Site Products

Ovtcharov and Gazprom’s Championship Pipeline

(by Steve Hopkins)

With the German League still 2 weeks away from starting their final (between Dusseldorf and Saarbrucken), the only European league action is in Russia where Dimitrij Ovtcharov’s Fakel Gazprom team continues to dominate the competition.

In their Russian Premier League match yesterday, Fakel Gazprom topped UMMC 3-1.  Both teams are solid by any standard, with Fakel’s roster yesterday with Ovtcharov (World No. 9), Freitas (No. 25), and Shibaev (No. 83) and UMMC’s roster fielding Pitchford (No. 15), Tiutriumov, and Pucar (No. 33).  In fact, these two teams account for the last 5 Russian League Championships.  *Interestingly, the one win by UMMC yesterday was by the 23 year old Russian Aleksandar Tiutriumov who, like several other young players we have featured recently, has not had the chance over the last year to rise in the World Rankings as so few events have been available.

Ovtcharov continues to work hard to contend for an Olympic medal, and dominating World No. 15 Pitchford 3-0 bodes well for his chances.  The Fakel Gazprom team is the defending Russian league champions – and were a finalist in the European championships event as well (losing in a close match to a loaded Dusseldorf team).

The sponsor of Ovtcharov’s team has been in the news in the US recently as well.  The US State Department cited a Gazprom affiliate and chief executive, but waived sanctions allowing the Swiss-registered Gazprom affiliate to move forward with the Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia to Germany.  Gazprom is also involved with Burisma in ventures moving natural gas through Ukraine – so they were indirectly involved in US political news all through the 2020 campaigns.  The 764 mile Nord Stream 2 pipeline will double the potential exportation output of natural gas from the Gazprom facility in Russia to European markets – and, perhaps, provide Gazprom with the resources to land a few more great players for their Fakel Gazprom table tennis team.

For all those math nerds out there – Nord Stream 2 at maximum capacity should be able to ship 1.9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas per year.  A ping pong ball has a volume of about 4 cubic inches.  There are 12 vertical layers of cubic inches in a cubic foot.  If my math is correct (no more than 50/50 odds its correct), we’re looking at a total volume equivalent to 12,049,695 ping pong balls per day.  That means it could ship the total number of balls manufactured each year (200 million) about every 16 days.

Visit ButterflyOnline.com for the latest table tennis news and results.

Latest News

 Focus on the Left Stomach Muscle

October 9, 2025
(by Bowmar Sports) Serve, Short game and attack with Wait function: Jhon serves short backspin, robot plays short… Read More

Angel Naranjo – Power Backhand & Forehand Counterlooping

October 9, 2025
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Butterfly Training Tips, Angel Naranjo is executing Forehand and Backhand Power Counterloops https://youtu.be/cBRCXi7VuLU… Read More

 Focus on the Left Stomach Muscle

October 8, 2025
(by Bowmar Sports) Serve, Short game and attack with Wait function: Jhon serves short backspin, robot plays short… Read More

Hong Lin – Reversed Penhold Backhand Flip

October 8, 2025
(by: Bowmar Sports) In the Butterfly Training Tips, Hong Lin is executing the Reversed Penhold Backhand Flip from… Read More

Kou Lei – FH & BH Attacks Speedplay

October 7, 2025
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Butterfly Training Tips, Kou Lei is working with a young player on Forehand… Read More

Tip of the Week – Nullify Opponent’s Biggest Threat

October 6, 2025
By Larry Hodges, Member of US Table Tennis Hall of Fame, www.tabletenniscoaching.com/blog What does your opponent do that… Read More

Taiwo Adeyinka – Atlanta Open

October 6, 2025
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Butterfly Training Tips,  Taiwo Adeyinka is in action at the Atlanta Open https://youtu.be/GnVWdEKsAcw… Read More

MLTT Week 3 Recap: Portland Paddlers Shine at Home

October 5, 2025
(By Steve Hopkins, photo MLTT) Major League Table Tennis brought its high-octane  format to the Pacific Northwest this… Read More
View All News

Get the latest from Butterfly

Stay “In The Loop” with Butterfly professional table tennis equipment, table tennis news, table tennis technology, tournament results, and We Are Butterfly players, coaches, clubs and more.