User blog comment:B214/Shin DxD 1 discussion/@comment-2607:FB90:3851:A5D3:0:14:ECCB:7501-20181029115052/@comment-2602:306:CD9A:C860:8161:DE26:6BE5:3DE1-20181031163737

"if Sona was so smart why was she eliminated and Rias moved on"

1. Rias haa good luck. Most of her competition was against weak teams. The only challenge she had was against Vali, to which she lost.

2. Sona didn't have such good luck. She fought against a god team and against Issei's team.

Side note: both Sona and Rias lost against the Heavenly Dragons.