A Truly Nail-Biting Asian Nations Cup!

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Asian Nations Cup Round Up

The 2019 Asian Nations Cup was hosted in Taoyuan city, Taiwan and saw 9 highly skilled Asian nations participating, namely Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia, Singapore, Israel, India, Japan, Philippines and Korea!

The previous Asian Championships were held in Sanya, China in 2013 and it was great to see some familiar faces in Taiwan. Match Poker debutants included Hong Kong, Philippines and Korea while Australia, Singapore, India, Israel and Japan had all participated in the 2013 Asian Nations Cup which was won by China. Excitement was building as 5 spots on the Road to Peru would be up for grabs from the 9 participating teams. These 5 qualifiers would join Ukraine, 6 European qualifiers, Peru and a few other select American teams for the Nations Cup Finals.

The event kicked off with a grand opening ceremony where the local minister of sport was in attendance and formally opened the event, toasting to its success with a glass of champagne along with all the participating teams captains. After a quick round of team introductions, dinner and a strategy session we jumped right into a formal player briefing held by IFMP’s Match Officials Joe Barnard and Varun Goenka.

The fan zone was packed with eager Match Poker athletes and as the first session of play kicked off, so did the screens with all card information provided face up ensuring complete transparency! 50 hands were played on day one and the leaderboard showed Team India in the lead with Korea, Australia, Israel and Taiwan taking up the remaining ‘Peru spots’ but it was way too early to make any predictions.

After a long night of review, analysis and strategy, the teams arrived ready for day 2 which would see them play 5 sessions of 50 hands each to make up a total of 300 hands in the group stages before breaking into a top 4 fight for the Nations Cup and the other 5 battling for the Nations Plate and the final Peru spot! The Koreans made a big push in the 2 morning sessions, topping the leaderboard ahead of India at the halfway point of the group stages (150 hands) by a whopping 59 points! Taiwan, Australia and Israel still held the other 3 of the top 5 spots.

The next 50 hands saw India reclaim the top spot but we also saw Team Singapore finally flex their Match Poker skills and begin climbing up the leaderboard to 5th as Israel dropped down to 6th. The last 100 hands in the group stages were coming up and there was bound to be a lot of fluctuations in the standings as teams were looking to try different strategies with the hope of breaking into the top 4 to solidify their spot in the World Championships.

Singapore was determined to continue their ascent up the leaderboard and they sat 2nd after 250 hands had been played! Just 15 points stood between Australia, Taiwan, Korea and Israel in 3rd to 6th with India sitting 30+ points clear at the top. The final group stage session was underway and the fan zone was buzzing with nervousness as the fight for the top 4 was extremely close!

Every hand being played was watched with hawk eyes as Taiwan, Israel and Australia were fighting for two qualification spots. A huge roar erupted from the fan zone as the leaderboard updated with scores from the 300th hand, marking the end of the group stages and along with that confirming Taiwan’s spot in the top 4 by just one point over Israel!!!

Dejected Israeli faces were seen leaving the room as celebrations began among the home team’s large contingent. Team India stood proud with their flag in front of the leaderboard and posed for photos as the winners of the group stages with Singapore in 2nd and Australia in 3rd. Israel and Korea were particularly disappointed at not making the top 4 but they still had a shot at the 5th Peru spot via the Nations Plate competition. The day ended with a trip to the nearby night market as the athletes socialised with one another outside of the event venue while enjoying local delicacies.

The final day saw the creation of two separate tournaments – the Cup and the Plate, along with being the day Asian Match Poker athletes would be tested by WADA for any performance enhancing substances. The Asian Nations Cup would be competed by the top 4 qualified teams of India, Singapore, Australia and Taiwan, who played in a 4×4 format for 5 sessions of 60 hands each to determine the new Asian Match Poker Champions!

In the Asian Nations Plate the remaining 5 teams played in a 5×5 format for 5 sessions of 50 hands each to determine who the last team to join the top 4 in Peru will be, and be awarded with the Asian Nations Plate trophy. Scores were reset to 0 and play kicked off for both competitions. Quite early it was evident that the Plate would be competed by Korea and Israel mainly as the 2 teams were neck and neck at the end of the first session.

The Cup saw home team Taiwan take a 25+ point lead after session 1! Session 2 ended with Australia closing the gap on Taiwan in the Cup and Korea extending their advantage in the Plate.

The final 2 sessions of play were in the dark as the leaderboards were switched off and final scores would be announced at the closing ceremony and awards function later that night. India made up a lot of ground in session 3 to close the gap to within 6.5 points of Taiwan with one session to go in the Cup while the Plate saw Israel now top the leaderboard but by a mere 3.5 points from Korea!

Tensions were high and strategy was the need of the hour with teams huddling together and planning their collective approach for the final session of the event. An incredible finish to what was a fantastic event lead to the closing ceremony and as our local host David Tai thanked the teams for being a part of the 2019 Asian Nations Cup, the final scores were being handed to IFMP president Patrick Nally to announce to the athletes and fans.

Philippines, Japan and Hong Kong finished 5th, 4th and 3rd in the Plate with Korea finally securing their Peru spot over the Israelis by a comfortable 61 points! Korea’s Lim Yohwan was also awarded player of the tournament as they came up to collect their award. Now time for the Asian Nations Cup standings – in 4th place with 730 points was Singapore, in 3rd place with 750 points was Australia who’s captain Julius Colman graciously accepted medals and thanked the hosts for an extremely enjoyable event.

It was now between India and Taiwan for the top spot and you could cut the tension in the room with a knife as everyone waited for the final announcement with bated breath. As Patrick Nally said, ‘The new Asian Nations Cup Champions are… INDIA’ the outpour of jubilation and excitement from the Indian contingent was absolutely incredible to see.

The players were ecstatic and couldn’t control their emotions as they began jumping around and hugging one another celebrating this monumental achievement! Team Taiwan graciously came up and received their silver medals while congratulating the Indians on their victory. The 5 qualified nations will now work hard and prepare themselves for the global challenge that lies ahead in the form of the Nations Cup Finals where their skills will be tested against top nations from Europe, North and South America!

The Aussies are heading to Taiwan!

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Introducing Team Australia that will participate at the 2019 Asian Nations Cup in Taiwan:

Jarryd Godena
After an interest in watching poker on TV, I started out learning online poker at the smallest stakes.  I enjoyed the challenge of playing all forms of poker including online and live, tournaments and cash games, Holdem, Omaha and the mixed games.  Outside of poker I enjoy sports and traveling.
Chris Wookey 
I have been obsessed with poker since Joe Hachem won the 2005 WSOP Main Event. Primarily a live cash game grinder, I do play the occasional tournament.  Career highlights include cashing in the 2018 Aussie Millions Main Event. Poker is my passion, particularly the mental warfare and strategic elements.
Julius Colman
I love poker as a mind sport. I love its competitiveness, its risk, its assessment of odds. I love that it is a metaphor for life where, to succeed, you need to make decisions doing the best you can with information that is often imperfect.
Ashley Warner
Ashley is a 31yo poker player from Perth, with poker highlights including 2nd at ANZPT Melbourne in 2012 and numerous final tables at Crown Melbourne and Crown Perth over the last 8 years.
Heidi May
High stakes cash game player, won the 2017 WSOP ladies bracelet in 2017, enjoys volunteering for animal sanctuaries and fostering dogs when not playing poker. 
Tanja Vujanovic
Tanja has been crushing the online and live felt since 2009 and is one of the only female poker players in Australia to hold a triple crown title. On the live felt Tanja is best known for playing high stakes cash with a notable win in the 2016 Perth Poker champs main event.

The Hungarians are Eager to Make their Mark in Kyiv

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The Hungarian National Match Poker team for the 2019 European Nations Cup in Kyiv is:


Bianka Breda – Hungarian R’n’B DJ and amateur poker player. She’s playing poker for fun both live and online, but don’t misjudge her. Poker is in her blood.

Marcell Réti – Sport promoter and hobby poker player. He’s a cash game expert. Live poker player. He likes Match Poker and every sport, where one must to fight for the win. The youngest man in the Hungarian team.

Judit Zsoldos – From the start member of the Hungarian Match Poker team. Played in The Table in 2011 and in Cyprus at the European Nations Cup 2013. Hungarian Ladies Open winner. Cash game and Omaha player.
Laszlo Bréda – Laszlo from the start member of the Hungarian Match Poker team. Born a tournament player. One of the best amateur score table. Strong skills and intuition.
Gergely Tatár – The president of the Hungarian Poker Association since 2007. Founded poker clubs in Hungary and Slovakia. Played poker in USA, England, Cyprus, Ghana, Cabo Verde, Austria, Poland, France, Slovakia and Romania.
Peter Gal – For the first time I met with Texas Hold’em poker in 2005. At the beginning I worked as poker dealer, then I became a floorman and a professional leader. I had my own Poker Club, and I helped other clubs to improve. From 2010 to 2018 I was the floorman in the first poker club of Hungary. I am a recreational poker player, I just treat poker as a hobby. In 2013 I played Match Poker for the first time in Vienna as a member of the Hungarian team, then in Cyprus at the European Nations Cup.

Will the Irish Rise Up and Retain their European Crown?

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Team Ireland have been extremely impressive and their accolades speak for their incredible Match Poker skill:

Winners of the 2013 European Nations Cup in Cyprus

Winners of the 2017 Nations Cup in Oxford

Runners-up of the 2019 Nations Cup in Dublin

Following is the Irish squad for their defence of the European Nations Cup:

Fintan Gavin  – One of the most-decorated players in Irish poker history. Sixth in the all-time money listings having finished Runner-up in the European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona Main Event in 2008, won a UKIPT title in 2011, and dozens of more ranking events in his native Ireland. While not at the tables you will find Fintan in the Commentary booth as anchor for English broadcast teams during major festivals including the W.S.O.P.E & the Irish Poker Open.

Karen Muir – She has been an integral part of the Irish Match Poker team since 2017 and helped them to their various titles! Recent M.C.O.P Amsterdam support event champion. 10+ years NLH tournament experience. Regular on the Cash game festival Circuit. Finished top 10 player in her previous 2 Match Poker events.


Roy Brindley – Roy ‘the boy’ Brindley first tournament cash stretches back to early 2002. Since then Roy has amassed €800k+ in NLH & Omaha events throughout Europe. Author of the best selling biography Life’s a Gamble, Roy has more recently adapted his skill set to poker commentary & F1 sports punditry.

Johnathen McCullagh – better known as Johny from Ireland’s capital Dublin. “I love to travel to new places and meet new people which me and my partner Giulliana have done a lot of in our 3 years together, I like animals, going to the gym, cooking and tournament poker. My background is on-line MTT’s but I have transitioned to live tournaments in the last few years.”

Giulliana Olivera – Originally from Brazil I live in Ireland with my partner Johny. I’ve been part of the live poker scene coming on 4 years and have had some success including the Partypoker Ladies title in 2017. I like to meet new people travel and shop. I also love animals. To represent Ireland as part of the Match poker team is dream come true.

Chris Dowling – €800k in tournament winnings. Regarded as the most consistence Hold’em player in Ireland over the last decade. Final tabled several International ranking events. More recently competes & makes his living from high stakes Omaha cash games.. Like Karen and Fintan, Chris has also represented the Irish national Match Poker team since 2017 and done exceptionally well.

Team Italy Looking to Improve on 2nd Place in Oxford

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Team Italy, represented by the Federazione Italiana Gioco Poker (FIGP) will be eager to improve on their 2nd place performance from Oxford at the 2017 Nations Cup. Their team for the European Championships in Kiev is as follows:

Antonio Paolo Parlavecchio, the celebrity of the Italian team, a professional football player in the 90’s with a series of ceded cords after hanging up his boots and losing his hair. He was part of the 2017 Nations Cup team which finished runners-up to the Irish.

Katia Crisafulli, the beautiful part of the team. Everyone bets that it will be the surprise of the impenetrable tournament, the poker face of the team.

Giuseppe Ruggeri is 44 years old and a new entrant into Team Italy. He has been practicing Texas Hold’em since 2006 with excellent results, some of them: 1 in 2012, 5 in vpoker 2019 in Nova Gorica, 2 in Divonne in 350€ in 2019. He is delighted to have been chosen, and hopes with his contribution the team achieves even more prestigious results than those already achieved.

Massimo Majolino is 51 years of age and the old man of the group “at least to the registry office”, sporting from always. From 2006 he has practiced live and online Texas Hold’em, unfortunately now his work commitments rarely allow him time to participate in events. He was part of the 2017 Nations Cup team which finished runners-up to the Irish.

Silvio Pizzarello, poker player, poker coach and Nations Cup 2017 runner up with Team Italy. Actually promoting a bankroll challenge on his Twitch Channel “TheTopTard” playing on 888.it tracking and playing poker through a simulation of a rookie player starting with no bankroll.

Giuseppe Grimaldi, 50, architect with a passion for sport. He has practiced competitive youth and senior activities, in basketball, soccer and volleyball. About ten years ago, thanks to the FIGP, he met “Texas Hold’em live” and soon became one of the protagonists in the world of associations in his region (Sicily). Professional commitments do not allow him constant participation in international tournaments. Nevertheless, it has achieved excellent results by going to ITM frequently. The # 9 place at the “Battle Of Malta 2015” is certainly the most prestigious placement. He was part of the 2017 Nations Cup team which finished runners-up to the Irish.

Mario Sfameni, 49, pharmacist with a passion for Texas Hold’em. Since 2006 he has been attending the Texas Hold’em world first as a live player ($50,000 won in his career) and then as a tournament organiser especially in Malta from 2009 to present. Vice President of F.I.G.P. since 2013 in the IFMP family ready for the spread of Match Poker on the Italian territory. He was part of the 2017 Nations Cup team which finished runners-up to the Irish.