Making their first-ever appearance at a Nations Cup event, the Swiss national team represented by the Swiss Poker Sport Association (SPSA) is bursting with excitement to play for their country!

The SPSA has been doing a fantastic job in the growth of poker as a mind sport and game of skill in Switzerland. Regular competition and events with an active and engaged player pool has lead to the creation of a strong skilful national team. They sealed their spot for the World Cup in their second qualification match, seeing off the Estonians in second place.

No doubt they’ll be looking to bring home a podium finish but will face tough competition from the other qualified nations and perhaps even a mini battle with their neighbours Austria and Germany who will have their sights set on the Nations Cup trophy!

Here is Switzerland’s squad for the World Championships:


 

Name: Claudia Chinello

Date of Birth: 19.05.1978

Bio: Claudia Chinello, born and raised in Zurich, is a half German half Italian Swiss multipreneur and poker player. One of her businesses is the PokerAcademy, that organises poker courses, events and Business Poker Workshops for managers. Poker is not just a game for her, it’s a smart way to train your ability to observe people and to improve your negotiation skills.


Name: Daniela Locher

Date of Birth: 27.12.1974

Bio: Daniela’s superpower is tournaments. What she likes about poker is the combination of strategy, tactics, patience and passion. Daniela works in the IT sector as an assistant and is an organisational talent. Other hobbies are geocaching, soccer (passive), skiing and aerobics.


 

Name: Benjamin Winiger

Age: 18.06.1976

Bio: Hailing from Hombrechtikon near Zurich, Benjamin’s superpowers are that he has a good poker face, is balanced and logical. Besides poker, sports (active/passive) is also a great hobby – he also likes geocaching; always new adventures out in the woods. Professionally, he works in the financial sector.


Name: Roger Gertschen

Age: 15.05.1979

Bio: Roger has over 20 years of practical online and live experience. Since one year as a pro on the road and specialising in cash games. Is a poker coach himself and also a spiritual transformation coach.


Name: Hubert Prachoinig

Age: 07.08.1976

Bio: He came into contact with poker as a child and it has never let him go. During the last big poker boom, he became intensively involved with the game for the first time, and subsequently also internalised a lot online. What he finds fascinating about poker is that the rules are child’s play, yet the game remains challenging for life.


Name: Martin Bertschi

Bio: I was born in 1968, I am unmarried, and I played my first poker tournament back in 1997 in Las Vegas. Since then I am a part-time poker pro, a blogger and a self-employed project manager. Currently, I am also a reporter for the Swiss Poker Sports Association (SPSA.ch) on a daily basis. As a poker blogger, I advocate for a fair legalization of poker and the detachment from other games of luck like roulette, so that poker can establish itself as a social game.


Name: Dominic Joel Oertle

Date of Birth: 09.07.1998

Bio: Dominic is a student in Zurich, majoring in theoretical computer science for his Master’s and also works as a private teacher. He started playing poker about 2 years ago and plays mainly cash games.


Name: Alexander Bochmann

Date of Birth: 17.03.1980

Bio: He is probably the beardiest player on the Swiss national team. He is also the chairman of the ethics committee of the Swiss Poker Sports Association (SPSA) and a floor-man in the biggest poker club in Switzerland. As a player he can call himself world champion in amateur poker.


Name: Gaspare Leone

Date of Birth: 31.03.1974

Bio: National team coordinator and representative of the Swiss Poker Sport Association. Gas Leone is a passionate poker player with a background in finance and years of experience in events. A very engaged 48 year old, he has been a member of the SPSA since the beginning. Currently the development coordinator of the Swiss MatchPoker League. With his “Monkey Brain” it is better not to have him at the poker table as an opponent.


 

The Singapore national team has been an active participant in Match Poker events since the first Asian Nations Cup in 2013 where they finished in 3rd place and have been looking to better that result ever since.

Another impressive performance at the 2019 Asian Championships saw the team make the finals but miss out on a podium finish to Australia. After a forgettable performance in the 2020 World Championships, Team SG has really shown their true character, skill and fighting spirit. Determined to represent their nation with pride, the revamped national team has a new captain in the highly skilled and experienced Match Poker athlete, Lisa Tan Meiling, who has set her sights on bringing home some silverware from Macedonia!

The squad for Team Singapore’s participation at the 2021 Nations Cup Finals:


Lisa Tan Meiling (Team Captain)

The revamped Singapore team is led by a female captain who has led the team through the qualifiers. She is consistently the top performer in the last few editions of the nations cup. Renowned for being the first woman to win the Manila Megastack Main Event, Lisa aims to encourage more females to try Match Poker!


Zefirelli Noordin (Vice Captain & Assistant Team Manager)

A semi-retired investor, Zef played a pivotal role in helping Team Singapore to qualify for the Nations Cup. He also acts as the Team liaison for Singapore Poker Federation in organising and supporting the team’s needs.

 

 

 

 


Phua Tzai Wei (Team Coach)

Full-time professional player and the former captain of team Singapore. He made history earning a coveted Pokerstars Platinum Pass when he won the Manila Megastack event in 2018 and placed 19th in the WSOP online main event in 2020. He is instrumental in devising the team strategy as the team coach.

 

 

 


Darren Wee Hee Joon (Team Coach)

Possessing great insights and understanding of the game, the “Run it once” coach is widely credited for Team Singapore’s in-game tactical adjustments.

 

 

 

 


Lin Ruizi (Team Member)

Lawyer by profession, and a strategy game enthusiast. Predominantly a cash game player, he has played a key role during the Asia qualifiers.

 

 

 

 


Keith Joel Seah Jia Qiang (Team Member)

The entrepreneur is a respected name in the local poker community ever since his breakthrough placing 2nd at APT Championships Philippines 2017 Main Event. He is also part of the qualifying squad and is returning to get the job done!

 

 

 

 


Phyllis Chua (Team Member)

A recreational poker player that fell in love with the game in 2015. She has been playing cash games for years and is recently transiting into tournaments. Her passion for the game is evident through the amount of time she invests daily in studying and playing the game.

 

 

 

 


Norbert Koh (Team Member)

A regular face at the final tables of Asian Tournaments (before the Pandemic). Only last year, he captured the imagination of the local poker community with his fantastic run in the WSOP main event, eventually finishing 27th elevating him in the top 10 on Singapore’s all-time money list.


Feng Zhao (Team Member)

Another top 10 on the Singapore’s all-time money list, Feng Zhao is one of the most decorated players in Singapore. He is an undisputed online phenomenon, and amassed even more in online MTTs.

Feng Zhao and Norbert are currently ranked Number 1 and 2 respectively in the Global Poker Index (Singapore) and will certainly be the players to watch in their first Nations Cup.


Ivan Tan (Team Manager)

Currently retired, Ivan is widely regarded as a pioneer and one of the best poker players in Singapore since bursting onto the scene in 2007 finishing runner-up in an APPT Macau Main Events.

 

 


Lim Min Soon (Team Consultant)

A veteran of the Match Poker competition, his poker highlight is the elusive triple crown of the highly popular Singapore Poker Championship series.

 

 

 

 


 

The Austrian PokerSport Association hosted the first-ever qualifying event for Match Poker, in Vienna in December 2012 which saw European nations competing to participate in the 2013 European Nations Cup held in Paphos, Cyprus!

Their most recent participation was in the 2017 Nations Cup held in Oxford, UK which saw them finish in 8th place. Now 5 years later they are back and eager to put on a much more impressive performance in Macedonia.

The Austrian team were commanding and impressive in their qualifying match, taking it right down to the wire and defeating Germany for the top spot! No doubt their neighbours Switzerland and Germany will be looking for revenge in Macedonia.

Here is the Austrian National Match Poker Team’s Squad for the 2021 Nations Cup Finals:


Name: Herbert Bieber

Age: 70

Profession: Retired

About: I have been playing poker for more than 20 years and I love this game. My favourite discipline is live MTT and I have played in several countries (Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, England). I highly appreciate poker theory, love to analyse quizzes and invest a lot of time to increase my poker skills.


Name: Hedy Bieber

Age: 69

Profession: Retired after more than three decades in the public affairs business. Playing poker for about 8 years.


Name: Rainer Sumaric

Age: 52

Profession: Sales Director

About: Over 15 years ago, a customer asked me if I liked to play poker. I had no idea and went along to a club night. Since then, I like the game very much (most of the time) and I love the variety at a live game. Besides Texas Holdem, I really enjoy playing dealer’s choice. I appreciate very much in my current club that workshops are also offered, because by learning and playing you get better and that’s what I try to do with every game.


Name: Andreas Schwaiger

Age: 56

Profession: Employee – City of Vienna

About: A German TV show with American poker pros attracted my poker interest. After watching a few shows I setup an account to play online. Some initial success inspired me to practice step by step, failures motivated me to go on and to practice even harder. Meanwhile I’ve played poker for 15 years, especially live tournaments.


Name: Fabian Gritsch

Age: 28

Profession: Federal Employee

About: I have been playing poker for roughly 8 Years. Playing mostly live MTTs, but also a fair bit of online. I take the game pretty seriously and see it as a nice income on the side.


Name: Hartwig Hofer

Age: 36

Profession: Poker player

About: I started playing poker 15 years ago straight after watching James Bond Casino Royal. I play mostly online cash games heads-up and some MTTs on the side.

 


Name: Sebastian Klebert

Age: 36

Profession: Network Development Operations Manager

About: A dear friend brought me along to a game fifteen years ago and that was the beginning of a wonderful friendship with the game of poker.

I’ve been heading one of Austria’s oldest poker clubs, Pokerclub Showdown, for more than a decade now and really enjoy the different variants of the game, constantly having to solve new problems and challenges but most of all the wonderful community.


 

Nearly a decade ago, in 2013, was when the Mongolian national team made their previous and only appearance in a Nations Cup event – participating in the 2013 Asian Nations Cup held in Sanya, China!

The last year has seen the national federation become very active with their national team doing superbly well to qualify for the 2021 Nations Cup Finals and using the momentum to launch their own national league! 12 teams participated in the inaugural season of the Match Poker league with the event being held over a weekend in December 2021 and the national champions will now participate in the IFMP Champions League Finale in the UK later this year!

Apart from working on a bigger, longer and better second season of the league, the national team is determined to establish themselves as a force to be reckoned with as they make their first live Match Poker event appearance in Macedonia in May.

Here are the individuals representing Mongolia, aiming for glory:


Name: Lkhunrev Dorjbal

Age: 31

Profession: Engineer

Bio: The sport of poker always gives me energy and the opportunity to think freely. I’m interested in developing it in the future, and I hope this competition opens up a lot of opportunities for me.


Name: Baldan Lkhagva

Age: 31

Professional: Political analyst

Bio: I have been interested in this sport for many years and it is very important for me to be successful in this tournament where I can get a special feeling while playing Match Poker for my country.


Name: Nyamdari Khatanbold

Age: 33

Profession: Manager of a construction company

Bio: I am studying for my master degree as business administration at University of Finance and Economy, Mongolia. I have played online poker since 2015 and have only a few followers from my country. I give some training and coaching for people who are interested in it. I aim to contribute to the development of poker in Mongolia through my coaching, live streams and private advice based on my experience.


Name: Chinbaatar Maamuu

Age: 35

Profession: Tourism Management

Bio: Started playing poker in 2006, what I love most about it is that it’s a sport that anyone can play irrespective of age or gender.


Name: Enkhrel Ganzorig

Age: 33

Profession: Degree in advertising

Bio: I first learned about poker in 2007 and have been playing online poker since 2016. Poker is a great sport for me, both mentally and emotionally. I want to develop my interest and I want to be a professional poker player in the future.


Name: Khulan Munkhbaatar

Age: 27

Profession: Financial management

Bio: The reason I’m attracted to poker is because psychologically its so interesting as a sport. That’s why I really want to know more about poker.

Name: Bat-Erdene Erdene-Bayar

Age: 32

Profession: TV Director

Bio: Started playing poker in 2010, I have been participating in sports competitions for 5 years. I like to play with human psychology and read cards. I’m playing to improve my skills now.


Name: Battulga Janag

Age: 33

Profession: Accountant

Bio: I’ve started playing poker since 2012. Also, I’ve been running a poker course since 2017. My most interesting subjects are astronomy and philosophy. It’s like I could discuss those subjects 24/7 with anyone.


Name: Buyanjargal Bold

Age: 39

Profession: Germanistik

Bio: I started playing poker in 2005. From 2006 to 2010, I worked as a dealer in a casino. I re-started playing poker in 2013 and won the 2014 Asia-Pacific Red Dragon main event in Macao, beating 995 players. For me, poker is an intellectual sport that requires psychological combat, endurance and self-control. Having competed in many competitions and experienced joys and sorrows, I will love this sport and play it to the death.


 

Pokersamband Islands, the official Icelandic member federation of the International Federation of Match Poker, got their first taste of Match Poker during the virtual European qualifiers held last year.

Iceland has been a member of the IFMP since many years – March 2010 to be precise and we are very happy to see the national team make it to the Match Poker World Championships!

The qualifiers saw the Icelandic team compete against Norway, Italy, Macedonia, Croatia and Estonia, all of whom they managed to beat leading to their confirmed spot in the 2021 Nations Cup Finals. They will once again face Italy and Macedonia in the finals, along with other qualified nations from Asia and Europe. A real test of their individuals skill, collective team strategy, mental and physical stamina will on display in Gevgelija next month.

This is how Team Iceland will be lining up for the 2021 Nations Cup Finals…

 


Name: Már Wardum
Age: 45
Profession: Supply chain management and process engineer.
About: I taught myself to play poker from a book I got at age 11 and was fascinated about the game. Later on I started playing seriously around 2001. I have two final table finishes in the Icelandic championship, 3rd place in 2019 and 4th place in 2022 as well as winning the Icelandic PLO championship in 2017. I really like the concept of Match Poker because it eliminates the luck factor from the game and that’s where the skill comes in.

Name: Sævar Ingi Sævarsson
Age: 39
Profession: Truck driver, bus driver and tour guide.

About: Playing poker for about 14 years. Want to test my skills in this format of poker and I’m proud to represent Iceland in Match Poker. Runner-up in the Icelandic championship in 2018 and Icelandic champion in online poker 2019.


Name: Egill Þorsteinsson
Age: 29
Profession: Shipping manager and poker player.

About: I have been playing poker for 9 years. In the beginning mostly cash games but for the last few years I have also been playing tournaments. Icelandic PLO champion in 2020 and runner-up in the Icelandic championship in 2019.


Name: Gunnar Árnason
Age: 41
Profession: Warehouse manager, poker player.

I have been playing poker on and off for the past 20 years. Last 4-5 years I have been focusing more and more on poker and training. I have specially been focusing on tournaments so Match Poker should be an interesting addition to that.

Notable results: Icelandic PLO champion in 2019 and 4th in 2020. Runner-up in NLH Icelandic championship in 2020.


Name: Kristjana Guðjónsdóttir
Age: 36
Profession: Student

About: Playing poker since 2010. I find Match Poker an exciting concept as it relies on skill and the luck factor has been minimised.

Notable results: Icelandic online champion 2015. 40th EPT Esterellas Barcelona 2015. 72th EPT Esterellas Barcelona 2014.


Name: Einar Þór Einarsson
Age: 48
Profession: Technical Director and software engineer.

About: Playing poker for 20 years, almost exclusively tournaments. As an old competitive Bridge player, Match Poker sounds like a perfect blend of the two games to me.


Name: Halldór Már Sverrisson
Age: 49
Profession: Real-estate broker

About: I have been playing poker regularly since 1990 and bridge with breaks from 1990. I think that is a good combination for Match Poker. Icelandic PLO champion in 2018, few final tables in the Icelandic championship.

 


 

Name: Gardar Geir Hauksson
Age: 31
Profession: Salmon fishing guide, poker player.

About: Started in small home games 15 years old, played professionally since 18. Very competitive and love the team format. Proud to represent Iceland in Match Poker.

Live: Notts Cup champion (#8) UKIPT 5, Icelandic high-roller champion 2015.

Online: Sunday 750k FTP winner, Sunday Warm up runner up, Double Deuce runner-up.