practice, and the final match was a close one. Berry said afterward that she had heard Yamada was strong and that his calls were good, and that he went past both. “He went beyond what I’d heard about his skill, and the calls, in both quantity and quality, went beyond it too,” she said. She added that his instructions on where to send the Booyah Bomb and the dome special helped a great deal. The group ended with a promise to meet again in the finals.

Wen signed off at about the 3 hour, 43 minute mark of his stream, and Berry followed. Isumi played on alone until after 5 a.m., going back over the night’s matches and drilling a technique for getting a shield onto the moving tower in Tower Control. She said she would collaborate on a senpai’s channel on Thursday, followed by team practice at around 10 p.m. Berry said she hoped to have all four members together for practice, with the tournament days away.