Singapore Bounce Back to Book Their Place in IFMP Finals
In November, 10 years will have passed since the International Federation of Match Poker (IFMP), with a mission statement of promoting “the development of match poker worldwide and to secure its recognition as a mind sport based on strategic skill, played without any discrimination of race, sex and creed,” hosted their first competition.
Olga Iermolcheva is the undeniable star of the Ukrainian International Federation of Match Poker team. ©IFMP
Staging unique team events, where countries only compete for glory and medals, the IFMP is an observer member of the General Assembly of International Sports Federations. It is also a signatory to WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) code since 2017. This means dope testing is in place at all live IFMP events.
In 2020, the IFMP courted controversy by disqualifying Singapore from their annual showpiece event, the Nations Cup World Championship. It was a competition originally due to take place in Lima, Peru.
However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the action was taken online with players representing Australia, Taiwan, Ukraine, Ireland, South Korea, India, Lithuania, Germany, Poland, Belarus, and Spain all playing from their home locations.
In a discipline that has always relied on virtual card play and not traditional felt, cards, chips and dealers, coordinating mobile gameplay software and video conferencing did not prove too much of a challenge for organizers.
Nevertheless, the remote nature of proceedings meant a degree of ‘self-policing’ was called for by the IFMP. This led to calls for hand reviews and complaints by some countries. After hand history and video evidence was reviewed, the governing body concluded Team Singapore had “contravened the rules of Match Poker and gained an unfair advantage.”
The review process took place during a break in play and, while Singapore had qualified for the final phase of the Nations Cup World Championships, they were excluded prior to the final round of play.
Female Players Are the IFMP’s Star Performers
The event was eventually won by Ukraine who successfully defended the title they had won in 2019 on their Nations Cup debut in Dublin. Their undeniable star is Olga Iermolcheva. As one of three female players in the team, she earned an individual performance award for being the highest-scoring player in the 2019 competition.
Lisa Tan Meiling led Singapore to victory in the 2021 Asian Nations Cup qualifier. ©PokerStars
IFMP rules state each national team must contain at least one female player. Two countries now have a female captain: Belarus and a revamped Singapore side which is led by Lisa Tan Meiling. She is a tech-industry professional when not playing poker.
On Sunday Meiling, who won the main event in the 2019 PokerStars Manila Megastack, returned her country to the fold by leading Team Singapore to a comfortable victory in the Asian leg of the 2021 Nations Cup qualifiers.
Five Now Booked for Nations Cup Finals
The result means the new Singapore team have an opportunity to redeem themselves in the December 2021 Nations Cup finals. A venue has yet to be announced for the championship decider, but organizers have confirmed it will be staged in Europe.
Wherever the game is played Team Singapore should not be phased as last weekend’s event, while played digitally, was showcased on a major stage, Hong Kong’s Cyber Games Arena.
Played as part of the 2021 Hong Kong Esports Festival, the Asian Nations Cup qualifier saw the Kazakhstan, Philippines, Taiwan, Israel and Hong Kong teams in competition. None could contain Singapore’s overhauled squad which featured a blend of youth and experience.
Post-event, winning captain Lisa Tan Meiling, took to social media to declare herself “Crazy happy, and so incredibly proud of the team. All that training sessions paid off! Asian qualifiers step, over. Next step – finals tournament in December.”
So far, a number of Singapore’s confirmed rivals have won regional Nations Cup qualifiers, including Austria, India, Iceland, Mongolia, Switzerland and Germany.
