Pongfinity

Pongfinity is a Finnish sports and comedy group focused around table tennis composed of Emil Rantatulkkila, Otto Tennilä, and Miikka O'Connor.[3] Their YouTube channel, which mainly displays trick shots related to the sport, is the 7th most-subscribed channel in Finland and the most-subscribed channel about table tennis.[3][4] Both Otto and Miikka are semi-professional players, earning medals in Finnish, Swedish, and Estonian championships.[3][5]

Pongfinity
IndustryEntertainment
Genre
  • Sports
  • entertainment
  • comedy
  • trick shots
PredecessorEditingSports
FoundedDecember 6, 2012 (first channel created)
November 13, 2015 (current channel created)
FoundersEmil Rantatulkkila
Otto Tennilä
Miikka O'Connor
HeadquartersHelsinki, Finland[1]
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2016 - present
Subscribers4.4 million[2]
Total views984 million[2]
Associated acts
100,000 subscribers2018
1,000,000 subscribers2019
Last updated: March 10, 2024
Websitewww.pongfinity.fi

History

Before forming Pongfinity, Emil, Otto, and Miikka all competed in international table tennis competitions. All three became friends when they were on the Finnish junior national team,[1] but Emil did not end up chasing a professional career. Miikka and Emil had previously met when they played in the same club as juniors.[6] However, Otto and Miikka did and represented Finland during the European and World Table Tennis Championships several times. They did not win any medals during these tournaments.[3]

The group uploaded their first video on December 16, 2012, on a channel called EditingSports. Emil had been interested in editing videos and wanted to try it out, so he and Miikka filmed a training session where they had fun doing random trick shots to edit. After it was uploaded, it became apparent that the videos gained more attention from the trick shots than the editing, so they made the channel more focused on those. Otto first appeared in the following video. Pongfinity's first viral video was one where they extinguished a candle with a ball.[6]

Medal tables

Data adapted from Table Tennis Media. Emil does not have data on this site.[7][8]

Otto Tennilä
Medal record
Table tennis
National Championships
2008 TampereMixed Doubles
2013 TampereSingles
2013 TampereDoubles
2014 SeinäjokiSingles
2014 SeinäjokiDoubles
2016 HelsinkiDoubles
2017 KuopioDoubles
2018 HelsinkiDoubles
2019 TampereDoubles
2020 TampereDoubles
2021 TampereSingles
2021 TampereDoubles
2021 TampereMixed Doubles
2022 HelsinkiSingles
2022 HelsinkiMixed Doubles
2023 HelsinkiMixed Doubles
2023 HelsinkiDoubles
2023 HelsinkiSingles
Club Championships
2007 Finland 1stPT 75
2010 Finland 1stPT 75
2011 Finland 1stPT 75
2012 Finland 1stPT 75
2013 Finland 1stPT 75
2015 Finland 1stPT 75
2016 Finland 1stPT 75
2017 Finland 1stPT 75
2018 Finland 1stPT 75
2019 Finland 1stPT 75
2022 Finland 1stPT 75
Miikka O'Connor
Medal record
Table tennis
National Championships
2014 SeinäjokiMixed Doubles
2015 HelsinkiDoubles
2016 HelsinkiDoubles
2017 KuopioDoubles
2018 HelsinkiDoubles
2018 HelsinkiMixed Doubles
2019 TampereSingles
2019 TampereDoubles
2019 TampereMixed Doubles
2020 HelsinkiSingles
2020 HelsinkiDoubles
2020 HelsinkiMixed Doubles
2021 TampereDoubles
2022 HelsinkiDoubles
Club Championships
2014 Norway 2ndFornebu BTK
2015 Finland 1stWega
2017 Finland 1stPT 75
2017 Sweden 3rdNorrtulls SK
2018 Finland 1stPT 75
2018 Sweden 3rdNorrtulls SK
2019 Finland 1stPT 75
2021 Estonia 1stMaardu LTK
2022 Finland 1stPT 75

Content and brand

Pongfinity has been frequently compared to the American sports comedy group Dude Perfect.[9][10] A major series on the channel is "Challenge Pongfinity," where viewers can comment challenges that the group will have to complete. The group has also collaborated with YouTubers such as Adam Bobrow and Zach King, and fellow table tennis players Benedek Oláh, Michael Maze, and Liu Guoliang. Pongfinity has also worked with athletes from other sports, in which they usually compete against table tennis by trying trick shots with variations based on the sport, or dedicating a video to that sport entirely. The group has done videos with Lassi Hurskainen, Kalle Koljonen, and Otto Virtanen.[2] Other series include individual matches with the members against each other and "Stereotypes", in which the group displays exaggerated personalities and playing styles that people can have when playing table tennis in short skits.[6]

In 2019, Pongfinity released a table tennis mobile game on iOS and Android through Linnama Entertainment. The game is endless and has random situations occurring at times in chosen locations.[11] Pongfinity also operates an online store selling table tennis equipment.[1]

References

  1. "Pongfinity Store". Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  2. "About Pongfinity". YouTube.
  3. "Pongfinity – How Good Are They Outside Of Doing Trick Shots?". Table Tennis Media. 2021-12-23. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  4. "Top 100 YouTubers in Finland sorted by subscribers". SocialBlade. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
  5. Moore, Jack (2016-07-30). "This Screwy Table Tennis Shot Might Make You Believe in Magic". GQ. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  6. Rantatulkkila, Emil; Tennilä, Otto; Miikka, O'Connor (2019-12-04). "How Pongfinity Reached 1 Million Subscribers". YouTube. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  7. "Otto Tennilä". Table Tennis Media. 2021-12-10. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  8. "Miikka O'Connor". Table Tennis Media. 2021-12-08. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  9. Schlosser, Kurt (2016-10-06). "Just watch these amazing ping-pong trick shots before you play another game in your tech office". GeekWire. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
  10. Hall, Jackson (2019-11-07). "Pongfinity: A Reminder Of What Creativity Can Be". The Cardinal & Cream. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
  11. "Top 10 Free Table Tennis Ping Pong Games for Android". United News of Bangladesh. 2022-02-16. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
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