Contested by the 12 teams during the preseason of the upcoming Veikkausliiga, the Liiga Cup often throws up unexpected results as many teams are at different stages of their preparations, while many of the matches are played indoors, away from the harsh Finnish winter.
Gearing up for the new campaign nicely are Lahti, champions of the Ykkosliiga last season, who had four new signings on the scoresheet as they thrashed fellow newly-promoted side TPS Turku 5-1, which followed a 2-0 win over giants HJK in their opening, as both sides were reduced to 10 men.
That loss, coupled with a 1-0 defeat to Mariehamn in their first game had extended HJK's winless run in all competitions to 11 games, but the Helsinki side finally earned a first victory since the Suomen Cup final in mid-September by winning 3-1 at Inter Turku, as Teemu Pukki converted a penalty.
Winners in 2025 and 2024, Inter Turku are second in Group A after that defeat ended their run of two wins, after they beat Gnistan 3-0 and Mariehamn 1-0. A 2-2 draw with Gnistan this weekend took Mariehamn third, while that point puts Gnistan ahead of TPS, who have played just once so far.
In Group B, AC Oulu cruised past SJK 3-0 on Saturday despite being reduced to 10 men when still a two-goal game. It's a second win by three goals for Oulu, after new man Elias Kallio scored twice on debut in their 4-1 away win over VPS.
Ilves' 4-2 win this weekend over Jaro is enough for them to sit second, ahead of KuPS on goals scored following the league champions' 3-1 beating of VPS, who are bottom of the pile. Those are Ilves and KuPS' only outings so far, while Jaro slip to fourth after failing to build on their 2-1 win at SJK.
The top two teams in each group will advance to the semi-finals, due to be held in March.