May 17 Moscow Liga Pro

Not only has Evgeniy Ilyukhin won his last eight Moscow Liga Pro matches against Vladimir Nemashkalo, he's swept four of their last five meetings.

• Another full slate of some 90 Russian table tennis matches are on tap Sunday in the Moscow Liga Pro
• Which of these numerous matchups look to be the locks of the day from the later afternoon and evening meetings?
• All of the analysis, odds, picks and predictions are covered in the story that follows

Russian table tennis is about to get the summer camp girlfriend test.

As more traditional sports begin to open up from their COVID-19 induced slumber, will bettors keep in touch with the Moscow Liga Pro? Or will they opt to cast Russian table tennis adrift and embrace the opportunity to return to sports betting life as they knew it?

Based on the numbers alone, it would seem like the former outcome owns a real chance of coming to fruition.

The leaading online sportsbooks continue to handle daily wagers on Russian table tennis that count into the six figures. A bettor in Nevada this week made a $24,741.40 score on a $100 wager on a 10-player parlay.

With that in mind, here’s a breakdown of the odds on some of Sunday’s top afternoon and evening session matches.

Moscow Liga Pro Table Tennis Odds

Odds taken May 17th.

Moscow Liga Pro matches are best-of-five affairs. Each game is won when a player collects 11 points, although as with tennis, a table tennis game must be won by a minimum of two points. The serve alternates between the two competitors after every second point scored.

Ilyukhin’s Russian Table Tennis Run

To Evgeny Ilyukhin, Vladimir Nemashkalo is like a drum, or a rented mule. No matter the metaphor that’s used, the fact of the matter is that Ilyukhin just keeps on beating Nemashkalo.

Again. And again. And again.

Here’s how their last 10 matches have played out: Ilyukhin is 10-0. He’s won four of the last five meetings via 3-0 sweeps.

Nothing like the adrenaline rush of gambling on Russian table tennis

— Alek Freedman (@afreedman1571) May 14, 2020

Throughout this eight-match run of success, Nemashkalo has never been able to take more than one game in a match when facing Ilyukhin. Ilyukhin has won 14 of their last 15 games, and he’s 24-3 in their last 27 games against each other and 30-5 over their past 35 meetings.

Overall, Ilyukhin is 6-0 in his last six matches. Nemashkalo is skidding downward on a nine-match losing stretch.

Pick: Evgeniy Ilyukhin (-350).

Petrov Says Sayonara To Sayanov

Aleksandr Petrov generally takes out Denis Sayanov and usually, doesn’t take much time to do so. Riding a nine-match winning streak over Sayanov, Petrov owns four 3-0 sweeps.

Occasionally, Sayanov can push Petrov to the limit – they’ve played a pair of 3-2 matches during Petrov’s run of success – but Petrov holds a 13-3 advantage through their last 16 games.

I thought I was doing a good job handling finals while in quarantine until I remembered how I placed a bet, with actual money, on Russian table tennis for entertainment.

I won in case anyone was wondering.

— Tom Rowland (@realTomRowland) May 13, 2020

Overall, Petrov has lost two straight matches, both to Alexander Skrebnev. But he’s 7-2 in his last nine appearances at the table.

Sayanov is 2-1 in his last three matches but just 2-4 over his last six. Six of his last seven matches have gone the distance to 3-2 decisions.

Pick: Alexander Petrov (-200). 

Taking A Merzlikin

Dmitry Merzlikin has won three matches in a row from Vladimir Petrov. The last two were both via 3-0 straight-set sweeps.

Merzlikin is also 5-2 in their last seven meetings and 7-3 over their last 10 clashes. Meanwhile, six of Petrov’s last seven verdicts over Merzlikns required marathon 3-2 decisions.

Russian table tennis time #gambling pic.twitter.com/frTADVcTSc

— The Duke (@theduke171009) May 11, 2020

Merzlikin is 9-1 overall through his last 10 matches. That stretch of success includes six 3-0 straight-set triumphs. Five of those 3-0 sweeps came in succession over May 15-16.

Petrov is 3-8 over his last 11 matches. That slide includes a trio of losses at the hands of Merzlikin.

Pick: Dmitry Merzlikin (-175). 

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