The Pacific League-leading Fukuoka Softbank Hawks had to put the champagne on ice, at least for another day, in their bid to clinch their second consecutive pennant on Tuesday.

Softbank's 6-1 loss to the Orix Buffaloes coupled with the second-place Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters' 6-3 win over the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles meant that the Hawks wereforced to wait as their magic number to clinch the title remained at two.

Softbank's seven-game winning streak was snapped.