Horse Racing stats man, Andy has contributed to OLBG for 18 years - An Ipswich fan and F1 fanatic, he also contributes EFL football and Motor Sport opinion.
2025-26 Liiga Preview
Tappara were looking for history last season in an attempt to become the first franchise to win four consecutive championships, however, a poor season saw them finish 9th in the regular season.
They did win their wild card game and got to the quarter-finals, but were whitewashed by Ilves 4-0 and with that, their chance of history was over.
KalPa, founded in 1929, went into the season having never won the championship; they had twice been runners-up in 1991 and 2017, but 2025 turned out to be their first championship!
They finished third in the regular season and were then made to work for their maiden championship, 4-3 over Ässät, 4-2 against Ilves, and then a 4-2 series win over SaiPa in the final.
Can they follow that up in 2025-26? It will be mighty tough for them. We can expect Tappara to be back in the mix and looking to land their 21st title, and Ilves continues to look for their overdue title, having won their 16th and last in 1985!
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How often do Favourites win in Liiga?
How do the Favourites Compare?
As we can see when looking at arguably the most popular top six leagues, the Finnish Liiga is the fourth most reliable league for favourites, with 61.29% of them winning over the past five seasons.
- Russian KHL: 62.96%
- Swiss NLA: 62.44%
- German DEL: 61.49%
- Finnish Liiga: 61.29%
- USA NHL: 61%
- Swedish SHL: 59.04%
Which teams are the most and least reliable?
The most reliable team when it comes to favourites in the SM Liiga over the past five seasons is Tappara. They have a win rate of 66.90% when priced up by the bookmakers as favourites, with 194 wins from a total of 290 games.
At the other end of the scale is Espoo with a win rate of 50.00%. That has come from 16 games producing 8 wins, they are maybe the team in this league to avoid when they are priced up as favourites.
SM Liiga Favourite Statistics by Season
| 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home Favs | 63.74% | 63.64% | 65.18% | 60.98% | 59.02% |
| Away Favs | 64.44% | 62.43% | 54.43% | 58.50% | 55.17% |
| Overall Favs | 64.02% | 63.21% | 61.74% | 60.24% | 57.78% |
*Favourite statistics only include regular-season games
Past Liiga Regular Season Winners
As you can see below, the regular season table-toppers have a good record in the playoffs, 6 of the last 8 (excluding 2019-20) went on to be crowned champions.
Here are the last ten regular-season champions who received the Harry Lindblad Memorial Trophy and how they went on to perform in the playoffs.
| Season | Team (Points) | Playoff Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | Lukko (112) | Lost in the Semi-finals |
| 2023–24 | Tappara (123) | Liiga Champions |
| 2022–23 | Tappara (116) | Liiga Champions |
| 2021–22 | Tappara (120) | Liiga Champions |
| 2020–21 | Lukko (127) | Liiga Champions |
| 2019–20 | Kärpät (127) | Playoffs cancelled |
| 2018–19 | Kärpät (137) | Lost in the Final |
| 2017–18 | Kärpät (123) | Liiga Champions |
| 2016–17 | Tappara (127) | Liiga Champions |
| 2015–16 | HIFK (127) | Lost in the Final |
Past Liiga Champions
The Kanada-malja is the trophy that is awarded to the Champions of the Liiga. It was first awarded in 1951, and it translates to 'Canada Bowl' because it was donated by the Finnish community located in Canada.
Tappara leads the way in terms of the number of championships won, with a total of twenty, and they have won the last three championships.
Only two other teams have recorded double-figure wins, four behind Tappara, Ilves, with fifteen wins, however, their last success was back in the 1984-85 season.
The other team is Turun Palloseura (TPS), which has won eleven championships, but again, you have to go back some time to find their last win, which was during the 2009-10 season.
Here are the last ten Liiga Champions
| Year | Champions | Series | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | KalPa | 4-2 | SaiPa |
| 2023-24 | Tappara | 4-1 | Pelicans |
| 2022-23 | Tappara | 4-1 | Pelicans |
| 2021-22 | Tappara | 4-1 | TPS |
| 2020-21 | Lukko | 3-1 | TPS |
| 2019-20 | No competition | ||
| 2018-19 | HPK | 4-3 | Kärpät |
| 2017-18 | Kärpät | 4-2 | Tappara |
| 2016-18 | Tappara | 4-2 | KalPa |
| 2015-16 | Tappara | 4-2 | HIFK |
2024-25 Playoff Bracket
Finnish Liiga Teams
2025-26 Teams in the Liiga
| Team | City | Arena | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ässät | Pori | Enersense Areena | 6,150 |
| HIFK | Helsinki | Helsingin jäähalli | 8,200 |
| HPK | Hämeenlinna | Pohjantähti Areena | 5,360 |
| Ilves | Tampere | Nokia Arena | 12,700 |
| Jukurit | Mikkeli | Ikioma Areena | 4,200 |
| JYP | Jyväskylä | LähiTapiola Areena | 4,437 |
| KalPa | Kuopio | Olvi Areena | 5,300 |
| Kärpät | Oulu | Oulun Energia Areena | 6,300 |
| Kiekko-Espoo | Espoo | Espoo Metro Areena | 6,982 |
| KooKoo | Kouvola | Lumon Areena | 5,950 |
| Lukko | Rauma | Kivikylän Areena | 4,500 |
| Pelicans | Lahti | Isku Areena | 4,403 |
| SaiPa | Lappeenranta | Lappeenrannan jäähalli | 4,820 |
| Sport | Vaasa | Vaasan Sähkö Areena | 5,185 |
| Tappara | Tampere | Nokia Arena | 12,700 |
| TPS | Turku | Gatorade Center | 10,500 |
Author Information
Andy Powell manages this Finnish Elite League (Liiga) Preview & Betting Guide and other hockey content in this section of the site, as well as the Ice Hockey Tipsters in the OLBG tipster competition in his role in the OLBG Expert Team. Andy meticulously updates the date and results for these pieces and is an erstwhile Penguins fan in the NHL. He provides Ice Hockey betting advice in our bookmaker reviews as well as providing a huge contribution to the Best Ice Hockey Betting Sites Guide.
Andy Powell
Content Editor
