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

SportLeague or competitionCurrent champion(s)
AthleticsKalevan kisatmultiple disciplines (2025)
BandyBandyliiga (men)JPS (2026)[2]
Naisten Bandyliiga (women)Porvoon Akilles (2026)[3]
BaseballSuperbaseballTampere Tigers (2025)
BasketballKorisliiga (men)Salon Vilpas (2026)[4]
Naisten Korisliiga (women)Peli-Karhut (2026)[5]
Cross-country skiingSM-hiihdotmultiple competition classes (2026)
Disc golfSM in disk golfMPODaniel Davidsson (2025)
FPOSilva Saarinen (2025)
Figure skatingTaitoluistelun SM-kilpailutIce danceJuulia Turkkila/Matthias Versluis (2026)
Pairno competitors (2026)
SingleMatias Lindfors (2026) (men)
Iida Karhunen (2026) (women)
FloorballF-liiga (men)Esport Oilers (2025)
F-liiga (women)Classic (2025)
American footballVaahteraliiga (men)Porvoo Butchers (2025)
Naisten Vaahteraliiga (women)Helsinki Wolverines (2025)
FootballVeikkausliiga (men)KuPS (2025)
Kansallinen Liiga (women)HJK (2025)
Formula racingRata-SMmultiple disciplines
FutsalFutsal-Liiga (men)Akaa Futsal (2025)
Naisten Futsal-Liiga (women)RaiFu (2025)
HandballAktialiiga (men)Riihimäki Cocks (2025)[6]
Aktialiiga (women)GrIFK (2025)
Harness racingSM in harness racingYolo Savoy/Tommi Kylliäinen (2023)
Ice hockeyLiiga (men)Tappara (2026)
Auroraliiga (women)Kiekko-Espoo (2026)
PesäpalloSuperpesisManse PP (2025) (men)
Manse PP (2025) (women)
RallyingRallin SM-sarjamultiple disciplines (2023)
Rink bandyKaukalopallon SM-sarja (men)RC Pajulahti (2023)[7]
RingetteSM Ringette (women)Blue Rings (2025)
Roller in-line hockeyRullakiekon SM-liigaTeam Haippi (2023)
Rugby unionRugbyn SM-sarjaWarriors RC (2025)
Synchronized skatingMuodostelmaluistelun SM-kilpailuHelsinki Rockettes (2026)[8]
VolleyballLentopallon Mestaruusliiga (men)Akaa-Volley (2025)
Lentopallon Mestaruusliiga (women)Puijo Wolley (2025)

References

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

  1. ^ "Jääkiekko - SM-liiga" (in Finnish). yle. 2019. Retrieved 2019-08-19. Both the URL and the menu for the sports (urheilu) section use “SM-liiga” to link to the main page for Liiga.
  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] (in Finnish). Yle Urheilu. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
  3. ^ Bärlund, Dick (21 February 2026). "Akilleksen naiset Suomen mestarit jääpallossa" [Akilles women are Finnish Champions in bandy] (in Finnish). Uusimaa. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
  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] (in Finnish). Turun Sanomat. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  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] (in Finnish). Savon Sanomat. STT. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
  6. ^ "Miesten Suomen mestarit kautta aikojen" (in Finnish). Käsipallon SM-liiga. 2022-05-18. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  7. ^ "Pääsarjajokkueiden Maratontaulukko 1990-2023 (SM-turnaukset 2017-2021 eivät ole mukana taulukoinnissa)" (in Finnish). Suomen Kaukalopalloliitto. 2023-05-31. Retrieved 2024-04-08.
  8. ^ "Muodostelmaluistelun SM 2026 – SM Seniorit". International Skating Union. 2026-03-01. Retrieved 2026-03-18.