Fabian Akerstrom - long pips twiddler

Dimitri Ovtcharov vs. Fabian Åkerström. 2009 European Championships, team QF Germany vs. Sweden. Åkerström used to play with frictionless and now uses Donic Akkadi L2. Commentary by Michael Kreutz.

[@dalemiller2160]

Long pips modern defenders have tremdous skill, mastering 2 types of rubber, twiddling from side to side ala Ruwen Filus.

[@sormu16]

The reaction and return at 0:26 is out of this world.

[@-danR]

I have never seen such a fluid natural response to a back-edge ball before. D.O. was like hmm... interesting... ima try something with this...

[@rabbits_foot]

Lol, most of the people here angry about long pips are just angry because they either haven't used them, or they are very bad at countering them. By the way, frictionless pips were banned, too, so its even harder now. But whatever, if you want to blame your opponent's entire skill base and your flaws off the rubber he's got on his paddle, you need to take a step back and reassess your own skill and flexibility.

[@-danR]

The reason why they banned spaghetti-stringing of tennis racquets is because it made the sport (look) _ridiculous._ Same reason they banned Satoh's all-sponge bat. It made table tennis ... ridiculous. The reason they forced two-color racquets was so that garbage-bat combinations would stop making the sport look ridiculous. The Chinese themselves, who were making the most use of these technical shenanigans in the 70's were themselves disgusted by the development.

[@Spacevet]

Only reason they banned frictionless pimples = To get money. They earn alot from "the new alternative for frictionless pimples"

[@Izraphel]

how do you define "unfair"? people should learn how to play against them, not just topspin to topspin like robots and panic when they encounter anything else. imo these differences make the sport more diverse and more beautiful, i'm both sides inverted looper but if everyone just played double inverted attack it would be boring.

[@-danR]

The only way to learn to play against them is to have a substantial base of club players who play _with_ them. That can only champion stylistic circular reasoning. Tennis may have crudely cut the Gordian knot by simply banning "spaghetti" racquets, but the alternative was to simply let them flourish, and have a permanent spectacle of players, spectators, and baffled outsiders suffering gong-show strokes, hits, and misses.

[@Izraphel]

p.s. fabian is known as an incredibly hard worker, his style is to be respected as well as his title of the new swedish champion.

[@javiert89m]

Is the first time that I watch a player that put in game a ball that hit in the edge, amazing.

[@eetsmakelijk5426]

@Izraphel Playing with pips does require a high level of skill, as well as with 'regular' rubbers. If u don't place your pushes accurately, you will meet every corner of the centre court. Every push from Akastrom lands on the very end of the table and is quick, and therefore hard to handle.

[@SuperDarkHalo]

im glad to see a long pips player in world circuit....very odd...hope we can see more of him..

[@amitojha9]

Skill set is imp. 👍

[@olaniyi570]

0:27 was amazing!

[@as1r2]

Åkerström is 21 years old and playing for lyckeby in sweden Karlskrona

[@Punsher]

Youre totaly right but do you believe that Ovtcharov is playing rubbers you can simply buy and glue on your blade with VOC-Free glue??

[@ChrustAA]

Tell me which blad did fabian use when he played frictionless pimple. Now i see he use donic powerplay or powerallround. But i like to know which blad is the best to play close to the table with frictionless pimplw

[@pnachtwey]

"Also, you cant play offensive looping balls like with regular rubber" That doesn't mean one can't hit a ball fast with enough top spin for it to drop on the table. It is harder to do a requires a bigger stroke but it can be done. There is another video on youtube about looping with LPs. It is possible loop much faster and spinnier than in that video. I attack with LPs. Cpen players do it all the time.

[@VS08540]

@ChrustAA Why would you want to know this, now that frictionless pimples are banned?

[@auzcar]

Actually, he's now playing for Frickenhausen in the German Bundesliga.

[@Izraphel]

you know what's sad? the fact that dima did a HORRIBLE job adapting to his opponents rubber! he chops to akerstroms pips and then lifts the next ball as if it carries heavy backspin. dude, if you're a world class player you should know how long pips work. props to akerstrom for being unique, he's a hard worker and it's incredibly hard to play that style on that level. too bad dima is still much better and could beat him even with bad tactics.

[@ranmaboyage10]

@TheQuickest Lol? But smooth rubbers, give you more spin, as does sponge gives you power. Are you using using your bat's advantages isn't skillful?

[@Izraphel]

you use inverted looping rubbers because they give you an advantage over your opponent! everyone relies on their equipment to be as dangerous as they possible can. timo boll plays with tenergy becaue it wins him most points. if someone can't handle the spinney loops that your tenergy produces it doesn't take away from your skill, it means they should learn how to deal with it. it's legitimate to use whatever you think will win you most games, but in the end you have to know how to play.

[@SuperDarkHalo]

i just started playing with long pips, and somewhat a copycat of fabian's style..i use to play with live rubber in both sides which im really thinking on going back, im gonna try those long pips a cpl of weeks more, but let me tell you guys, working with long pips and fabian's style you actually have to be in better shape than playing live rubber...its insane how much work out gets out of you...you can depend on the long pips, they are only used wisely..and plus you have to turned around more..

[@t3tsubo]

excellent use of sarcasm and wit. too bad it flies over the head of most youtubers.

[@jsjw2]

@EetSmakelijk You know who Liu Guoliang is right?

[@Tischtenniscrack95]

@dooly3002 he twiddles it like the titel says ;) he couldn't attack as hard with pimples so he plays an offensive rubber

[@deanmartin7370]

Akerstrom deserved a win here. So close.

[@TheQuickest]

I was not trying to say that he does not have skill in how he controls his racket, I am saying it is what his racket does that wins him points and that in itself is not skilfull.

[@PongGod]

Akerstrom vs. Carl Prean would be much nerdier.

[@NetherVoiD]

I personally don't like twiddling I am also a LP player but my play is if it goes forehand then offensive but if it goes backhand its defensive... Table tennis is a fast phase game already and twiddling adds more complexity to yourself... keep it as simple as possible focus more on accuracy and return ball don't add twiddling because it will divide your attention thinking should I twiddle or not....

[@Listermintsluesh]

Disagree, turning the blade is skillfull and only lp players totally confident and learned of their rubbers can do it effectively. Admittedly it can cause your own confusion but more you practice the better. It does add a bow to your armour as you can change pace of game, and throw opposition off their game as a strategy.

[@auzcar]

Åkerström did play with frictionless in the past but after the ban of such pimples he switched to Donic Akkadi L2 which has plenty of friction. The ban also made it almost impossible to just stick your bat in front of the ball and create underspin. Actually, it's more difficult to do a good block with LP than doing a good FH loop. The only pussies here are the ones that blame their defeat on their opponents rubbers. Can't you see you're making a fool of yourself with such statements!?

[@olaniyi570]

8:46 was a crazy ball

[@Izraphel]

you never know, he is young and will improve both his attacking and pip usage. the fact that some people rely on pip rubbers doesn't mean you can't perfect that way of playing and become skillful at it.

[@trentbrown9346]

Lol. 13 years later my friend…. It didn’t happen

[@KAF128]

. . .it is just that (certainly at a lower level) there are people who "use" them to cover deficiencies on e.g. their B/H and, according to quite a few posters on here, they are often ineffective at the very top level. It could open up the whole debate as to whether a player should be allowed rubbers that differ so radically - some would say they gain an unfair advantage, but it is difficult to prove.

[@cmpf3158]

next time when there were no long pimples no more, the will argue whether it's fair to use dignic/tenergy against friendship, loki, or yinhe rubber.

[@SweLindN]

copy this symbol and replace it whit the a in akerstrom(and o) A = Å o=ö

[@braquemar]

@Izraphel Most intelligent comment on this video.

[@Izraphel]

the spin and speed of his forehand doesn't need to be like that of ma long, you have to take his style and equipment as a whole into account. any international player would be good if he could power loop like ma long, there's no question there. akerstrom is young, willing to work hard and with his style already bothering some excellent players. no, he's not the future world champion but he has the potential to be a great player (and no, he doesn't need a ma long forehand topspin to get there).

[@kuvhlubkojxwb2010]

your better ability, your better tecknics ... and you can lose to someone just because you don't play at your full potential every time .... Your opponent just play at his own level at 100% against you ... You are confused your can fear your opponent skills just under yours. the fear, the danger & you lose your control ... LP players really do have skills. They can beat players better than them. Akerstrom have a great tecknic for sure ... he is good !

[@KAF128]

. . . if you can't "handle the spinney loops", there is a legitimate stroke you can learn, called a block (!) . . . or you can just prod with pimples . . .

[@davidgonzalezsantana9052]

no teneis ni puta ide a con todos los perdones, los jugadores de tenis de mesa que levamos años en esto sabemos lo dificil y lo bonito que es jugar con este tipo de gomas. Todo estilo de juego en el tenis de mesa tiene su merito. y en concreto los jugadores de picos largos yo me incluyo ganamos los partidos con la derecha y no con lo spicos en el 90% de las ocasiones. A no ser que estes en un nivel muy bajo.

[@TheKarub1]

hahaha ovtcharov was so pissed in this game XD

[@ILLuSioNKiLLeR1985]

and he needs to know when to move around

[@druidzown]

Does anyone else see him switching the sides of his racket ? oO

[@filmfelix]

@GUSTAVOPINGPONG of course hermoine too;)

[@gimplar]

Gollum likes to twiddle.

[@kuvhlubkojxwb2010]

when i played with tenergy 05 both side... i always lose to a player with good service ( coppa X1 turbo platin ) I do many errors receiving his services or too high returns. He killed me with his forehand & backhand third ball attack. I focused only on returning his services & often lose control . Not easy to beat this guy. I hate him and his serves. THEN, i decided to play with a LP rubber OX on my backhand and take him 4/6 sets for the first time . LP backhand player forever

[@antonyang7273]

same story as me. I have 2 setups now, the one with LP only for againts a player with a difficult server... hahaha

[@sirplatypuss6616]

kind of a same story, i learned how to play LP 2years ago by just buying a bat with 1 side short pips en 1 side long, i did my research, switched racket, learned chopping etc en this season i started playing matches en only lost once until now (i play long pips en 1 normal rubber)

[@GUSTAVOPINGPONG]

no one told me harry potter played table tennis

[@St4rF1re]

hahah the whoooo at 8:20

[@eetsmakelijk5426]

@jsjw2 Okay, that makes a little bit more sense to me haha. Didnt know that tho.

[@andryy147]

09:10 this is no frictionless rubber !!!!!

[@auzcar]

Like I just said. You CAN'T just put the racket in front of the ball anymore! Todays LP's have too much friction to do that. It takes a lot more skill to do a good chop-block than to do a ordinary block with backside rubbers! And don't think for a second that he doesn't know what spin there is on the ball. Even a half decent player could tell what spin there is.

[@Re1Mu2R3]

Frictionless doesn't exist in the real world...

[@yosuatanto]

lol Dima looks pissed off XD

[@Moritofreak727]

@Assassine8 Das sagen nur die Leute die gegen Noppen nich spielen können ;)

[@saifulsata8455]

better long pips love uuuu

[@TheAstaron]

Akerstroems Rubber is so much tuned. It is frictionless as the arse of a baby. Is is the same old technique as with frictionless rubbers. Akerstroem could block every shot with his tuned rubber because its speed is very low...best pimple player ever...i have much learned from his techniques.

[@ChrustAA]

i just want to know . just give an ansfer not to ask stupid empty question.

[@tabletennisperson]

in england :)

[@TheQuickest]

I'm not surprised that Dima had problems with it, nobody at the top level in the world plays this style, all long pip players are choppers usually. And they certainly don't train to play his style. Akerstrom will never be a top world player, by the fact that he relies on his rubber to cause other people problems, and as soon as the players have figured out how to react, his WR will tumble. The only other good player I can think of that plays this way is the german girl, Amelie Solja.

[@TheQuickest]

I hope your first remark was sarcasm, cause that may be the dumbest thing I have ever read on a TT video on here. And, when most players play the "loop, loop, loop" style, you must use your head to win, because the other player could be just as good at it as you are.

[@TableTennisAle]

it's just stressing, i hate pimples, but my god... change rubber sides? i think that in table tennis (and all the sports) the idea is to win your opponent 'cause you have a better hability, the idea isn't win the point confusing him, that's what i think.

[@tabletennisperson]

nop reverse both sides :)

[@feideepking]

HAHA

[@TheQuickest]

Im so glad Dima beat this annoying hacker. It's so sad that Ovtcharov has to worry about playing against the opponents racket and not their skill...

[@doodster21]

always good to see people who uses pimple get trashed

[@KillerFace3000]

let's see what the Chinese would do to this type of style. lmfao

[@Izraphel]

no offence but ovtcharov has not much talent, he is just at this level because his rubbers are so fast and spinney. :D loop loop loop, nobody uses their head and in my opinion its completely anti-tabletennis. ^^ honestly dude, once you understand how long pips work and learn how to play against them, you realize how HARD it is to use them against someone who knows what he's doing.

[@Greselschueler]

Ovtcharov wirkt ein wenig angepisst von den bekloppten Noppen... :D

[@cosmeticcarrepair]

I enjoy watching pimple players lose. From a spectator point of view; who wants to see a player missing the table all the time? Well done Ovtcharov for winning what must have been a very frustrating game.

[@ILLuSioNKiLLeR1985]

+Stephen Garrett it seems that you are not able to play against pimple players haha, your bad ;)

[@cosmeticcarrepair]

ILLuSioNKiLLeR1985 Yes I can. Don't make assumptions and show some respect!

[@ILLuSioNKiLLeR1985]

+Stephen Garrett lol respect? I think you don't even know what this mean ;)

[@cosmeticcarrepair]

+ILLuSioNKiLLeR1985 this may shock you, bit I don't actually care what you think 😃

[@ILLuSioNKiLLeR1985]

if this would be the truth, you wouldn't answer to my post ;)

[@TheQuickest]

Why don't you stay out of this, no one asked for you opinion, and your use of language shows a small minded person. Anyways, Izraphel, do you really feel that he uses pips because he just felt like it? Most players that I know that use pips like he does, use them because it gives them an advantage in messing up the opponent. Messing up your opponent and winning points because of the rubber you use, has nothing to do with skillful playing.

[@Galimah]

and this is the the ugly side of table tennis

[@kovrcek]

I hate pimples, they should be banned, it is incredibly frustrating to remember which side of the bat your opponent played. Takes no skill to win with it (maybe some in higher competition, but in lower none at all). The thing is someone who plays with pimples plays with normal players all the time so can master that strategy, but not the other way around. You meet pimples player like 1 in hundred players or so (maybe fifty), who cares u get my point. So to play with pimples is just to be cheesy player, that's all. TT should be about reflexes, speed, strength, skill and tactics and NOT about using your head to remember which side your opponent played and what stroke you played. That defies the purpose of fair competition.

[@mingez]

TT should be about "Tactics". Isn't "using your head" a key characteristic of tactics? You can't even win an argument with yourself right now.

[@kovrcek]

u know what i mean - real sport should not be about thinking..thinking is for a job or chess..btw i'm not arguing, it is just my opinion..so if u disagree state why and not try to shoot me down, that is low man ;)

[@TheClassVid]

May I suggest beer pong for you instead?

[@kovrcek]

TheClassVid I have a feeling that both of you are playing them as normal people hate them :)

[@TheClassVid]

Martin Kováč I have rackets with pips, and I have rackets with inverted only. I also have notes on each player I play. I watch their strengths and weaknesses. I plan on how to play each one of them. Using pips doesn't mean I can stop thinking and force only others to think. I find thinking to be important whichever path you choose on your rubbers. If that's not normal, I'd rather be abnormal. TT is about reflexes, speed, strength, skills and tactics. Guess what? Thinking is part of tactics.

[@eetsmakelijk5426]

@EetSmakelijk Besides, imagine how hard it is to play a decent ball right after flipping your bat. Also, you cant play offensive looping balls like with regular rubber, so theres no real attack possible with that side of te bat. That means footwork and/or flipping the bat are required, which means you have to b able to master both rubbers on backhand AND forehand... Not as easy as it might look =)

[@mr.magicco3089]

Der Kommentator redet auch nur Mist

[@auzcar]

You obviously don't know what you're talking about. It's not easier to use pimples than normal rubbers, trust me, I've tried both. And if you suggest that he's winning because of the rubber, then it's Ovtcharov that got no talent.

[@elpidioborja]

Long pimples rubber is not easier to use. It needs some practice and focus on every shot. Sandwich rubber is much easier to use and easier to master. Believe me, I'm using sandwich rubber, short pimples, long pimples on my backhand and also tried out anti-spin rubber few years ago. So, I knew the differences and similarity of those rubbers. Long pimpled players are skilled and artistic players.

[@TableTennisAle]

well it's ok, but who do you think is a better player? someone who trains his hability or someone who just "pass" the ball and force to his opponent to the mistake.

[@Izraphel]

ofc it was sarcasm, i was replying to kaikaz who seems to think looping is the only way to play "real" table tennis and anything outside the box is "anti-tabletennis".

[@olaniyi570]

I dont consider Aker a traditional chopper like Matsushita. I think Aker relies more on his offense and confusing his opponent with twiddeling. Interesting player though especially since he swedish. I think the Brits have traditionally had more players like this, he's like a carl prean who chops.

[@jsjw2]

@EetSmakelijk Errr, the last part of the sentence is somehow gone, I meant to say he did a lot of twiddling in a period of his career, still didn't manage to figure out how he manage to do that during games, and using a penhold, and old version 100 something grams rock hard clipper wood

[@Izraphel]

"or you can just prod with pimples"... i see you have no idea how hard it is to use pimples successfully on a high level. you sir, have disqualified yourself from this conversation.

[@vproducer062]

It's rare to see top players using long pips to confuse opponents because high level players don't usually get confused. But it seems to work in this game. Dimitri seems hesitant to attack his long pips block.

[@specialtyc.s.2725]

ive learned that the only way to imitate this kinda of game with the new plastic ball is to use giant dragon 612. the plastic ball is to heavy and needs more sponge.

[@bigeye1]

Ich finds gut, erst probleme mit einem "Krumspieler" haben und dann bei 10 : 6, vier Matchbälle zu vergeben. Zeigt dass die Profis halt auch nur Menschen sind wie wir Amateurspieler. :)

[@PersecutedCitizen]

"The human head weighs 8 pounds." - Fabian Akerstrom a.k.a. the kid from Jerry Macquire all grown up.

[@nikolayzheltov4990]

Интересно у Акерстрема long pips OX или нет.Реверс очень приличный.Жаль Akkadi L2 уже нет но есть Grass D TecS

[@tabletennisperson]

if fabian played against mattenet it would be battle of the nerds =D

[@SuperDarkHalo]

can someone tell me which long pips is he using..i really enjoy his play...

[@Reggeamof]

I played with him 10 minutes :) He plays better than you might think!

[@Katsumoto94]

das spiel wirkt irgendwie... nicht profimäßig ;) lieft wahrscheinlich an den noppen...

[@tabletennisperson]

akerstrom vs mattenet would be the ultimate nerdfest :P

[@quinceythao]

red guys serve almost dosent look official

[@alilacherruse]

point starts @ 2:17 Dima just pwned you!!!

[@tabletennisperson]

without a doubt they'd both destroy me LOL

[@magexpr0]

Wow he uses the long pimple really well

[@drrichardwiesenhuber]

yeah with his "magic" pimples. lol

[@knotwilg3596]

At every level it may be different but I think that what happens at my level transfers to others: most pimple players don't really know what they're doing, they're just letting their blades take care of the spin you put into the shots. Then they twiddle to increase the difficulty. It's not really them who play, it's their bat. And we have to figure out how to deal with it. Once we've done that, there is nothing left for them to do back: the human brain learns, rubbers don't.

[@MrFrenchy80]

pause at 8:00 , Who is he calling??

[@1lidanStormrage]

Sweden ftw :)

[@SuperDarkHalo]

@kuvhlubkojxwb2010 did u ever beat him?..

[@eetsmakelijk5426]

@jsjw2 Yes, why? =S

[@leexster]

w.o.w toughplay!

[@pbps2005]

05:00 ovtcharov backhand serve?

[@PhilippMehr]

Its 14 years since your comment and you might not remeber the game, but maybe you appreciate an answer anyway :-) I got upset about the commentator, because he called the serve a noob shot and just doesnt know about long pips. The long pips reverse the spin of your opponent. The more spin you give them, the harder the next ball is going to be for you. But if you give nearly nothing, like just a bit of downspin, the return will have a much easyer predictable curve and trajectory with just a bit of topspin. Pips are Aikido, they best you wirh your own force :-) Greetings fron germany