Superpesis roundup

Can KPL go all the way this season and take gold in their second consecutive final? After some intense semifinal series, the finals are set, with Manse and KPL in search of gold, whilst Vimpeli and Sotkamo go head to head for bronze. The post season so far has been one of the most thrilling and exciting in recent memory, now we will we if Manse’s big spending can pay off, or whether KPL can end their long wait for a championship… (1) Manse PP v (3) KPL This has been the toughest series for me to predict so far. Both teams are worthy champions this year and I have gone back and changed my mind several times. Manse beat Sotkamo in 3 straight games, but it was far from being an easy series. The first 2 games went to a scoring contest! Manse executed their game plan well to defeat the reigning champions, but some uncharacteristic errors (like Puhtimäki walking in a run in game 1) that made things harder than they needed to be. In a scoring contest, Manse probably has the best batti...

Could we see Oulu or Jyväskylä in Superpesis next year? With SiiPe claiming victory by the narrowest of margins in a 5 game series against Hamina, they join Kankaanpää in their quest to stay in superpesis next season by playing the top 2 teams from Ykköspesis. The winners of the 2 series will qualify for Superpesis next year, the losers will play in Ykköspesis in 2022. (13) Kankaanpää v (Y2) Jyväskylän Lohi   Kankaanpää weathered the storm in the regular season and despite a tough schedule at the start of the season managed to cling on to 13th place and avoid the elimination series. Their place in Superpesis next season is not safe and they will have to beat Lohi to secure it. Jyväskylä is the home town of pesäpallo’s creator, Lauri “Tahko” Pihkala, as well as being a significant centre for Pesis since its creation, with the city hosting a women’s time that has won the last 3 championships; so it would be a fitting tribute for them to be in Superpesis in the 100 anniversary sea...

The semifinals promise to be action packed and full of surprises… The first round of the playoffs are now over and the semifinals are set. Here is my preview of the last 4: (1) Manse PP v (4) Sotkamo Both of these teams played a tough series to reach the semifinals. Manse almost became the victims of a surprise series win by IPV; however Manse came back from losing their opening 2 games and won in 5 games. Sotkamo’s road to the semifinals had a substantially more threatening roadblock in the form of a hungry Joensuu side. If JoMa had home field advantage for the series, or the ball had bounced a certain way, this semifinal would look very different. Sotkamo’s regular season games against top 4 sides were not great and they lost more games than the other 3. Despite a dazzling performance at Kaupi on 30th July, Manse still got the better of the reigning champions in their most recent matchup. Manse now have to prove that they are the championship contenders they claim to be. Expect th...

Can Hamina turn their fortunes around and break SiiPe’s home record? Whilst the spotlight is on the top 8, the most intriguing matchup is the elimination series between SiiPe and Hamina. The loser will be relegated, the winner will have the change to stay in Superpesis if they can beat the league leaders in Ykköspesis (which will be either Oulu or Kuopio).   (14) SiiPe v (15) Hamina SiiPe start this series coming off the back of a remarkably up and down season. Siilinjärvi have beaten the likes of KPL, KiPa, Seinäjoki and Tahko - all at home. In fact, their home record has been so much at odds with their away record, that their points won from home games was 13 (an average of 0.93 per game) and points won from away games was a disastrous 2 (an average of 0.17).  On the other side, Hamina have struggled to reach their potential in 2021, mostly as a result of a series of injuries to Sasu Toikka and Matias Hangasmaa, but the lost opportunities and games where points were gi...

The regular season has ended and the top 8 teams now know their opponents for the first round.   (1) Manse PP v (7) IPV The star studded Manse side finished top in the regular season and gained the privilege of choosing their first round opponents before anyone else. Manse chose 7th place IPV ahead of the team that finished in 8th (PattU). IPV have had their greatest season in 28 years, when they last made it to the playoffs. The powerful Manse lineup is likely to obliterate IPV, but the reds are in high spirits and their story may continue if they pull off the seemingly impossible once again. Prediction: Manse 3 - 0 IPV (2) Vimpeli v (8) PattU Vimpeli have continued to look impressive at the plate and Sarrikenttä has been a tough place for opponents to visit - especially if they didn’t bring enough dry pairs of socks! PattU’s season has been fairly pedestrian and their final position in the top 8 came as a shock to many, in particular given the fact that they won their fina...

Sotkamon Jymy (2) v Kouvolan Pallonlyöjat (4) Head to head: As curious a season this is, there has never been a final where the 2 teams haven’t met in the regular season. In fact KPL hasn’t played Sotkamo since 5th September 2019 when Sotkamo won the semifinal series in game 5! It is hard to imagine how these 2 teams will shape up in this series against each other; KPL has a number of high profile players this year that they didn’t have last year and Sotkamo are placing their faith in 17 year old Aapo Komulainen who makes his Superpesis debut this year. Form: KPL took the opening game of their series against Joensuu down to the wire; a scoring contest win gave them the platform for Game 2 at home with the chance of advancing to the final. Up until that series Joensuu hadn’t lost a game since 9th July this year, with 23 straight victories. KPL are arguably on their best form of the season at exactly the right time. Prediction: KPL to win 2-1. Sotkamo to win the opening game. Su...

Can anyone stop Joensuu? Or are they Untouchable... Joensuun Maila (1) v Kouvolan Pallonlyöjat (4) Head to head: Joensuu continues to dominate, but now they face some serious competition in the form of KPL. Both of this season’s games between these 2 teams saw Joensuu take away 3 points comfortably, you may be forgiven in thinking that this will be an easy win for JoMa; however KPL have a lot of experience and talent in their ranks. Historically, the matchup has been 6-4 in favour of Joensuu, although KPL’s last win came on 30th May 2019.  Form: I will repeat what I said in the last preview for Joensuu - their form is immaculate; they haven’t lost a game since 9th July this year! That’s now 23 straight victories. Whilst their wins against PattU in the quarterfinals were not the most elegant, Joensuu manage to do exactly enough to win games. KPL seemed to step up a gear in the post season, brushing off a slightly muted end to what promised to be. KPL put some solid numbers up ...

Joensuu prepare for their opening match against Siilinjärvi with a win over Kitee Photograph from Joensuu Facebook.  (C) Joensuun Maila 2020 Halli SM 2020 preview With the new year only just begun, eyes turn to the start of the Halli SM tournament starting on 12th January when Joensuu host Siilinjärvi. But before the first pitch is tossed, we take a look at who we think will take the medals in 2020. The group stage of the tournament shapes up as follows, with the top team from each group advancing to the semi finals: Group A (3 teams) Kempeleen Kiri Pattijoen Urheilijat, Raahe Sotkamon Jymy Group B (4 teams) Joensuun Maila Imatran Pallo-Veikot Kiteen Pallo -90 Siilinjärven Pesis Group C (4 teams) Kankaanpään Maila Koskenkorvan Urheilijat Seinäjoen JymyJussit Vimpelin Veto Group D (3 teams) Kouvolan Pallonlyöjat Tampere Manse PP Hyvinkään Tahko Who will advance from each group? Groups A and D have 3 teams in each and t...

Can Joensuu repeat and win the final in 2019? Photograph from Joensuu Facebook (c) Joensuun Maila 2019 Postseason preview: semi finals Sotkamon Jymy (2) v Joensuun Maila (4) Head to head: Both these teams have won once against the other during the regular season, Sotkamo’s win was in a supervuoro whereas Joensuu beat Sotkamo in 2 straight jakso. Going back beyond this season, Joensuu have won the last 3 previous matchups, during the regular season in 2018, but further back the record stacks up in Sotkamo’s favour .  Form: Sotkamo come off the back of a gruelling 5 game series against last year’s runners-up KPL, whereas Joensuu have swept their opponents in the quarter-finals and semifinals, so are well rested. The regular season seems but a distant memory now, so recent form is probably more telling as to where the teams are at. Sotkamo have not put in a dominant performance in the semifinals, save perhaps for the final game in that series; although they tied the...

Could Oulu be a new face for Superpesis 2020 after a short stint in Ykköspesis? Photograph from Oulu Facebook (c) Oulun Lippo Pesis 2019 Promotion series preview Siilinjärven Pesis (S) v Oulun Lippo Pesis (Y) Head to head: Oulu have won all of the previous games between these two teams, all of which were in Ykköspesis in 2014 and 2015. This statistic is probably of little importance to the teams as they currently stand, although it may weigh heavy on Siilinjärven players minds that  Oulu are not easily beaten. Form: Siilinjärvi ended the regular season on a poor run in their final 5 games, which saw them slip back into 13th in the table, losing all 5 and only taking 1 point out of a possible 15. Siilinjärvi beat Alajärvi 3-1 in the elimination series to give them a fighting chance to stay in superpesis next season. Oulu are in top form at the moment, having swept Ulvila to reach the Promotion series, off the back of 4 wins out of their final 5 games in the regul...

Postseason preview: semi finals Vimpelin Veto (1) v Joensuun Maila (4) Head to head: This matchup is tight - on ahead to head, both games in the regular season went to extra innings, one to a supervuoro (won by Vimpeli) and one to a kotiutuskilpailu (won by Joensuu). Going back beyond this season, Joensuu have won the 5 previous matchups, including last years semi-final series. On that basis one could argue that Joensuu are clear favourites, but that was last year - this year’s games have been much tighter. Photograph from Joensuu Facebook (c) Joensuun Maila 2019 Form: Both teams have swept their opponents in the quarter-finals off the back of solid runs to end the season. Vimpeli took 14 out of 15 points in the final 5 games of the season, albeit they played some much lower ranked teams to get those wins. Joensuu has taken 12 out of a maximum 15 points in their last 5 games, winning 4. Prediction: Vimpeli to win, 3 games to 2. Summary: Vimpeli are the team to...

Photograph from Siilinjärvi Facebook (c) Siilinjärven Pesis 2019 Elimination series preview Siilinjärven Pesis (13) v Alajärven Ankkurit (14) Photograph from Alajärvi Facebook (c) Alajärven Ankkurit 2019 Head to head: Siilinjärvi have won both of the games they have played against Alajärvi, with one going to a supervuoro. Those 2 games are the only times these two teams have met. Form: Siilinjärvi have had a poor run in the last 5 games, which has seen them slip back into 13th in the table, losing all 5 of their recent games and only taking 1 point out of a possible 15. Alajärvi has done marginally better, taking 2 points out of 15, with a win against Sotkamo in a supervuoro- which was a significant achievement. Prediction: Siilinjärvi to win, 3 games to 1. Summary: Despite Alajärvi’s win at the end of the season against championship contenders Sotkamo, Alajärvi are the underdogs in this series. Siilinjärvi have an almost equally poor record as Alajärvi, b...

Photograph from Sotkamo Facebook (c) Sotkamon Jymy 2019 Postseason preview Vimpelin Veto (1) v Kiteen Pallo-90 (8)  Photograph from Kitee Facebook (c) Kiteen Pallo - 90 2019 Head to head: Vimpeli have a significant edge in this matchup historically and Kitee haven’t won since 2012, which includes their 2017 quarter-final series. Vimpeli have won both of the games between the two sides this season comfortably and took maximum points from both. Form: Both teams have had an incredible run to end the season, Kitee have picked up 11 points out of 15 with wins against Joensuu and Tahko. Vimpeli have taken 14 out of 15 points, but have played some lower ranked teams to get those wins.  Prediction: Vimpeli to win, 3 games to 0. Summary: Vimpeli are the team to beat this season and they have topped the table with a comprehensive set of wins. Vimpeli won 19 matches with 3 points, the highest in the league by 4. Kitee on the other hand won only 5 with m...