Thai players lead foreign contingent for STL Premier 2026

The Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays will meet in the 2026 World Series with both teams seeking their first championship, having last faced each other in the opening week of the season. Milwaukee swept the Los Angeles Dodgers to reach their first World Series since 1982, while Tampa Bay eliminated the Cleveland Guardians to return for the first time since 2020. The Brewers lost their only previous appearance to the St Louis Cardinals, while the Rays finished runners-up to the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008 and the Dodgers in 2020. The series opens at American Family Field on October 23, returning the teams to the venue where Milwaukee won two of their three regular-season meetings earlier in the season. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dt06YQJb_as The Brewers outscored Tampa Bay 16-7 across those games, recovering from a narrow first-game defeat to win the next two. The Rays took the opener 3-2 on March 30, overturning a late deficit after William Contreras’ two-run homer had put Milwaukee ahead. Tampa Bay scored twice in the ninth inning, with Nick Fortes delivering the go-ahead double. Milwaukee responded with a 6-2 victory the following day, helped by home runs from Gary Sanchez and Jake Bauers to set up a deciding game. The Brewers won that finale 8-2, although the contest was closer than the score suggested. Brice Turang’s two-run homer brought Milwaukee level, and the teams remained tied until the eighth inning, when the Brewers scored six runs. Christian Yelich supplied the go-ahead two-run single, while Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero committed three errors during the game. That secured the season series for Milwaukee, but the teams have not met since April 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLmZRFbIX5Q The Brewers also hold a narrow advantage across their entire history, winning 15 of their 28 meetings since the first in 2005. Home advantage has featured in those results as Milwaukee have won seven of 11 meetings at home, while Tampa Bay have taken nine of 17 on their own ground. The teams have alternated 2-1 series victories over the past four seasons, with Tampa Bay prevailing in 2023 and 2025 and Milwaukee winning in 2024 and 2026. Their World Series clash will be their first postseason meeting. Fans can watch the World Series live on SPOTV NOW.

 

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MotoGP returns to Phillip Island for the Australian Grand Prix on October 23-25, with the coastal circuit set to welcome the world’s best riders once more. Fans can watch every practice, qualifying session, Sprint and Grand Prix live on SPOTV NOW. Here are five things to know ahead of the race weekend.

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Phillip Island’s farewell

Phillip Island will host the Grand Prix for the final time this year before the event moves to Adelaide in 2027. The circuit welcomed the country’s first Grand Prix in 1989, with local hero Wayne Gardner winning the premier-class race before repeating the feat the following year. All but six editions have taken place at Phillip Island. Eastern Creek hosted the race from 1991 to 1996 before it returned to the Victorian circuit in 1997. Adelaide will begin a six-year hosting agreement next season, with MotoGP set to race on a city circuit for the first time.

 

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The last ride

Fans will share the road with MotoGP stars when the Homecoming Ride returns for the final time on Thursday before the Australian Grand Prix. First held in 2022, the event has brought hundreds of fans together to ride alongside current racers and former champions. Marc Marquez led more than 400 supporters in 2023, while Casey Stoner headed last year’s procession alongside riders including Jack Miller, Francesco Bagnaia and Marco Bezzecchi. This year’s ride will travel from San Remo through Cowes before finishing with a lap of the Grand Prix circuit.

Local hero’s final home Grand Prix

Miller will contest his final Australian Grand Prix as a full-time MotoGP rider before moving to WorldSBK with Pata Maxus Yamaha in 2027. The switch will end a 12-season spell in the premier class for Miller, who stepped directly up from Moto3 in 2015 after finishing runner-up in the lightweight championship. However, Australia will still have a rider to cheer on when Adelaide takes over next year. Senna Agius will graduate from Moto2 to join Red Bull KTM Tech3, becoming the country’s sole representative on the MotoGP grid.

 

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Rare first-time winners

Phillip Island’s fast corners and changeable weather can challenge even the most experienced riders, but two of its last three MotoGP races produced maiden winners. Johann Zarco made his breakthrough in 2023, overtaking Pramac Ducati teammate Jorge Martin on the final lap to claim his first premier-class victory. Raul Fernandez joined the winners’ club in 2025, finishing ahead of Di Giannantonio and Marco Bezzecchi to give Trackhouse Racing their first MotoGP victory. Luca Marini, Diogo Moreira and Toprak Razgatlioglu will hope Phillip Island can provide a similar breakthrough as they chase their first premier-class Grand Prix wins.

Ducati’s surprise drought

Ducati have won twice at Phillip Island in the past three years through Pramac’s Zarco and Gresini’s Marc Marquez, but their factory team’s wait for an Australian Grand Prix victory stretches back to 2010. The factory team’s most recent winner remains Casey Stoner, who claimed four consecutive home victories for Ducati between 2007 and 2010. He then won the next two editions with Honda, completing a run of six straight Australian Grand Prix victories before retiring at the end of 2012. That leaves Ducati’s factory team facing a 16-year wait at Phillip Island, despite their success elsewhere. For comparison, their next longest win drought is only five years at Le Mans, when Miller won the 2021 French Grand Prix.

 

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The 2026 Sepak Takraw League (STL) will be shown live on SPOTV NOW in Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam and Macau, with coverage starting at this week’s Perak Grand Prix. Stadium Indera Mulia in Ipoh hosts the opening STL Premier round from October 21, with 12 teams competing across seven Grands Prix until January 2027.

 

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Perak Bison begin their title defence on home ground after winning last year’s championship with 136 points, ahead of Kuala Lumpur Thunder on 130 and Melaka Titans on 128. After Perak, the competition moves to Penang, Melaka, Kuala Lumpur, Negeri Sembilan and Johor before concluding in Selangor. The campaign brings Malaysia’s leading players back into league action following their Asian Games success, alongside overseas recruits from Thailand, the Philippines and Japan. Malaysia beat Thailand 2-0 in the men’s team regu final in Nagoya last month, ending a 36-year wait for gold in the event. They also collected silver in the regu competition.

 

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Established in 2014, STL provides regular competition for Malaysian internationals and emerging players, with Premier and Division 1 competitions linked by promotion and relegation. The Premier competition adopted a Grand Prix format in 2024, with teams collecting points at each round towards the overall league title. At each Grand Prix this season, the teams are divided into four groups of three. The top two from each group advance to the quarter-finals under a revised format that gives eight teams a chance to win the round. Grand Prix winners receive 32 points, with 28 for the runners-up, 24 for third and 21 for fourth, rewarding consistent performances throughout the season. The season’s first major trophy has already been decided, with defending STL Champions Cup winners Negeri Sembilan Antlers beating Perak 2-1 in the Charity Cup on October 6.

 

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Nicolo Bulega ended his title-winning Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) season with several records, completing a dominant campaign before his move to MotoGP with the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team next year. The Italian, who secured his first WorldSBK title at Cremona in September, became the first rider to win both the Supersport and Superbike world titles, having secured the WorldSSP crown in 2023. He is also only the second Italian WorldSBK champion, following Max Biaggi, who won in 2010 and 2012. Most impressively, he surpassed benchmarks held by Jonathan Rea, Alvaro Bautista and Toprak Razgatlioglu during his third season in the series. His achievements included records for victories and points in a season, alongside winning, podium and pole-position streaks. Below are some of the records Bulega claimed or matched during the campaign.

Record	Bulega's Record	Previous Record
Most wins in a season	32	27 (Alvaro Bautista, 2023)
Most consecutive wins	25	13 (Toprak Razgatlioglu, 2024 & 2025)
Most consecutive wins from the start of a season	21	11 (Alvaro Bautista, 2019)
Most points in a season	726	663 (Jonathan Rea, 2019)
Most consecutive points-scoring finishes	49	48 (Jonathan Rea, 2018-19)
Most podiums in a season	36	34 (Jonathan Rea, 2019)
Most consecutive podiums	49	25 (Colin Edwards, 2002 & Toprak Razgatlioglu, 2025)
Joint-most pole positions in a season	11	11 (Ben Spies, 2009)
Most consecutive pole positions	10	8 (Jonathan Rea, 2021)
Most weekend trebles in a season	10	6 (Alvaro Bautista, 2023)
Most career weekend trebles	13	11 (Toprak Razgatlioglu, 2025)
Most consecutive weekend trebles	7	4 (Toprak Razgatlioglu, 2024 & 2025)
Most fastest laps in a season	31	23 (Alvaro Bautista, 2023)
Most races led from start to finish in a season (since 1998)	20	11 (Alvaro Bautista, 2019)
Most career WorldSBK wins by an Italian rider	52	22 (Marco Melandri)
Most career WorldSBK podiums by an Italian rider	92	75 (Marco Melandri)