Since Sonic started running short-form "ranking tournaments" in early 2012, they have provided viewers with a unique and often surprising insight into the form of Afreeca's best players. Looking back on the results from the last 11 tournaments, it's possible to track the rise and fall of any number of competitors, some of whom are now long forgotten.

This edition of the SRT saw a number of new entries into the Afreeca form book, with Sea and Movie especially impressive on their SOSPA debuts. In this final news post for the 11th SOSPA Ranking Tournament, we look back at the tournament deciding series and examine what we have learned over the first three weeks of 2013.

Starting off the last edition of 11thSRT news, we have Hyde's recap of the grand final series, contested by Sea and Mong followed by a battle report by a new recruit to the SOSPA news team, Epoxide. Then, on to a selection of the best games of the 11thSRT, selected and described by Simplistik and using VODs prepared, as always, by ArvickHero. Finally, Kimoleon has translated a brief interview with the 11thSRT champion, Sea, where we asked about his feelings on this tournament and the SOSPA scene.

While we've heard rumblings of the SSL8 in the distance, there are no confirmed dates for any future tournaments available right now. However, there is never a shortage of Korean Brood War if you know where to look. The Ro8 of the BJ Gwangrae Starleague is set to begin this week, featuring many familiar faces from SOSPA tournaments of recent months. If that's not enough there are always something else happening, whether it be clan wars, bet matches or KOTH nights.

As things stand, we're not entirely sure when the next SOSPA related news post will be but rest assured we will return. Thanks for reading our coverage of the 11th SOSPA Ranking Tournament, see you again soon!

The SRT finals produced some exciting games where both players displayed their talents in the TvT match-up. Despite Mong’s best efforts, he was never in a truly dominating position; even the match he won was hard fought, long and arduous. There were many moments in the games he'd lost where he held the upper hand but it always seemed to slip away from him without a moments notice, not because he made too many mistakes but simply because Sea had all the right moves. Sea waited when he needed to, sat back and defended when he needed to, and struck hard when the time was right. It was nothing really to do with Mong. Sea was never in any real danger of losing this series. Even when he was losing, it felt he would make a comeback and that's something I can't confidently say for Mong.


Game One started off with Mong using his vultures to great effect, taking map control and harassing Sea’s mineral lines. Mong continued to play well, expanding and matching Sea step for step and sometimes even beating him to the punch. Sea began pushing back, exerting more map presence by setting up a loose tank line that limited Mong’s movements somewhat. Mong kept attacking Sea’s bases, scoring decent numbers of workers but it didn’t seem to slow Sea down the slightest.

Then Sea made his move, and like a tidal wave he broke and swallowed Mong’s army in the center. Mong was suddenly in a world of trouble, Sea was at his front door, his expos were under attack and one by one they disappeared. The dropships Mong used offensively earlier were now delivering troops to defense lines and Sea’s bases from then on remained mostly untouched. Mong neither had an army large enough to confront Sea nor mineral rich bases to produce one and that left him with only one option, and that was to forfeit.

Game Two – Check out Epoxide’s battle report for this action-packed game.

Sea began the third game with a proxy rax that dealt some early damage and gave him a slight lead. Sea followed with a starport, Mong made goliaths in anticipation to wraiths only to find vultures dropped in his main. Sea’s mines and dropships kept Mong in a defensive posture. Just when Mong thought he wouldn’t see wraiths, Sea made wraiths to accompany his dropships, leaving Mong without adequate anti-air to defend his third, or any of his bases in fact, from air invasions.


Still relishing from his quick victory, Sea played the next game safer and opted for standard play, while Mong opened with two-port in an attempt to gain the upper hand. Mong caught a handful of SCVs with his wraiths before goliaths arrived on scene.

Sea followed with his own starports along with the mentality that whatever Mong can do, he could do better.
Sea attacked with his wraiths and a handful of units that whittled away Mong’s numbers. Whilst Mong won the initial dogfight, his wraith numbers were low and without them he was vulnerable to air attack, Sea knew that and persisted in destroying Mong’s wraiths and once they disappeared, Mong’s tanks were left to flounder under laser fire. Another dogfight later and Sea’s air superiority secured him the SRT championship.

The final took place between retired Team Liquid and fan favorite Sea in his first SOSPA tournament, and supposed underdog Mong. After Sea won game one on Fighting Spirit in a quite convincing fashion, Mong was down 0-1 losing his first TvT of the tournament. To stay in the series without having to go down 0-2 and match point for Sea, Mong had to win the following game. Sea, in yellow, spawns in the bottom right corner of Neo Electric Circuit. Mong, in red, spawns in the close horizontal position in the bottom left. Mong sends out an SCV on 6 supply and makes a proxy barracks on 8 in the middle of the map. Mong gets lucky as his barracks is placed closest to where Sea has spawned.


Sea on the other hand scouts on 10 but the SCV misses the barracks as it goes the through the lower path towards Mong's base. Sea follows it up with a barracks on 11. Sea scouts Mong's gas but can't find the barracks and goes on an extra detour through Mong's base before leaving, still not finding Mong's barracks. Sea makes a gas of his own just slightly behind Mong. When the third marine finishes for Mong, he attacks and sets up a bunker outside of Sea's base and effectively contains Sea.


Mong pushes in with his marines and manages to kill one of Sea's marines just as it spawns. With some back and forth dancing and some really nice micro from Mong, Sea loses four SCVs and three marines against the one SCV and two marine loss for Mong. As both players factories finishes the marine attack stops but the contain still remains. After building two vultures, Sea immediately starts a starport and a machine shop for his factory, while Mong does the exact same thing. Mong goes for uncloaked wraiths and spider mines for his vultures while Sea goes for cloaked wraiths. This turns out to go in Sea's favor. When the first tank for Sea comes out he outranges the bunker and kills it. Before retreating Mong lays three mines in Sea's natural. With some gosu mine clearing with a leading marine Sea manages to clear out the mines.


With Sea having gone cloak Mong's air gets shut down as his wraith gets killed by Sea. Now that Sea had gained air dominance he proceeds to kill Mong's scouting barracks and manages to sneak two vultures through Mong's defenses into his natural and picks of the SCV building the command center. This delay makes both Sea and Mong's natural finish at about the same time. Sea follows it up by going into Mong's main with four cloaked wraiths and starts to attack Mong's SCVs. Before managing to get a kill Mong defends with a single cloaked wraith of his own as Sea has no detection yet.


Sea wants air superiority and makes another starport and a valkyrie. With his big air fleet Sea moves out and attacks the sieged tanks outside of Mong's own natural. Mong tries to defend them with his own air fleet but loses the engagement much thanks to Sea's valkyrie and micro. Sea remains with two wraiths and the valkyrie who keeps shooting at the tanks. They manage to kill a tank before Mong pulls two SCVs to repair. Sea sees and opportunity to push with his tanks but eats a big mine hit on all of his tanks. Mong's first goliath is out and he deflects the wraiths.

With both players being on two bases Mong is pumping from five factories versus Sea's three factories and two starports. Sea loads up a dropship with two tanks and heads out towards Mong's main as he expands to 6 o'clock. Sea already had his army positioned on the edge to Mong's in-base third, making it easy to elevator in six tanks in total. Mong spots the elevator early with a scouting barracks and manages to defend with an almost even trade. During this whole time Mong has managed to expand to 9 o'clock and is on equal bases to Sea. Sea proceeds to do a questionable drop at the ledge again as he loses two tanks and three wraiths for nothing in return.


After Mong had succesfully defended the elevator he possessed a big enough supply lead to push towards Sea's natural and siegeing down the psi disruptors, opening up a path for potential vulture harass. Sea spots it and builds a supply depot to wall of the choke and places two tanks in his main to defend. As most of Mong's army is at Sea's back psi disruptors Sea pushes through the lower path hoping to do damage. Mong has enough tanks in place to defend and siegelines are drawn without any losses on either part.

Mong takes a "hidden" expansion at the top left main but Sea scans it just seconds after it starts building and sends a dropship with four vultures cross map. The dropship catches Mong's third at 9 o'clock on it's way and drops the vultures there but Mong defends with minimal to no losses. Instead of dropping 10 o'clock Sea sends his wraiths there to kill the SCV building the command center. With no anti-air nearby Mong is forced to cancel the command center, making both players equal on four bases and three gases each.

Sea tries to break the semi-contain through the north bridge but fails and loses a number of siege tanks. Both armies move back and forth for about a minute before Sea does a breakout attempt through the lower path with his whole army. Mong sees the push in time and sieges his tanks. Both players lose about the same amount of tanks and Sea is still contained on his four bases.


Mong tries to expand to 3 o'clock which is Sea's natural fifth base to take, but Mong has tanks and turrets in place to defend it. Unfortunately for Mong, Sea's wraiths outrange the turrets and is able to pick off the SCV building the command center. Once again Sea denies Mong's fifth with his wraiths. Sea tries to break out of the contain again by pushing up towards the north bridge again. Both players siege their tanks about the same time but Sea runs in with several vultures and lays mines all over Mong's tanks.


Thanks to big mine hits Sea is able to push back the contain enough so he can squeeze out tanks single file past his own psi disruptors. Sea is finally able to take his fifth at 3 o'clock. When Sea is busy setting up his defenses at his fifth Mong double expands to the top left natural and 12 o'clock while pushing Sea's undefended fourth at 6 o'clock. Sea having no army to spare to defend his fourth it gets shut down by Mong. Sea tries to makes this up by setting up a better position in the middle but all of Sea's forces gets killed by Mong's superior tank count.


Mong tries to reinstate his contain by pushing down by Sea's psi disruptors but huge mines blow up again and Mong is repelled. Sea goes out with a control group of vultures to harass the 12 o'clock but Mong makes two supply depots and walls of the choke just as they arrive. Instead they move to the top left natural but gets nothing done before Mong brings his own vultures and defends. Sea pushes up with his tanks and sieges outside of the top right natural and floats a command center there in the process, meanwhile Mong reexpands to the top left main. Both players push towards Mong's bottom left natural at the same time and there is an even engagement.

Sea tries to push 12 o'clock with his remaining forces but loses them all to a big reinforcement by Mong. After a minute of no action Sea tries to push 12 o'clock once again but is unsuccessful. With two dropships distracting Sea in the top right main the rest of Mong's army pushes in to the top right natural and kills the rest of Sea's army and one of Sea's last mining bases. After a 33 minute long TvT with containing and starving Mong prevails.


Mong manages to win an important game without buckling down under pressure, proving that he is a strong contender in TvT, even versus strong opponents like Sea.