SportAccord is focused on driving positive change and is dedicated to engaging and connecting; rights holders, organising committees, cities, press and media, businesses involved in the development of sport. It is a great opportunity for IFMP to launch the sport of Match Poker into the International sports world. SportAccord and the Thai Sports Festival receives the full support of the International Olympic Committee.

Our athletes will participate as official attendees of the Festival, and will participate in both the opening ceremony and the awards ceremony. The Asian Nations Pairs will comprise a strict rotation of individual heads-up freeze-out tournaments against DeepStack. By utilising breakthrough Artificial Intelligence techniques, poker skill will be identified and analysed like never before. The Nation with the greatest overall combined performance against DeepStack will be crowned Champions and be awarded the first medals for poker, in an internationally sanctioned sports event.

We welcome member federations from Japan, India, Singapore as well as China, and its good to see new Asian member nations participating including Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. As part of our Nations Cup qualification we will host a full Asian Nations Cup in Bangkok later this year.