The ISTAF SuperSeries (abbreviated: ISS) was an internationalsepaktakraw 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.
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.
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