Varun Goenka

Can Team Israel Win It All in Hong Kong?

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Under the leadership of Stas Tishkevich, the Israeli national team put on an incredible performance in Gevgelija, North Macedonia last May during the Nations Cup Finals. They were the last Asian nation to qualify to this event after finishing 2nd in the final virtual qualifier and sealing their spot to the Championships. They were last placed out of 14 teams after the 1st session of play but that didn’t demoralise them, and they went on to not only qualify to the final 6 but finish runners-up to Champions Germany!

 

Here is the squad for the Asian Nations Cup:

Name: Stas Tishkevich

Team Israel Coach.

37 years old from Portugal. He is a co-founder of the Israeli Poker Academy, a co-founder of the Poker-Fighter Training App, and the chairman of the Israeli Poker Union.

Stas is a professional poker player since 2012, poker coach, and entrepreneur. 

He plays both Cash & MTTs and his best results to date include a 7th place finish at SCOOP Main Event 2013 for 90,877$, and a deep run in the WSOP Main Event 2020 where he finished 20th for 34,116$.

 

Name: Shimon Yaffe

Team Israel Manager.

54 years old from Tel-Aviv. CEO of the Israeli Poker Union. 

Tournament Director of the Israeli Poker Championship company.

 

Name: Aharon Arbeli

Won his seat at the Israeli National team through 2022 Champion of the Israeli Poker League.

67 years old from Jerusalem. Businessman 

Plays Texas Hold’em since 2007, mostly MTTs. A passionate advocate for poker regulation & legalization.

Loves to ride bicycle.

 

Name: Ayman Jarrar

Won his seat at the Israeli National team through 2022 1st Place Final Table average score of the Israeli Poker League.

59 years old from Haifa. Businessman 

Plays Texas Hold’em since 2018, mostly MTTs. Learned the game at the Israeli Poker Academy.

Loves to play Tennis. 

 

Name: Daniel Barak 

Won his seat at the Israeli National team through 2022 1st Place Final Table total score of the Israeli Poker League.

52 years old from Kiriyat-Bialik. Driver of a public bus.

Plays Texas Hold’em for 15 years. Believes that Patience is the key for a winning poker strategy.

Loves to read books and watch movies.

 

Name: Daniel Glick

Won his seat at the Israeli National team through 2021 1st Place Final Table total score of the Israeli Poker League.

33 years old from Tel-Aviv. Construction contractor in abseiling.

Plays Texas Hold’em for 15 years, mostly with friends. 

After the military service he lived for several years in the USA, and played poker as his main income.

His moto for winning poker strategy is focus, mental work, and decision making. 

Loves to play soccer, going to the beach and traveling in the world.

 

Name: Carmi Klein 

Won her seat at the Israeli National team through 2022 1st Place of the Israeli Woman Online Poker Championship.

32 years old from Ramat-Gan. Product manager.

Plays Texas Hold’em for 3 years, studied the game at the “Ladies” and at the Israeli Poker Academy. 

Her moto for winning poker strategy is preparing to lose in order to know how to win.

Loves traveling, reading books, going to stand-up comedy, extreme sports, meditation, pilates and art.

 

Name: Ran Harari 

Won his seat at the Israeli National team through 2021 1st Place of the Israeli Online Poker Championship.

39 years old from Kiriyat-Mozkin. Doctorante in the university

Plays Texas Hold’em for 17 years, studied the game at the “Ladies” and at the Israeli Poker Academy. 

His moto for winning poker strategy is mixing up the game and staying unpredictable. 

Loves soccer and Maccabi Haifa.

 

Name: Shlomi Maimoni

Won his seat at the Israeli National team through 2021 Champion of the Israeli Poker League.

42 years old from Rishon-Letzion. Truck driver and crane operator.

Plays Texas Hold’em for 23 years, studied the game from playing and at the Israeli Poker Academy. 

His motto for winning poker strategy is patience and exploiting opponents’ mistakes.

Loves snooker and fishing.

 

Name: Shlomi Swissa 

Won his seat at the Israeli National team through 2022 1st Place of the Israeli Online Poker Championship.

48 years old from Kfar-Saba. Works in the Ministry of Defence.

Plays Texas Hold’em for 18 years, studied the game mostly from playing.

His motto for winning poker strategy is knowing when to get-in in order to come out victorious.

Loves badminton, snooker and basketball. 

Varun Goenka

A Revamped Korean Team is Ready for the Asian Nations Cup

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After a recent change in the national federation structure in South Korea, the team has also been revamped with a strong mix of individuals being selected to give the Koreans the best chance of success. National team coach James Kim is looking forward to his team’s performance in Hong Kong and seeing the Match Poker format played at the highest level.

 

Here is the squad for the 2023 Asian Nations Cup:

Name: Kevin Choe

Age: 45

Profession: Director

Bio: 2 years and 5 months of poker experience as a recreational player, spends majority of his spare time playing no-limit Hold’em as a hobby, seeking a long career in the poker industry, participated in Match Poker 3 times so far.

 

Name: Dahye Kim

Age: 31

Profession: YouTuber

Bio: 2 yrs experience playing poker, YouTuber who changed her profession to poker YouTuber, down to earth and dead serious about pursuing poker as a career.

 

Name: Yoo Ra Yeong

Age: 33

Profession: Self employed

Bio: She is following a professional path towards being a winning poker player, she loves playing Hold’em, can’t live without Hold’em!

 

Name: Kim Hak Do

Age: 53

Profession: Comedian, entertainer and singer

Bio: He has been a poker enthusiast for over 10 years now, with his own personal YouTube channel.

 

Name: Lee SeokJun

Age: 28

 

Name: Kim Ho Seong

Age: 52

Profession: Director of the Ace Poker League

Bio: He has spent over 15 years in the poker industry, working on both online and offline events. National team coach.

 

Name: Jonguk Kim

Age: 28

Profession: APL dealer, J88, WCOP, KSOP, JOPT floor & dealer

Bio: He originally only knew stud poker, but then came across Texas Hold’em when he took a part-time job as a dealer. This was about 3 years ago, after which he started working as a full time dealer and fell in love with the game.

 

Name: Jiseung Hong

Age: 25

Profession: APL, J88, WFP floor & dealer

Bio: After enlisting in the military, he got interested in poker while looking for a hobby. He watched videos and read books to improve his knowledge and learn detailed information about this mental game. After being discharged from the military, he thought it matched his inner aptitude and after consulting with his family he started to work on poker to improve his skills. He is constantly looking to challenge himself and get better everyday.

 

Name: Giju Hwang

Age: 25

Profession: J88, WCOP, KSOP, JOPT floor and dealer

 

Name: Hyeunmo Gu

Age: 27

Profession: APL, J88, WFP, KSOP floor and dealer

Bio: After starting as a bartender, my boss recommended I try dealing blackjack which eventually lead me to becoming a Texas Hold’em dealer. I was a dealer for about 2 and a half years and was famous for ‘one handed dealing’ in the Korean Hold’em world. My interest in managing the floor grew and I naturally studied it while performing my duties as a dealer.

 

Name: Won Guy Kang

Age: 35

Profession: Poker player

Bio: Korean Team Pro member

 

Name: Kim Kyounghoi

Age: 42

Profession: CFO at the Texas Holden Association of Korea (THAK)

Bio: He has been involved in the poker industry for over 10 years and is excited to represent his nation.

Varun Goenka

Team Philippines Has a Point to Prove at the 2023 Asian Nations Cup

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Team Philippines, being lead by Philipson Chua, made their last live Match Poker appearance at the previous Asian Nations Cup held in Taoyuan city in Taiwan. They narrowly missed out on qualification to the Nations Cup Finals last year, falling just a few points behind Israel who secured their spot as the final Asian team to qualify.

 

However, this revamped national team will be looking to secure their qualification to the World Championships in Zurich and put on a strong performance in Hong Kong. Later this year we will also see the launch of the National Match Poker League in the Philippines, which will no doubt lead to the emergence of very exciting talent that can eventually go on to represent the nation.

 

Here is the squad traveling to Hong Kong:

Name: Philipson Chua

Age: Is just a number

Profession: Financial Consultant

Short Bio:

  • A financial consultant by profession, but poker runs in his blood. He has been playing since 2007 when he won the first APPT online qualifier out of 5,000 players. Has won multiple poker tourneys here in Philippines and abroad.
  • Jointly organized the Poker Players Association of the Philippines and became its first President in 2011. Lucky enough to Survive 15 years of playing and enjoying each moment of it.

 

Name: Aleyza Angeles

Age: 21

Profession: Freelance Model

Short Bio:

• A poker enthusiast who tends to be very highly competitive. After winning 3rd place in the qualifier, wants to prove to herself that she can achieve more while enjoying the challenge.

 

Name: Aloysius Pacia

Age: 60

Profession: Retired Entreprenour

Short Bio:

• Started playing 52 years ago with my father who is my poker idol. Has participated and placed in multiple poker tourneys live and online since 2007.

 

Name: Anselmo Ferdinand Adriano

Age: 57

Profession: Lawyer

Short Bio:

• Ansel started playing poker in 2005, joining small live tournaments purely out of curiosity, fun and meeting new people. Since then, he has played in some major tourneys both locally and abroad, and participated in live and online events.

 

Name: Delfino Ty

Age: 66

Profession: PC Network Integrator

Short Bio:

  • Del fell in love with the game after observing the WSOP 2005 in Las Vegas. Played nightly poker tournaments with Philippine poker pioneers Philip (Team Captain) and Marco (Marketing Head). He has since traveled extensively around the region as a recreational player with multiple final table appearances and victories.

Member Team Philippines:
Asian Nations Pair Challenge 2018, Bangkok, Thailand and the Asian Nations Cup 2019, Taoyuan, Taiwan.

 

Name: Myra Adriano

Age: 54

Profession: Manager for Site Acquisition – Telecommunications

Short Bio:

• Myra started playing poker in 2005, both live and online. She has participated in various poker circuits and has also won some multi table tournaments. She loves the challenge of playing against the best in the game and outwitting the poker pros. She looks forward to winning her next major tourney. She is is happily married with 3 children.

 

Name: Vicente Peña

Age: 57

Profession: Entreprenour

Short Bio:

• Started playing poker since 2007 and have joined various live/online local & international tournaments. Recent accomplishments include finishing 1st in a 2022 APPT event and cashing in a major 2023 local tournament.

 

Name: Randy Cirineo

Age: 54

Profession: Civil Engineer

Short Bio:

  • Randy started playing Poker since 2014 and since then he has been fascinated with the math involved, especially with the odds & probabilities. He is known as “Patch Adams” because of his personalized jacket.
  • He has always been a tournament player and had his own share of winnings In the local community. In his bucket list is to play in an international event & represent his country, Now, he can check that off.
Varun Goenka

Will the Indians Successfully Defend Their Title of Asian Champions?

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Team India are the defending Asian Champions after their nail-biting victory at the 2019 Asian Nations Cup in Taoyuan, Taiwan. Their squad for the upcoming event contains 2 players from the title winning 2019 squad, namely Aditya Agarwal and Gaurav Gala. They are focused on defending their trophy and going back home with the title of ‘Champions of Asia’ once again. With more teams competing and overall level of skill increasing, defending their title will be a hugely impressive achievement if they manage to do it!

 

Here is the Indian squad for the upcoming 2023 Asian Nations Cup:

Name: Jagdeep Singh (Captain)

Bio: Arguably India’s best performing Match Poker athlete, Jagdeep has been competing at the highest level since the inception of the Match Indian Poker League in 2017 where he first tasted success with the Mumbai All Stars. He has since created his own team, the Haryana Hawks, and lead them to victory in season 2 and 4 of the national league. This will be his 5th appearance for the national team.

 

Name: Harman Baweja

Bio: A Bollywood producer and movie star, Harman’s talents go well beyond acting as he’s proven time and again. Against the odds his ‘celebrity’ Mumbai All Stars team emerged victorious in the inaugural season of the MatchIPL, leading to him captaining the national team at the 2017 Nations Cup in Oxford where India finished 5th overall. Since then his team has finished runners-up twice in the national league, and this will be his second opportunity to play for his nation.

 

Name: Abhishek Jalan

Bio: Abhishek was a member of Harman’s Mumbai All Stars in MatchIPL’s first season and after tasting success he too created his own team, the UP Indians, who he lead to a podium finish in seasons 2 and 4 of the league. Jalan was also part of the Indian team in Oxford and is very excited to have the opportunity to play for the national team once again.

 

Name: Aditya Agarwal

Bio: Aditya was an integral member of the title winning Indian squad in Taiwan and after having tasted success there is desperate to help defend the Championship, and add another gold medal to his collection. He was awarded ‘Player of the Tournament’ after his solid performance in the inaugural season of the Match Indian Poker League which not only helped his team finish in second place but also allowed him to become a part of the national team.

 

Name: Shuchi Chamaria

Bio: Shuchi has been a regular part of the national league, playing an integral role in the Pune Kings victory in season 3 under the leadership of Gaurav Gala. She then went on to represent Team India at the Nations Cup in Dublin which she thoroughly enjoyed, and is honoured to be playing for her country once again.

 

Name: Loveleen Singh

Bio: Loveleen proved himself playing for the Delhi Aces in the MatchIPL and was selected to represent the Indian team at the Nations Cup Finals last May. Another strong performance by him lead to his selection for the upcoming Asian Championships, which will be the second time he is playing for Team India. After a disappointing finish on his debut, he is keen to help the team achieve a much improved finish this time around.

 

Name: Abhishek Goindi

Bio: Abhishek was a member of the national team at India’s first ever performance in a Match Poker event – the Asian Nations Cup in Sanya, China in 2013! Since then he has gone on to really improve his skills and also teaches poker through his Poker Bootcamp. He has fond memories of his previous participation and representing India, is extremely excited to see the evolution of the sport over the past 10 years and having the opportunity to put on the blue jersey once again.

 

Name: Gaurav Gala

Bio: Gala lead the national team to victory in 2019 and wants to do all he can to ensure Team India continue to be Champions of Asia. He has been successful at the national and international level, helping bring the best of the team and will surely play an integral role in Hong Kong too.

Varun Goenka

The Japanese are Going for Gold in Hong Kong!

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The Japanese national team has competed at every global Asian Match Poker event to date, and thoroughly enjoyed themselves as well! They haven’t had the best finishes but have always come together as a team to challenge for the championship. A mix of some familiar faces and a few new ones, Team Japan is ready for Hong Kong and aiming to put on their best performance yet!

 

Here is the Japanese squad for the 2023 Asian Nations Cup:

Name: Yasuhiro Sasaki

Bio: First time representing his nation, he is excited to play Match Poker and roll it out across Japan following this event. CEO of the All Japan Poker Championship (AJPC).

 

Name: Hiroshi Miyoshi

Bio: He made his debut for Japan at the 2018 Asian Nations Pairs Challenge in Bangkok and is proud to have the opportunity to do so once again.

 

Name: Miyaka Miyoshi

Bio: Miyaka was a member of the Japanese team both at the 2018 Asian Nations Pairs Challenge as well as the 2019 Asian Nations Cup in Taiwan. This will be her 3rd time playing for her nation.

 

Name: Ryousei Suzuki

Bio: He will be making his Match Poker debut and is proud to be representing Japan at a global sporting event.

 

Name: Tsuyoshi Yanagida

Bio: Another debutant who will be donning the Japanese national jersey for the first time. He’s very excited to test his skills in the Match Poker format and is looking forward to the competition.

 

Name: Takuo Serita

Bio: The most experienced Japanese Match Poker player, having participated in IFMP events since 2011 in the London Eye! He runs the Japan Poker Association and has always represented his nation with pride.