Sensation in Nyköping: Both Top Seeds Fall in Swedish Elitserien Semifinals
- Erikas Jansonas
- May 16
- 2 min read
The 2025 Swedish Elitserien Playoffs kicked off in Nyköping, where the top men’s and women’s teams from the regular season are competing for the national titles in the classic 8-player team format, played as best-of-three matches.
The men's semifinals brought major surprises. Regular season champions Team Clan Nässjö BK lost to fourth-seeded Team Alingsås BC, while defending champions Team Pergamon were defeated by third-seeded BK Kaskad. Both matches ended with the same scoreline: 11–9 in favor of the underdogs.
In the first semifinal, Alingsås stunned Clan with a dominant start, taking the first two games 4-1 and 3-2. That gave them a commanding 160-pin advantage. Clan fought back in the third game, winning 4-1, but Alingsås stayed steady in the final game to secure the 11-9 victory. Mikael Roos led the way for Alingsås with a 872 series over four games, closely followed by James Blomgren with 858. Clan’s Robin Ilhammar posted the highest total of the match with 890, but it wasn’t enough to turn the tide.
In the second semifinal, BK Kaskad also opened strong with a 4-1 win in the first game. Pergamon responded with a 3-2 win in the second and briefly took the pin lead. After the break, Kaskad pulled ahead again with another 4-1 win, putting pressure on Pergamon to sweep the final game. Despite winning 4-1, the defending champions came up short. Kaskad advanced to the final, led by Finnish duo Luukas Väänänen (866) and Jarno Lahti (832). Pergamon’s Mattias Wetterberg was the top scorer with 909.
Kaskad and Alingsås now lead the best-of-three series 1–0. The next matches will be played tomorrow at 9:00 AM local time. If Kaskad or Alingsås win again, they will advance to the final. If not, the deciding third game will be played at 3:40 PM.
Clan and Pergamon, who faced each other in the past two Elitserien finals—with Pergamon winning both. Pergamon remains the most decorated team in Swedish bowling history with 16 national titles.
As the men’s semifinal game 1 concluded, attention turned to the women’s competition. Regular season leaders Team X-Calibur BK from Partille selected AIK BK as their semifinal opponent. AIK is returning to the playoffs for the first time since 1993. Meanwhile, defending champions Spader Dam are set to face BK Högland, who are making their tenth straight playoff appearance. Spader Dam have won the women’s title four years in a row and boast a total of 18 championship victories. The women’s semifinal game 1 are scheduled for later the same evening at 20:20 local time.
