Following the success of the World Championships in North Macedonia last May and resumption of normal activity after Covid, IFMP aims to return to a full calendar of events in 2023 involving three continental championships in Asia, Europe and the America’s culminating in a Grand Nations Cup Finals at the end of the year!
The biggest Asian Match Poker event to date, with 12 national teams competing, the 2023 Asian Nations Cup brought together all Match Poker playing nations within Asia for a fantastic display of our digital mind sport!
It was truly a milestone event for our sport, as for the first time ever there was a prize pool on offer! HK$ 100,000 was the guaranteed prize pool amount that would be distributed to the top 4 finishing teams. This is a huge step towards Match Poker becoming a professional sport, as the national teams competing would have the opportunity to win prize money without any sort of ‘buy-in’ for the event. All other poker events have prize pools made up of the buy-ins of the participating players. Match Poker, being a sport, followed the same structure as other professional sports and created a sponsored prize pool for the athletes.
Following nearly 3 years of strict restrictions to prevent the spread of Covid, Hong Kong finally relaxed their rules and allowed IFMP to host its 2023 Asian Nations Cup.
The Match Poker eSports Arena located in Silver Fortune Plaza on Wellington street would serve as the gameplay venue for the Championships.
The 2023 Asian Nations Cup kicked off on 24th February and ended on the 27th, incorporating an exciting elimination group structure playing down to a top 6 teams for the final session of play.
2 full days of play ensured both physical and mental stamina were tested along with Match Poker skill and strategy, producing a truly deserving Asian Champion.
Event Schedule
Teams
Venue
A 6,000 sq ft digital sports arena located in the heart of Hong Kong
The Match Poker eSports Arena is the first of its kind in Asia! Located in the heart of Hong Kong, a short walk from Central station, this unique venue has played host to numerous poker and digital sports events since it opened its doors nearly 2 years ago in 2021!
Daily poker tournaments, televised cash games, national leagues, national team selections and even tournaments specially curated and hosted for certain groups of players, the Arena offers it all!
Structure
The 12 teams are randomly divided into 2 groups of 6 teams each
Day 1
- Groups 1 and 2 to alternate playing 50 hand sessions.
- After each group has completed 100 hands, the last session of the day will be 100 hands.
- All 12 teams to play 200 hands total in the day.
- Points multiplier of 10% per 10,000 chips for 50 hand sessions and 5% per 10,000 chips for 100 hand sessions to be applied at the end of the session of play.
Day 2
- Final session of the group stages – each group plays a single 100 hand session.
- After each group has completed a total of 300 hands, the bottom 3 teams from each will be eliminated.
- The top 6 teams will then compete in the final session of the tournament – 100 hands.
- No points carryover from the group stages into the finals.
- Points multiplier of 10% per 10,000 chips for 50 hand sessions and 5% per 10,000 chips for 100 hand sessions to be applied at the end of the session of play.
Blinds will be 25-50 with a 10,000 chip stack throughout.
Pot-limit pre-flop and no-limit post-flop.
Fan Zone
The fan zone will show all the tables from the main area of play with cards face up, so teams are encouraged to have their managers, analysts, substitutes etc keeping an eye on it and using the information effectively – check us out on Twitch!
The squads for the competing national teams were as follows:
China – Zhe Li (C), Taowei Zheng, Zhu Xingbiao, Wang Junjie, Chen Guangcheng, Neves Yang, Wu Ya Ke, Chen Dong, Yuan Yi Lu, Lulu Yang
Chinese Taipei – Ross Wen (C), CJ Chen, Jack Wu, Serina Liu, Hsu Feng Ming, Chou Sun Chen, Liu Shu Ting, Huang Wun Ting, Ching-Chia Wang, Justin Chu
Hong Kong – Ricky Cheung (C), Eric Kwok, JW, Wilfred Lau, Felix Lee, Karson Mak, Logan Zhang
Hong Kong ‘B’ – Kathy Yeung (C), Lee Tung Wun, Andy Wong Mo Pang, Bosong Han, Ivan Chiu Cheung Sin, Yu Chun Kit, Wong Hon Leung
India – Harman Baweja (C), Abhishek Jalan, Gaurav Gala, Abhishek Goindi, Sanskriti Lohia Jalan, Siddharth Kadel, Areyann Gurbaxani
Israel – Stas Tishkevic (C), Shimon Yaffe, Aharon Arbeli, Ayman Jarrar, Carmi Klein, Daniel Barak, Daniel Glick, Ran Harari, Shlomi Maimoni, Shlomi Swissa
Japan – Yasuhiro Sasaki, Hiroshi Miyoshi, Miyake Miyoshi, Ryousei Suzuki, Tsuyoshi Yanagida, Takuo Serita
Korea – Kevin Choe, Dahye Kim, Yoo Ra Yeong, Kim Hak Do, Lee SeokJun, Won Gyu Kang, Jonguk Kim, Jiseung Hong, Giju Hwang, Hyeunmo Gu
Mongolia – Gan-Erdene Enkhbaatar, Bat-Erdene Erdenebayar, Otgonbat Narantuya, Chinges Ayushsuren, Buyanjargal Bold, Enkhmaa Myangat, Altansukh Ganbat, Nyamdari Khatanbold, Enkh-Amgalan Gonchigsuren, Unurbayar Lkhagvasuren
Philippines – Philipson Chua (C), Aleyza Angeles, Lou Pacia, Anselmo Ferdinand Adriano, Delfino Ty, Myra Adriano, Vicente Pena, Randy Cirineo
Singapore – Lisa Tan Meiling (C), Zefirelli Noordin, Phua Tzai Wei, Ng Qingyang, Wee Wee Joon Darren, Keith Joel Seah Jia Qiang, Lin Ruizi, Feng Zhao
Vietnam – Jul Tran, Terry Nguyen, Tran Huy Hoang, Linh Ran, Ha Manh Tuong, Dang Thanh Luong, Nguyen Huu Dung, Nguyen Anh Minh