The Penang Black Panthers won their third straight Sepak Takraw League (STL) Premier title thanks to a big helping hand from the Kuala Lumpur Thunder.

Heading into the final day of the 2018 league season on Sunday, Penang were level on points with ATM Guardians but behind on set difference.

They did their part by beating the Melaka Titans 2-0 to move to the top of the STL standings, but needed the Thunder to at least steal a set in the latter's match against the Guardians to clinch the title on point difference.



Thankfully for them, the Kuala Lumpur trio of Aizat Azmi, Amirul Zazwan Amir and Norhafizi Razak did more than that as they claimed a surprise 2-1 victory over ATM.



Despite losing the title and RM50,000 cash prize to Penang, the Guardians still bagged RM30,000 as runners-up, while star player Hairul Hazizi Haidzir was named the Best Tekong and coach Aswadi Abdullah won the Best Coach award.

Other award winners were Penang's Azlan Alias (Best Striker), the Selangor Pistons' Farhan Adam (Best Feeder), Zakaria Haji Din (Best Manager), and the Terengganu Turtles (Fair Play).

Sunday also saw the Kelantan Warriors and the Perak Bison join Penang, ATM, Kuala Lumpur and the Johor Tigris in the 2018 Champions Cup after beating the Terengganu Turtles and the PDRM Defenders respectively.



STL Division 1 champions Negeri Sembilan Antlers and runners-up Sabah Mountaineer would also be competing in the season-ending tournament, kicking off in December.