Superpesis

The Superpesis is the highest level of the Finnish pesäpallo league system. Contested by 13 clubs in men's league and 12 clubs in women's league, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Ykköspesis. Seasons usually run from May to August, with each men's team plays around 30 matches and women's team 24 matches in the regular and continuation series: two against each other, one at home and one away. After the regular season, a continuation series will be played to determine the 8 teams that make the play-offs and the teams that qualify for the knockout stage and the teams that are relegated. Games are played on weekday evenings and weekend afternoons.

The competition was founded on 1989, following the Finnish Championship (the top-tier league from 1955 to 1989). The Superpesis takes advantage of a €100 000 television rights deal with Nelonen Media and Yle securing the broadcasting rights to all Superpesis games. The Superpesis is run by a limited company owned by the Finnish Pesäpallo Association, with Olli Aro as a chief executive.

The men's Superpesis is third-watched and the women's league is the most-watched sports league in Finland. In 2021, Superpesis matches were streamed more than a million times. For the 2023 season, the average of men's Superpesis match attendance was 1,381 and women's average match attendance was 661. Most popular in semi-urban and rural municipalities, along with some notability in larger cities like Tampere and Oulu, the pesäpallo matches gain a significant number of attendances compared to the population in the area.

Thirty-one clubs have competed in the men's Superpesis and forty-three clubs in the women's Superpesis since its inception in 1990. Nine of them have won the men's title and eleven of them the women's title. The winners in men's league are: Sotkamon Jymy (19), Vimpelin Veto (4), Kiteen Pallo -90 (3), Joensuun Maila (2), Oulun Lippo (2), Imatran Pallo-Veikot (1), Hyvinkään Tahko (1), Pattijoen Urheilijat (1) and Manse PP (1). Sotkamon Jymy have won the most titles, with nineteen, and the most successive titles, with five. Only three clubs have played in every season to date: Hyvinkään Tahko, Kiteen Pallo -90 and Sotkamon Jymy.

The winners in women's league are: Kirittäret (12), Lapuan Virkiä (9), Pesäkarhut (3), Jyväskylän Kiri (2), Oulun Lippo (2), Ikaalisten Tarmo (1), Manse PP (1), Pattijoen Urheilijat (1), Siilinjärven Pesis (1), Vihdin Pallo (1) and Viinijärven Urheilijat (1). Kirittäret have won the most titles, with twelve, and the most successive titles, with six. Only one club, Lapuan Virkiä, have played in every season to date.



Origins
In the 1980s, as Finnish society changed, the role of pesäpallo had to be re-examined. The sport had long drawn its strength from the countryside and village game culture, but with urbanisation, the rural population was dwindling and pesäpallo needed a new direction.

In the 1980s, the Finnish Pesäpallo Association launched the "Pesäpallo is the most Finnish Game" (Pesis on peleistä suomalaisin, POPS) project, which aimed to communicate the new future of pesäpallo to clubs, local politicians and the media. The project gave pesäpallo a social profile and practical marketing and visibility measures, as well as efforts to turn pesäpallo into a television product. Superpesis Oy was set up as the marketing organisation for the men's and women's main league clubs. At the same time, work began on improving conditions, including the development of match venues, the introduction of sand artificial turf fields and the construction of pesäpallo stadiums.

The marketing of pesäpallo was aimed at strengthening the sport's identity by emphasising its local character and roots. The aim was to bring baseball to the big cities, with the names of localities appearing in the league table instead of clubs. Pesäpallo clubs largely represented municipalities and entire provinces.

In the development of the game, the number of matches was increased, and new elements were introduced: additional batters (1985), play-offs (1987) and tie-breaks (1990). Pesäpallo evolved into a top sport, and the quantity and quality of training reached a high level. The game became more tactical and began to make use of statistics and data.

The boom in pesäpallo (1990s)
The first Superpesis season was played in 1990. With the new Superpesis, pesäpallo also gained a new dominant team when Sotkamon Jymy won the Finnish championship for the first time since 1963. Sotkamon Jymy was regularly ranked in the top three or higher for eight years and won six championships during the decade.

In 1994, pesäpallo moved to a period system, which revolutionised the scoring system in Superpesis. In the same season, Oulun Lippo became champion, the second most successful team in the 1990s. Lippo won two SM golds, one silver and one bronze. Kiteen Pallo -90 won its first championship in 1999. In 1996, a scoring contest was added to the game.

In the 1990s, pesäpallo became a nationwide phenomenon, with Superpesis becoming the most popular summer ball game in terms of viewership. Average attendance figures were high in both large and small towns, with peak attendance figures reaching between 6,000 and 7,000 spectators. The Superpesis matches were broadcast on MTV3, and the regular season matches were watched by more than 300 000 viewers at best. Real-time statistics of matches and the transmission of situations via teletext were major advances in the field of communication.

New pesäpallo stadiums were built in Sotkamo, Vimpeli, Seinäjoki, Oulu and many smaller towns and cities. Sand fields became part of the conditions required for Superpesis. In 1997, the Kaisaniemen Tiikerit were promoted to Superpesis by a cabinet decision to promote the metropolitan project.

In the 1990s, pesäpallo moved to semi-professionalism in player salaries, with the best players becoming full professionals. In 1998, the pesäpallo community was rocked by a major match-fixing scandal known as "Black Thursday." The incident led to the loss of television coverage of Superpesis, and in the early 2000s, the value base and foundation of the sport was rebuilt. Pesäpallo returned to basics and on-field work.

Sotkamo's reign continues (2000s)
The 2000s in Superpesis was mainly dominated by Sotkamon Jymy. The team was by far the strongest team in Superpesis during the decade. Kiteen Pallo -90 won the first championship of the decade, but the following year Sotkamo took revenge on Kitee and began their four-year championship season.

Kitee made a return to the gold medal in 2005, but Jymy returned as champions again in 2006 and 2009. Throughout the decade, Sotkamo Jymy played at least in the top three. During the decade, Pattijoen Urheilijat became champions for the first time in their history in 2008 and the club won several medals during the decade.

Kouvolan Pallonlyöjät and Joensuun Maila joined the main league during the decade. In 2001, the two-run rule and the batsman's skip rule were introduced in Superpesis, which brought game changes and increased the tacticality of the game.

From the big two to the big four (2010s)
In 2010, Superpesis experienced a new boom, which was significantly demonstrated by Jere Dahlström' s shot that clinched the championship for Vimpelin Veto being voted the most heartwarming sporting moment of 2010.

In the early 2010s, the power structure between the clubs became more stable. Sotkamon Jymy won the Finnish championship five times in a row between 2011 and 2015, always defeating Vimpelin Veto in the final. Vimpeli beat Sotkamo in the finals in 2016 and 2017, while Joensuun Maila won bronze in five consecutive years from 2013 to 2017. The early 2010s have been considered a dynasty, especially between Vimpeli and Sotkamo, whose encounters are known in Finnish as "El Klassikko", after the encounter between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid.

After a long bronze medal season, Joensuun Maila became the leading pesäpallo club and won the Finnish championship in 2018 and 2019, while Kouvolan Pallonlyöjät established itself as the fourth largest club.

In terms of play, pesäpallo developed significantly in the 2010s and the level expanded. Weaker outfield players could no longer be "hidden" on the field, and in order to succeed, top players had to be present at all positions. The physicality and pace of the game accelerated markedly, and the use of bounce was reduced.

Clubs
The Superpesis clubs in the 2024 season are (with their home towns in brackets):

Relegated
Teams relegated were relegated to second-tier Ykköspesis in the year shown, and are there today unless noted otherwise.
 * Vaasan Maila (relegated 1992)
 * Muhoksen Pallo-Salamat (relegated 1994,)
 * Riihimäen Pallonlyöjät (relegated 1995)
 * Haapajärven Pesä-Kiilat (relegated 1998)
 * Juvan Pallo (relegated 1998, now Juvan Nuorisopesis)
 * Loimaan Palloilijat (relegated 2001)
 * Kinnarin Pesis (relegated 2004, now Kinnarin Pesis 2006)
 * Puijon Pesis (relegated 2009
 * Ulvilan Pesä-Veikot (relegated 2010)
 * Jyväskylän Kiri (relegated 2016)
 * Oulun Lippo (relegated 2018)
 * Kankaanpään Maila (relegated 2022)
 * Koskenkorvan Urheilijat (relegated 2023)

Withdrew from league

 * Kaisaniemen Tiikerit (went bankrupt at the end of 1998)
 * Seinäjoen Maila-Jussit (left after 2008)
 * Nurmon Jymy (left after 2012)
 * Siilinjärven pesis (left after 2021)

Relegated
Teams relegated were relegated to second-tier Ykköspesis in the year shown, and are there today unless noted otherwise.
 * Kokemäen Kova-Väki (relegated 1991)
 * Ikaalisten Tarmo (relegated 1996)
 * Vähänkyrön Viesti (relegated 1997)
 * Tyrnävän Tempaus (relegated 2009)
 * Jyväskylän Valo (relegated 2010)
 * Lappajärven Veikot (relegated 2019)
 * Mynämäen Vesa (relegated 2021)
 * Pesä Ysit (relegated 2021)
 * Siilinjärven Pesis (relegated 2021)
 * Kempeleen Kiri (relegated 2023)

Withdrew from league

 * Kajaanin Hymy (left after 2001)
 * Vimpelin Veto (left after 2002)
 * Hämeenlinnan Paukku (left after 2003)
 * Pattijoen Urheilijat (left after 2003)
 * Peräseinäjoen Toive (left after 2004)
 * Sotkamon Jymy (left after 2006)
 * Ylihärmän Pesis-Junkkarit (left after 2012)
 * PeTo-Jussit (left after 2012)
 * Turku-Pesis (left after 2013)
 * Vuokatin Veto (left after 2014)
 * Kankaanpään Maila (left after 2015)
 * Vihdin Pallo (left after 2016)
 * Viinijärven Urheilijat (left after 2016)
 * Kajaanin Pallokerho (left after 2017)
 * Oulun Lipottaret (left after 2018)

Alternate stadiums
In addition to the team's ordinary stadiums, regular season matches have also been played at Bolt Arena, Helsinki, at Hiiu Stadium in Tallinn, Estonia, and at Complejo Deportivo Municipal Elola in Fuengirola, Spain.

The selected stadiums for such events have usually been association football pitches with artificial grass. In comparison, plans to play the 2022 Superpesis finals at Helsinki Olympic Stadium as best-of-1 series were scrapped in part due to teams' opposition to playing on natural grass (though with sand drizzled on) and large portions of track and field surfacing.

Talvisuper
Talvisuper is the main winter competition in pesäpallo. Although treated as a separate competition from Superpesis, it features many of the same teams, along with a few teams from Ykköspesis. The competition runs from December through April.

In contrast to the main Superpesis, where matches are generally held at stadiums dedicated solely to pesäpallo, Talvisuper is mostly held in indoor halls with artificial grass, with the halls being designed primarily for association football and occasionally track and field.

The finals of Talvisuper are known as Halli-SM (Hall Finnish Championship).