ISTAF SuperSeries

Official logo of the Games
Status	Inactive
Genre	Sport event
Frequency	Annually
Inaugurated	8 September 2011 (2011-09-08)
Founder	International Sepaktakraw Federation
Most recent	2 November 2015 (2015-11-02)
Organised by	International Sepaktakraw Federation
Website	sepaktakraw.org

The ISTAF SuperSeries (abbreviated: ISS) was an international sepaktakraw competition organized by the International Sepaktakraw Federation (ISTAF) held for three editions from 2011 to 2015. The ISS was the only elite international Sepaktakraw tournament recognized by the ISTAF aside from the ISTAF World Cup and King's Cup. ^{[1] [2]} The current format involves a qualification phase through ISTAF World Cup, which usually takes place every four years, to determine which teams qualify for the tournament phase. In the tournament phase, 8 teams for men's and 6 for women's events, including the automatically qualifying host nation(s), compete for the title at venues within the host nation(s) for a week. ^[3]

The tournament was held in a grand prix format, whereby national teams compete in a series of tournaments during a season. The first season features four tournaments which were organized between September 2011 to July 2012 in Bangkok, Palembang, and Singapore. The second and the third seasons also consisted of four tournaments, in which Thailand has won most of the first place in both men's and women's tournaments. ^[4]

There was an attempt from the ISTAF to conduct the fourth season within 2016. Nonetheless, the tournament was terminated for undisclosed reasons.

ISTAF SuperSeries Summary

Season	Series	Host	Men's tournament				Women's tournament
			Team	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Team	Gold	Silver	Bronze
2011–12	1	Bangkok	12	Thailand	Indonesia	South Korea	8	Thailand	South Korea	Vietnam
	2	Palembang	9	Thailand	Malaysia	Indonesia	6	Thailand	South Korea	Vietnam
	3	Singapore	10	Thailand	Indonesia	South Korea	6	Thailand	Vietnam	Indonesia
	4	Bangkok	12	Thailand	Malaysia	South Korea	7	Thailand	Vietnam	Malaysia
	Overall		43	Thailand	Indonesia	Malaysia	27	Thailand	Vietnam	South Korea
2013–14	1	New Delhi	10	South Korea	Malaysia	Indonesia	7	Thailand	Indonesia	Vietnam
	2	Bangkok	11	Thailand	Malaysia	United States	7	Thailand	South Korea	Vietnam
	3	Kota Kinabalu	9	Thailand	Malaysia	Indonesia	5	Thailand	Vietnam	Indonesia
	4	Kuala Lumpur	13	Thailand	Malaysia	South Korea	9	Thailand	Malaysia	Indonesia
	Overall		43	Thailand	South Korea	Malaysia	28	Thailand	Vietnam	Indonesia
2014–15	1	Naypyidaw	8	Thailand	Malaysia	Myanmar	6	Thailand	Vietnam	Myanmar
	2	Melaka	8	Malaysia	Thailand	South Korea	6	Thailand	Vietnam	Myanmar
	3	Gunsan	8	Thailand	South Korea	Malaysia	6	Thailand	South Korea	Indonesia
	4	Nakhon Pathom	8	Thailand	Malaysia	Philippines	6	Thailand	Myanmar	South Korea
	Overall		32	Thailand	Malaysia	South Korea	24	Thailand	Vietnam	Myanmar

Tournament Format

Matches are played using a best of three formats, where teams compete to win two sets. Once one team wins two sets, the remaining sets (if any) are discarded. If any team wins the first two sets, it wins the match, and the remaining one set is not played. ^[5]

The first round, or group stage, features 8 men's and 6 women's teams, respectively divided into groups of 4 and 3; each team playing a round-robin against every other team in their group. Based on points accumulated, the top 2 teams from each group advanced to the playoff stage, which featured two rounds of matches, each round eliminating half of the teams entering that round; namely the semifinal and final rounds. In addition, there was also a play-off to decide the fifth to eighth placings. ^[5]

Regu format Each team is represented by three players on the court, with two additional substitutes. The three players on the court are divided into three specialist positions including; the ‘tekong’ who serves the ball; the ‘feeder’ who sets the ball up and facilitates the attack; the ‘killer’ or striker, who spikes the ball set by the feeder. The players can swap positions throughout the match.

Group format Teams were awarded points based on the number of sets they won, as opposed to the traditional group scoring based on wins and losses. This system was devised to bolster competitive spirit, rewarding teams for every set they won, regardless of whether they won the match. If there two or more teams are even on points at the end of the group stage, individual points earned during the group stage matches will be used as a tie-breaker.

Set Format Each set is won by the side which scores twenty-one (21) points with a minimum lead of two (2) points. In the event of a twenty to twenty tie (20-20), the set shall be won by the side which gets a lead of two (2) points, or when a side reaches twenty-five (25) points (whichever occurs first). When the score is tied at 20-20, the Match Referee will announce "setting up to 25 points". During the third set, the teams shall change sides when one Regu reaches 11 points.

Tournament ranking

Ranking index [6] Position Points 1st place 250 2nd place 230 3rd place 210 4th place 200 5th place 190 6th Place 180 7th Place 170 8th Place 160 N Place Point of N+1 Place -10

Men's ranking [6] Position Country Accumulation points 1.   Thailand 980 2.   Malaysia 920 3.   Myanmar   Singapore   South Korea 770 6.   Japan 710 7.   Indonesia 560 8.   China 490 9.   Philippines 210 10.   India 180 Rangking Updated: 26 October 2015

Women's ranking [6] Position Country Accumulation points 1.   Thailand 1000 2.   Vietnam 860 3.   Malaysia 760 4.   Japan 720 5.   Myanmar 650 6.   South Korea 640 7.   Indonesia 410 Rangking Updated: 26 October 2015

Note: The ranking is only measured from the latest tournament, not the all-time ranking.

Medal Tally

Men's tournament Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total 1   Thailand 10 1 0 11 2   Malaysia 1 8 1 10 3   South Korea 1 1 5 7 4   Indonesia 0 2 3 5 5   Myanmar 0 0 1 1   Philippines 0 0 1 1   United States 0 0 1 1 Totals (7 entries) 12 12 12 36

Women's tournament Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total 1   Thailand 12 0 0 12 2   Vietnam 0 5 4 9 3   South Korea 0 4 1 5 4   Indonesia 0 1 4 5 5   Myanmar 0 1 2 3 6   Malaysia 0 1 1 2 Totals (6 entries) 12 12 12 36

See also

• ISTAF World Cup
• King's Cup Sepaktakraw World Championship

References

1. "Intentions to expand the ISTAF SuperSeries in Season Two". Sports Business Insider. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
2. "In the know". Philippine Daily Inquirer . June 25, 2017. Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
3. "Glossra". Deutscher Sepaktakraw Verband (in German). 2015. Archived from the original on October 25, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
4. "Malaysia set up epic ISTAF SuperSeries final with Thailand". New Straits Times . October 22, 2015. Archived from the original on December 26, 2015. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
5. "Tournament Format". International Sepaktakraw Federation . 2015. Archived from the original on November 7, 2016. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
6. "Standing". International Sepaktakraw Federation . 2015. Archived from the original on November 7, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2021.

External links

• Sepaktakraw featured in Sport Business International magazine issue no. 205 "The Ultra Fast Game You Need to See to Believe"