The Roundup - 21st to 27th June 2021

 

The Olympic stadium in Helsinki will not be the host of the 2022 Superpesis championship final

The big stories

Olympic stadium plans scrapped

The controversial plans for the 2022 championship games to be reduced to a single “winner takes all” game at the Olympic stadium in celebration of the 100 year anniversary have been scrapped. Whilst there seems to have been a great deal of support from teams, the suggestion was not unanimously agreed and several teams opposed the plan. The proposals sparked a lot of media interest and certainly boosted the profile of pesäpallo, but ultimately the Pesäpallo Federation determined that the plan would not be workable without the consent of all teams.


From my perspective, I still am convinced that the East v West game is the perfect fixture for the Olympic Stadium; it provides a showcase for the best players across the league and can create a party atmosphere unique to any other games. 


Around the league

SiiPe’s game against PattU is cancelled

It is not often that agame in Superpesis is suspended or even cancelled, but the weather last week was exceptional. A huge thunderstorm meant that the game simply could not continue. After PattU had pulled out a 0-2 lead over the home team, maybe this meteorological intervention was a blessing for SiiPe, who have managed to punch above their weight in the opening games and take 7 points (half of their 2020 total for the whole regular season!).


Kempele’s threat to top 8 teams is realised 

The focus game on Monday last week was another Joensuu clash, this time it was against Kempele. Kempele have threatened to cause an upset for a top team so far this season, having won a jakso against Joensuu at Kerubi and beating PattU away. Whilst Kempele just couldn’t get enough runs on the board to power past Sotkamo in the run up to his game, Kempele did just enough in each jakso to take the 3 points against JoMa. Kempele’s defence appears much improved this season (thanks in part to the signing of Antti Korhonen in the off-season), but they hadn’t had much success against the top teams until now. If Kempele can continue to play this way, their prospects of making the top 8 increase significantly, especially if PattU and Kitee continue to struggle.


Seinajoki claim 2 points against Tahko

Wednesday’s game between JymyJussit and Hyvinkää was a close run thing, with 1 run being the difference between winning and losing. Arguably, the Tahko game was their most important win so far this season; points against IPV and Koskenkorva were expected, but Hyvinkää and Seinäjoki are both in serious competition for the top 8. 



The table as it currently stands:



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