Finnish Champion

In Finland, the Suomen mestaruus (SM; lit. 'Finnish Champion') is the winner of the highest level of national competition in a particular sport.

Suomen mestaruussarja (lit. 'Finnish Championship'), abbreviated SM-sarja, is the competition in which the winning athlete, team, or club is named Finnish Champion. SM-sarja is commonly used when discussing the highest-level league of a sport that competes for the Finnish Championship or the specific competition in which a Finnish Champion is named, as with the Baseballin SM-sarja, Ringeten SM-sarja, Rugbyn SM-sarja, etc.

The abbreviation SM-liiga (lit. 'Finnish Championship League' from Suomen mestaruusliiga) is a standard term used when a sport has been designated with liiga status. Without qualification, SM-liiga can refer to any Finnish Championship liiga, however, it is most often used when discussing the men's ice hockey Liiga.^[1]

Sports in which the Finnish Championship is contested


Sport	League or competition		Current champion(s)
Athletics	Kalevan kisat		multiple disciplines (2025 [fi])
Bandy	Bandyliiga (men)		JPS [fi] (2026 [fi])^[2]
Bandy	Naisten Bandyliiga (women)		Porvoon Akilles (2026)^[3]
Baseball	Superbaseball		Tampere Tigers (2025)
Basketball	Korisliiga (men)		Salon Vilpas (2026)^[4]
Basketball	Naisten Korisliiga (women)		Peli-Karhut [fi] (2026 [fi])^[5]
Cross-country skiing	SM-hiihdot [fi]		multiple competition classes (2026)
Disc golf	SM in disk golf [fi]	MPO	Daniel Davidsson [fi] (2025)
Disc golf	SM in disk golf [fi]	FPO	Silva Saarinen (2025)
Figure skating	Taitoluistelun SM-kilpailut	Ice dance	Juulia Turkkila/Matthias Versluis (2026)
		Pair	no competitors (2026)
		Single	Matias Lindfors (2026) (men)
		Single	Iida Karhunen (2026) (women)
Floorball	F-liiga (men)		Esport Oilers (2025)
Floorball	F-liiga (women)		Classic (2025)
American football	Vaahteraliiga (men)		Porvoo Butchers (2025)
American football	Naisten Vaahteraliiga [fi] (women)		Helsinki Wolverines (2025)
Football	Veikkausliiga (men)		KuPS (2025)
Football	Kansallinen Liiga (women)		HJK (2025 [fi])
Formula racing	Rata-SM		multiple disciplines
Futsal	Futsal-Liiga (men)		Akaa Futsal [fi] (2025)
Futsal	Naisten Futsal-Liiga [fi] (women)		RaiFu [fi] (2025)
Handball	Aktialiiga (men)		Riihimäki Cocks (2025)^[6]
Handball	Aktialiiga [fi] (women)		GrIFK (2025)
Harness racing	SM in harness racing [fi]		Yolo Savoy/Tommi Kylliäinen (2023)
Ice hockey	Liiga (men)		Tappara (2026)
Ice hockey	Auroraliiga (women)		Kiekko-Espoo (2026)
Pesäpallo	Superpesis		Manse PP (2025 [fi]) (men)
Pesäpallo	Superpesis		Manse PP [fi] (2025 [fi]) (women)
Rallying	Rallin SM-sarja		multiple disciplines (2023 [fi])
Rink bandy	Kaukalopallon SM-sarja [fi] (men)		RC Pajulahti (2023)^[7]
Ringette	SM Ringette (women)		Blue Rings (2025)
Roller in-line hockey	Rullakiekon SM-liiga [fi]		Team Haippi [fi] (2023)
Rugby union	Rugbyn SM-sarja		Warriors RC (2025)
Synchronized skating	Muodostelmaluistelun SM-kilpailu		Helsinki Rockettes (2026)^[8]
Volleyball	Lentopallon Mestaruusliiga (men)		Akaa-Volley [fi] (2025)
Volleyball	Lentopallon Mestaruusliiga (women)		Puijo Wolley (2025)

References

Significant content in this article is translated from the existing Finnish Wikipedia article at fi:Suomen-mestaruus; see its history for attribution.

^ "Jääkiekko - SM-liiga" (in Finnish). yle. 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2019. Both the URL and the menu for the sports (urheilu) section use “SM-liiga” to link to the main page for Liiga.
^ Karttunen, Anu (14 March 2026). "JPS kukisti runkosarjassa juhlineen Veiterän ja uusi Suomen mestaruutensa" [JPS defeated Veiterä, who celebrated [three head-to-head wins] in the regular season, and regained their Finnish championship]. Yle Urheilu (in Finnish). Retrieved 18 May 2026.
^ Bärlund, Dick (21 February 2026). "Akilleksen naiset Suomen mestarit jääpallossa" [Akilles women are Finnish Champions in bandy]. Uusimaa (in Finnish). Retrieved 18 May 2026.
^ Ahola, Harri; Hatakka, Riku (19 May 2026). "Ihmeteini johdatti Vilppaan mestaruuteen lähes trooppisessa yleisöjuhlassa" [Teen prodigy led Vilpas to the championship in an almost tropical crowd celebration]. Turun Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 21 May 2026.
^ Ikonen, Petteri (26 April 2026). "Kestomenestyjä Peli-Karhut pani HBA-Märskyn lukiolaiset ruotuun ja voitti jälleen Suomen mestaruuden" [Perennially successful Peli-Karhut defeated the HBA-Märsky secondary school students and won the Finnish Championship again]. Savon Sanomat (in Finnish). STT. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
^ "Miesten Suomen mestarit kautta aikojen". Käsipallon SM-liiga (in Finnish). 18 May 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
^ "Pääsarjajokkueiden Maratontaulukko 1990-2023 (SM-turnaukset 2017-2021 eivät ole mukana taulukoinnissa)" (PDF). Suomen Kaukalopalloliitto (in Finnish). 31 May 2023. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
^ "Muodostelmaluistelun SM 2026 – SM Seniorit". International Skating Union. 1 March 2026. Retrieved 18 March 2026.

[1] "Jääkiekko - SM-liiga" (in Finnish). yle. 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2019. Both the URL and the menu for the sports (urheilu) section use “SM-liiga” to link to the main page for Liiga.

[karttunen20260314-2] Karttunen, Anu (14 March 2026). "JPS kukisti runkosarjassa juhlineen Veiterän ja uusi Suomen mestaruutensa" [JPS defeated Veiterä, who celebrated [three head-to-head wins] in the regular season, and regained their Finnish championship]. Yle Urheilu (in Finnish). Retrieved 18 May 2026.

[bärlund20260221-3] Bärlund, Dick (21 February 2026). "Akilleksen naiset Suomen mestarit jääpallossa" [Akilles women are Finnish Champions in bandy]. Uusimaa (in Finnish). Retrieved 18 May 2026.

[ahola20260519-4] Ahola, Harri; Hatakka, Riku (19 May 2026). "Ihmeteini johdatti Vilppaan mestaruuteen lähes trooppisessa yleisöjuhlassa" [Teen prodigy led Vilpas to the championship in an almost tropical crowd celebration]. Turun Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 21 May 2026.

[ikonen20260426-5] Ikonen, Petteri (26 April 2026). "Kestomenestyjä Peli-Karhut pani HBA-Märskyn lukiolaiset ruotuun ja voitti jälleen Suomen mestaruuden" [Perennially successful Peli-Karhut defeated the HBA-Märsky secondary school students and won the Finnish Championship again]. Savon Sanomat (in Finnish). STT. Retrieved 18 May 2026.

[6] "Miesten Suomen mestarit kautta aikojen". Käsipallon SM-liiga (in Finnish). 18 May 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2023.

[7] "Pääsarjajokkueiden Maratontaulukko 1990-2023 (SM-turnaukset 2017-2021 eivät ole mukana taulukoinnissa)" (PDF). Suomen Kaukalopalloliitto (in Finnish). 31 May 2023. Retrieved 8 April 2024.

[8] "Muodostelmaluistelun SM 2026 – SM Seniorit". International Skating Union. 1 March 2026. Retrieved 18 March 2026.

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