Comet Division - Short Hockey (Russia) 2020/21

The Comet Division (Дивизион Комета) is a short hockey league in Russia, operating as a division within the broader Liga Pro structure. It is not an official tier of the Russian Hockey Federation's pyramid but is widely identified as a commercial betting league organized by or for bookmakers to provide live markets. The sport itself, originally known as "Ledovaya Zaruba," evolved from a children's training activity into an adult professional/semi-professional format characterized by smaller rinks (approx. 38x18 meters), 3 periods of 10 minutes, and fewer players (3x3 or 4x4). Liga Pro is the primary organizer of this format, with the Comet Division serving as a specific tournament bracket. The league is active at least since 2018, with the 2020 season being the most comprehensively documented period. In the 2020 season, 16 teams participated, including Stalker Moscow, Krasnye Kryliya, Ledoviy Desant, and Ershistie Tigry. The format involved a regular season with 76 matchdays and 1,113 total matches, followed by playoffs. Stalker Moscow was the top team in the 2020 regular season standings with 124 wins. The league's distinct feature is its commercial nature: it is heavily covered by betting sites (e.g., 1xBet, Fonbet) and is often criticized for potential match-fixing due to the amateur status of players and the betting focus. Unlike official federation tournaments, Liga Pro/Comet Division operates as a parallel, bookmaker-driven entity. Exact founding years and founders of Liga Pro/Comet Division remain unclear, though an LLC "United Short Hockey League" was registered in 2016. The league does not have a traditional promotion/relegation system linked to the national pyramid, as it exists outside it. No champions have been recorded for seasons post-2020 in available public databases.