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Originally Posted by Felyndiira
Still, my biggest annoyance with this chapter is not the potential to deus ex Shizu. I'm mostly ticked that the mangaka decided that Ryuuka's playing style would basically be co-dependent on Toki as well. I mean, yes, I get that they love each other outside of the game and I'm totally fine with it, but at least give her a distinct playing style of her own rather than have all of her wins be attributed to Toki as well.
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To be a bit more precise about Ryuuka's spoilered developments for the coming chapter, it seems like the telepathic Toki thing is something that developed just now in this game. Given that Ryuuka is shown to have already had her share of accomplishments prior to this match, I think there must certainly be some other level of genuine skill which gave her her past standings (like highest average point gain in all of Kansai). While certainly Ritz could disappoint us by not showing Ryuuka having any skill of her own, for the moment I'm satisfied to be optimistic and enjoy the new development with Toki, which is very cute and adorable.
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The thing I don't like about the theory is that it is not only not mentioned, but also not even suggested (through play or otherwise) by the main manga. Sera's monologue suggested that it was enough to push her far behind players that were supposed to be weaker than she is - and yet, some of the most prominent players in the inter-high individuals were first or second years in the previous year (5/6 of the top six in the individuals, for one - Teru, Kei, Satoha, Hiroe, and Mukuru). We also regularly see second year players like Mako or Kinue perform well against third-year opponents, and third year opponents who could not complete their hands in any sort of comparable speed.
In fact, Senriyama players aside, there was no evidence of this 'third year hand completion rate' whatsoever in the Saki universe. Even the Achiga universe did not have evidence of this until the Semifinals (it definitely didn't help Koshigaya or Kentani in the slightest).
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Speaking about this concept in Saki, I don't think of it as any sort of occult "third years magically get to tempai easier" but as a motivational thing. Because third years know that it is their last chance in the nationals, and also because they have experienced former failure and nervousness on that stage and want to revenge their failures, their motivation gives them a psychological boost, causing them to play better. As a psychological factor, it makes a ton of sense.
With regards to why this effect might not show up for every third year, or for every school, I think a lot of it must have to do with past experience. Only regular/veteran schools like Senriyama or Himematsu would usually have the luxury of having repeat players at the nationals. Not having the nervous feelings of being their first time at the nationals, but at the same time having the motivation of knowing it is their last chance at it, is probably one of the key components of this factor. For example, we saw the crippling effect that Hisa's nervousness had in her quarterfinal game.
There is also the issue that this sort of psychological effect probably only exists for non-occult players of the game. For schools like Eisui or Miyamori, which have a strong occult awareness, not only will they have more natural confidence in their own strength from the very beginning but they will also be more strongly aware of the strength of others. To a degree this might be a negative because that means they will be more willing to accept defeat by "monsters" which they know are stronger than them, and less passionate in going all out to overcome all challenges.
On some level we have seen that psychological factors have always had an effect on player performance in Saki. Tons of characters have said things like "I felt my hand began coming together after I regained my determination". FunaQ's "third year bonus" is just an extension of one common case of these psychological factors. Especially for players who are far apart from the occult world, I think such things might be common.