SIGNING OFF A MEMORABLE 2011

The International Federation of Poker was founded in 2009, rapidly increased its membership and obtained observer status with the International Mind Sports Association in 2010, and now is on course to reach new landmarks as 2011 comes to a close.

The past 12 months have been the best yet for the IFP, culminating in November with the first IFP World Championships in London. That started with the Nations Cup, a unique duplicate poker content which was won in emphatic style by Team Germany led by Stephan Kalhamer.It was an event also notable for the participation of Team Zynga, a group of amateurs that would go on to finish in fourth place, defeating numerous professional players along the way. Zynga’s performance was also noteworthy for the ground-breaking announcement that Zynga would be the first digital federation of the IFP, a first for Mind Sports and indeed for sport everywhere.

Following Zynga and the Nations Cup was The Table, the first world championship ever held, which took place at County Hall on the banks of the river Thames. It was in the famous Rotunda of County Hall that Spanish pro Raul Mestre defeated Victoria Coren in a thrilling heads-up clash to become the first official world champion.

That was 2011. Now it’s time to look forward to 2012, which we’ll be doing in the coming weeks. For now we’d like to wish all our supporters a very happy new year.