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.

Team Germany, represented by the Deutscher Poker Sportbund, have a strong squad of players and analysts ready to prove themselves first at the European Championships in Kiev and then at the Nations Cup Final in Peru!

Stephan Kalhamer (Team Captain / Analyst)

Born October 03, 1976. Mathematician Stephan Kalhamer is working as a poker coach, strategy consultant, bestselling author, TV presenter and, since 2009, founder and president of Deutscher Poker Sportbund e.V. In 2011 Stephan was coach of the first ever IFMP Nations Cup Champion Germany.

Lukas Lange (Analyst)

Born February 07, 1981. Project Manager – Lukas plays poker since 2013 and supports poker in Germany in several environments, such as german federation of poker DPSB and poker federation of his home region Nordrhein-Westfalen. Lukas loves to analyse and optimise poker and skills and will support german players to win European Championship in Kiev!

Arash Fazeli (Analyst)

Born January 29, 1982. IT Specialist / electronics technician. Arash plays poker since 2003. He is a poker coach and passionate tournament player. Heads-up is his favourite discipline. He won the Heads Up Live League of the DPSB in 2014 with his team  and became German champion.

Daniel Eylenfeldt (Player)

Born March 06, 1980. Poker coach and former online cash game pro. After Oxford and Dublin it’s already his third participation in the IFMP Nations Cup in a row. He has prepared extensively for Kiev and is ready for the title fight.

Kai Rieche (Player)

Born May 02, 1980 in Berlin. CEO in his own company and plays poker since 2005. Back in the team since his last appearance in Oxford 2017, ready to play. You can find him at the tournament and cash tables.

Stefanie Haffke (Player)

Born January 26, 1986. Civil engineer – With highly trained problem solving skills and a passion for solving puzzles it’s probably no wonder, that she found her way to the poker table. She focusses mainly on poker as a mind game and plays in a German club in Hamburg.

Sven Kautermann (Player)

Born April 18, 1969. He has been playing poker as a recreational player since 2007. In 2015 he founded the team “Baltic Sea Poker Island Usedom”, which reached the quarter-finals in the playoffs of the Heads Up Live League of the DPSB. His greatest success was the 2nd place at the CPT-LA 2017 in Lennestadt.

Niklas Andrews (Player)

Born January 24, 1997. Psychology student. After participating in the Heads Up Live League of the DPSB in 2018 Niklas found his way into Match Poker and was already part of Team Germany in Dublin in the spring. Niklas also plays in a Poker Club in Hamburg.

Timm Albrecht (Player)

Born May 31, 1980. graduated in Business Administration, is a business, life and poker coach. He plays poker since 11 years, mostly online cash games but also MTTs and SnGs. He loves discussions, books, videos and quizzes about poker and wants to travel playing all over the world.

Alexander Kleppe (Player)

Born February 25, 1982. Loves to play all kinds of different poker games since he chose to live in Hamburg ten years ago. Club member of the German Heads-up champions tus Berne Hamburg, plays Heads-up in his own team in the German Championship for 6 consecutive years. His latest passion of playing Match Poker made him take third place in Nations Cup in March with his fellow team members.

Alexander Zholnerchik – born on 25/08/1975, he used to be a businessman, but several years ago came to the conclusion that if business prevents him from playing poker, then he should quit business. And since then Alexander has been passionately playing both online and offline, also being fond of extreme sports, travelling and psychology.

Kirill Denisenko – 27 years old. Professional poker player from Minsk. Regular player of Texas Hold’em live and online tournaments along with cash games. A member of the Belarussian National Poker Team.

Kim Pavel – Builder, 52 years old, 7 years poker playing experience and enjoys going spearfishing in his free time.

Maryna Khatskevich – She started playing poker in 2014 as a home game with friends. She liked the game because she won and then started playing in the Minsk poker club. It was a cash game. Her first tournament was a Ladies free roll organized by Belarusian Federation of Sports Poker where she took 3rd place and then decided to continue learning poker. She worked a lot on improving her game with trainers and coaches and still does this everyday. Her best tournament result is 4th place in EPT Prague. Now she spends most of her time in poker: playing offline tournaments and working on the game. Her hobby is karaoke and skiing.

Sergej Vladimirov – Born 01.11.1968. Businessman and a proud father of two children. Sergej finds amusement in both active sport arts such as snowboarding and windsurfing, and quiet evenings with closest friends and board games. His life is filled with traveling and adventures. Sergej has been a part of the poker world for more than 10 years and he enjoys Texas Holdem, Omaha and OFC the most.

Yauhen Burlo – 36 years old. Lives and works in Minsk, Belarus. Started playing poker 6 years ago. There are no victories in WSOP and WCOOP, but he believes and does not give up! In his spare time, he enjoys travels, motorcycles, fishing & hunting. Happy man, husband and father.

Mikalai Nikanovich – Born on 16.08.1978. He is a lawyer who loves football, music, old movies and poker. He started playing poker about 7 years ago and is going to Kiev with the slogan: “Who, if not us?”

Estonian National Match Poker Team

The Estonian national team that will participate in the Match Poker European Nations Cup, to be held in Ukraine, will consist of the same individuals who competed in this sporting format also in 2012-2013. Back then, they won the preliminary round of the European Nations Cup and achieved fifth place at the European Championships in Cyprus. Despite their great tournament experience, all members of the Estonian teams are still amateur players!


Henri Käsper

One of Estonia’s best known poker players whose earnings from live tournaments exceed half a million dollars and who can boast with four individual Estonian champion titles. As a successful public relations manager, he has taken poker into the media, shaped its reputation, and engaged thousands of new players. At the table, Henri’s main virtues are his vast experience and the ability to read his opponents.


Laur Sibold

Wonderful player, characterised by his good sense of humour as well as bold actions even in the most difficult situations. Although Laur is mainly known as a showman and event organiser, he has also become Estonian poker champion and won tens of thousands of Euros at live tournaments. We could also let you in on the secret that he is quite the expert in heads-up and the short-handed game. Mostly, he joins the table to enjoy good vibes and nice company.


Herli Olop

One of this decade’s most valued poker persons in Estonia, active in both the OlyBet poker room and the games portal Jokker.ee. This means that he knows poker through and through as a player (he is also a two times poker champion of Estonia) and as an organiser. In poker, Herli values both good company and interesting game situations. At the table, he does not ask for too much attention but could always make it quite far!


Marko Kolk

Mathematician who has stood out not only in poker, but also in other thinking games. For several years, nothing could be heard of this colourful old-timer… Until in 2016, he won two tournaments in one night at the Estonian championships of online poker and, naturally, also won the Player of the Year title at the championships. Marko is sneaky and a bit unusual, he is not easy to read.


Kelly Limonova

Entrepreneur, living in Spain, who became one of Estonia’s brightest poker stars at the beginning of this decade. Her success and the title of the female player of the year 2011 was achieved thanks to her “unwomanly” – aggressive, fierce and daring – playing style which made Kelly an uncomfortable opponent to all of her competitors. Kelly actively plays poker also today and her tirelessness, patriotism and sociability make this woman one of the pillars of the Estonian national team.


Katti Järvsoo

Tough athlete who enjoys competing and participates in tournaments with great passion and enthusiasm. It is her great will to win that has allowed her to become a strong poker player and no matter how difficult the situation is, she will not give up! Katti has been successful on several different tournaments, she has also become the Estonian champion and won the title of the Estonian Female Player of the Year.


Marek Reinaas

President of the Estonian Tournament Poker Federation since 2010. He is a successful businessman who is known in Estonia also as a columnist, presenter, and politician. As Marek is amazing at communication and has a good intellectual sense of humour, whatever he says or writes always gets lots of attention. Tournament poker is one of Marek’s many hobbies and presumably he is strongest as a team player.


The national team’s support person is Tanel Reisi, board member of the ETPF, who has been one of the main leaders of Estonian poker in the recent years. Tanel will not be playing at the Match Poker European Nations Cup but he shall be observing everything from behind the scenes, helping our players as he can, and also shaking hands with the other competitors, as a sign of good will.

On August 24th 2019, the Barbados Federation of Poker Inc. will be launching an inaugural tournament in their beautiful home country. Having overcome a few minor setbacks, the team is now better positioned to host a competitive and fun-filled event aimed at providing an exceptional experience for all registered participants. 

The event which is scheduled to take place at Skymall Conference Centre St. Michael, has been supported by the country’s National Sports Council, the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. and the IFMP. Registration is open to both locals and international players who can sign up by visiting https://getmein.events/events/bim-poker/

Through these events, the Federation’s management team will continue to push poker as a sport, and will further set their sights on selecting a National team, who will be eager and ready to compete against the best of the best at IFMP’s America’s Nations Cup event, set to take place in Lima, Peru later this year. The President of BFP, Damien Haynes, encourages all members of the poker community to follow their social media pages in order to keep current with all relevant updates. Should persons be interested in further information you can feel free to contact the team at [email protected] or directly through their social media platforms.”

Their social media information is as follows: 

Website – https://www.barbadosfederationofpoker.com

Facebook – Barbados Federation of Poker Inc. 

Instagram – @Bimpoker 

Twitter- @Bfpoker1

Contact Number: 1(246) 841-6342