When the regular season finished two weeks ago, Hagfors Valsarna were in first and Kumla Indianerna were in second. But the top placed team surprised many by choosing to go against third place, Nyköping Griparna in the semifinals and leave fourth place, Team Rapid to face the Kumla side.
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#VALGRI - Griparna finish off Valsarna 41:49 (77:103)
After the first semifinal, Valsarna may have regretted their decision as they were defeated away in Nyköping by 36:54. And tonight in Hagfors that gap proved to be a bridge too far.
Griparna have been led by the league's top scorer, Kim Nilsson (pictured) and Peter Ljung and the two experienced riders did not make any mistakes tonight scoring 14+1 and 12, respectively.
Meanwhile, the home side couldn't find their groove, with British youngster, Leon Flint (3) finishing last in four of his five heats ahead of his U21 Team Championships match on Friday in Bydgoszcz. But it was also the home riders who struggled and it was not until Heat 6 when they won their first heat through Victor Palovaara (12).
It means an easy win over the two matches and Griparna will be in the final to defend the title they have held since 2019 after coronavirus cancelled the league last year.
Full scores from SVEMO.
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#INDTEA - Rapid denied fairytale result 42:48 (73:71)
Last week in Eskilstuna, the visiting Indianerna won 23:31 in a match that was cut short by a dramatic spill where the home side's Daniel Henderson flew over the air fence. His injuries included a punctured lung, fractured lumber spine and fractures to all 12 ribs on his right-hand side and he was operated on over the weekend.
Team Rapid photed themselves in "we are racing for you! Keep fighting DH!" t-shirts and brought in two Elitserien riders to the squad to prove they meant business and would cancel the eight point deficit from the home match. To their credit, both Pontus Aspgren and Philip Hellström Bängs (11+1) did as requested top scoring for the visitors. In fact, Aspgren excelled scoring a 15 point maximum.
All seemed to be going well for Rapid as they took the lead from the very first Heat. By Heat 6 the Eskilstuna side had drawn the series level as they were leading tonight's match by 8 points.
Indianerna should be grateful for Grudziadz rider, Norbert Krakowiak who finished the evening as their top scorer with 12+1. But it took until they were behind for his Swedish born teammates to step up and start to fight for their final place. By the end of the evening #1-#4 had all won a heat, but for Christofer Selvin, Joel Andersson and Jonathan Grahn it was not until Heat 9 they were first to meet the checkered flag.
It was a tense finish, and looking back the deciding heat was Heat 11 when Andersson came in as a tactical substitution for Kumla's youngest rider, 20 yrs old Hugo Lundahl (2) to ride with Krakowiak. The more experienced pair took a 5:1 for the home side, which turned out to be the last one of the evening.
So, even though Rapid won the tie, 42:48, it meant the aggregate score was 73:71 in the Indians favour.
Full scores from SVEMO.
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So, that sets up a Indianerna v Griparna final where the Kumla side will be able to decide if they want to start at home or away in next week's fixture due to tale place on Wednesday night.
