They are proud to wear a star on their jersey as a reminder of their 2011 Nations Cup victory in London, UK at the first ever World Championships! However, they are definitely not satisfied and have been chasing that elusive second world title.

The Germans have come close, putting on impressive performances in both continental and global events, but haven’t managed to emerge victorious and be crowned World Champions for a second time as yet. They finished 3rd in the 2018 Nations Cup in Dublin, behind Ukraine and Ireland. They ended the group stages in Kyiv as the leaders, but weren’t able to convert that into a podium finish. This is a big opportunity for the German National Team to now bring home their 2nd Nations Cup, 10 years after they won the inaugural championship!

It wasn’t easy for them to qualify for the finals, missing out on qualification in Q1 to Austria by only 6.5 points but securing their spot after seeing off a tough fight from Lithuania and Norway in Q6. They are well prepared and ready for the challenge of the 2021 Nations Cup Finals!

Here is how the German squad looks for their attempt at a 2nd world title:

Name: Daniel Eylenfeldt

Age: 42

Profession: Poker Coach and Professional Poker Player

Bio: Daniel has been playing poker since 2007 with a focus on online cash games. Since the 2017 Nations Cup in Oxford, he has been continually involved with match poker. He has been coaching the German national team since 2019 and is particularly looking forward to the new points system, which is being used for the first time in North Macedonia.

Name: Jan Heitmann

Age: 45

Profession: Keynote Speaker and Trainer

Bio: Jan fell in love with poker quite early (1996), when it was still very underground in Germany. During his studies at university (management), he played more regularly. Once he got his diploma in September 2003, he travelled around Europe for a year, playing poker in Barcelona, Amsterdam, Vienna, London, etc., climaxing in his first WSOP in 2004 and turning professional after that. He had quite a long and successful career, spanning 15 years, including doing lots of promotional work for poker in Germany (as a commentator, trainer for celebrities and part of Team PokerStars Germany). These days poker is still a big part of his life, but in a very different way. He uses poker as a model for decision making, holding keynote talks and trainings for managers, leaders and decision makers.

Name: Alexander Kleppe

Age: 40

Profession: IT architect and project manager

Bio: Alexander loves to play poker for over 20 years, especially online cash games and tournaments, as well as the German Heads-up live championship. He works as an IT architect and project manager and has played for the German Nations Cup Team since 2019. Currently, he is organizing the first German Match Poker Championship with his organization team. Alex loves the idea of poker as a mind sport along with the international challenges with players from different nations and wants to see Match Poker advancing to the next level of recognition.

Name: Boris Münch

Age: 37

Profession: Bike messenger and software developer

Bio: Boris was looking to start something new and so he began to play online poker in 2017, mainly focusing on cash games. He really got caught by the game and its technical and psychological nature. What he likes the most is that there is always something new to learn. You can’t reach a point, knowing everything, just being a grandmaster with a long grey beard. It’s way too complex, in the most positive manner. The concept of Match Poker is channeling this competitive aspects. That’s why he’s a part of the wonderful Team Germany and really looking forward to play some international events.

Name: Julie Schumacher

Age: 36

Profession: Physician and mother of 2

Bio: Julie started playing poker in 2006 while living in Vienna, Austria. She played mainly live tournaments ranging from Austrian National League up to EPT. Additionally she made an apprenticeship as a card-dealer and worked at some major tournaments around Europe. She’s also part of the core-team of the HerzdamenClub, an international club for all women interested in playing poker. She became a member of the German Nation Cup Team in 2021.

Name: Kai Rieche

Age: 41

Profession: CEO

Bio: Kai started playing poker in his hometown Berlin around 20 years ago and is still playing the game. He had so many good times with this game all over the world, that in his opinion it is still the most beautiful hobby. He’s really looking forward to the world championship in North Macedonia.

Name: Mila Monroe

Age: 39

Profession: Co-Founder of the Herzdamenclub (female poker player club)+ Podcaster

Bio: Mila started playing poker as a hobby in 2007, but in 2013, after a tragic accident, that very hobby brought her back to life and helped her travel around the world in a wheelchair. On her adventures she has already played against Daniel Negreanu, Kevin Hart (actor) and Charly Carrel, for example. In 2019 she founded the HerzdamenClub along with Natalie Hof Ramos to provide a platform for women playing poker. She has been a member of the Match Poker Team since 2021.

Name: Niklas Andrews

Age: 25

Profession: Graduated psychology student

Bio: Niklas has been playing poker for about 4 years, focusing on cash games since the beginning. What he loves the most about poker is the complexity of the game. The fact that the room for improvement seems to be infinite is why he keeps falling in love with poker.

Name: Timm Albrecht

Age: 41

Profession: Business, Life and Poker Coach and Professional Poker Player

Bio: Timm has been playing poker for 14 years now, mostly online cash games but also MTTs and SnGs. He loves discussions, books, videos and quizzes about poker. Since 2019 he’s a member of the German Match Poker team and he is really happy to play at the world championships in North Macedonia.