The 2026 Evald Tipner Estonian Cup winner will be crowned on Saturday evening at Pärnu Rannastaadion, where either FC Flora Tallinn will lift the trophy for the ninth time in club history or Paide Linnameeskond will celebrate only their second triumph. Kick-off is scheduled for 19:00 local time.
The 2025/26 Estonian Cup campaign began last June, although both finalists only entered the competition during the Round of 32 stage in August.
Flora, coached by Konstantin Vassiljev, began their route to the final by destroying Tartu Team Helm 14-0. They then eliminated their biggest domestic rivals FCI Levadia with a 3-1 extra-time victory before overcoming Nõmme United 3-1 in the quarter-finals and defeating JK Narva Trans 1-0 in the semi-finals earlier this month.
Paide’s path to the final has come during a turbulent season for the club, which changed head coach at the end of April as Tarmo Kink replaced Vladimir Vassiljev. Paide started their cup run with a difficult 2-1 victory over fellow Premium Liiga side FC Kuressaare, followed by a 3-0 win against Tartu JK Tammeka. In the quarter-finals they comfortably beat JK Tallinna Kalev 6-0, while in the semi-finals they denied Pärnu JK Vaprus a first-ever cup final appearance with a 2-0 victory.
Saturday’s final will not decide the distribution of Estonia’s European qualification spots, as Paide already secured the country’s final European place for this summer by defeating Vaprus in the semi-final.
For Paide, this will be the fourth Estonian Cup final in club history. Their only triumph came during the 2021/22 season, when a Siim Luts extra-time winner secured a victory over Nõmme Kalju FC and delivered the club’s first Estonian major trophy. The club also lost finals in the 2014/15 season against Kalju and two years ago against Levadia in a 2-4 defeat.
Flora, meanwhile, have the chance to end a six-year drought in the Estonian Cup. Their last triumph came during the 2019/20 season after a 2-1 victory over Narva Trans with now the Flora manager Vassiljev scoring in that match. Since then this will already be Flora’s third cup final appearance, as they attempt to close the gap on Levadia, who remain Estonia’s most successful cup club with 11 titles.
Vassiljev himself lifted the Estonian Cup four times as a player and now has the opportunity to add the trophy to his growing coaching resume after already winning the Estonian league title in his first season as head coach last year.
Flora enter the final as favourites, arriving on a six-match unbeaten run, while Paide come into the game after suffering back-to-back defeats. The two sides last met in official competition exactly one month ago, when Paide squandered a one-goal lead at home and fell to a 2-1 defeat. Henri Anier scored for Paide, while Rauno Sappinen and Taaniel Usta found the net for Flora.
