France
Cedric won two European transnational teams events in 2023, as well as coming 3rd in the European Winter Games (which he won in 2018). He first represented France in 2008. In a glittering career as a junior, he collected medals of all hues including three gold, winning the Youngsters Teams at the 2008 World Championships and the European Junior Teams twice, in 2009 and 2013. He won a bronze medal in the Open Pairs at the 2014 World Series, and in the Open Pairs at European Transnational Championships he won silver in 2015 and gold in 2019.
He has since established himself in the French Open Team, winning the 2016 European Championship in Budapest and coming second in the Bermuda Bowl the following year.
🥇2023 10th European Transnational Championships - Mixed Teams - Turnips
🥇2023 10th European Transnational Championships - Open Teams - Vinciguerra
🥉2023 4th European Winter Games - Open Teams - Vinciguerra
🥉2022 16th World Bridge Series Wroclaw - Mixed Teams - Coriandre
🥈2020 3rd European Winter Games Monaco - Open Teams - Gupta
🥇2018 2nd European Winter Games Monaco - Open Teams - Ward Platt
🥇2019 9th European Transnational Championships Istanbul - Open Pairs
Photo: Euroepan Bridge League (EBL)
USA
One of the most flamboyant characters in world bridge, Zia first gained international recognition as the leader of the Pakistan team that finished second at the 1981 Bermuda Bowl. He first became a World Champion with victory at the 2004 World Transnational Mixed Teams Championship, and has since won the Mixed Teams at the 2014 World Bridge Series, the Senior Teams at the 2016 World Bridge Games and the Open Teams at the 2018 European Winter Games. Representing USA, he has twice won the Bermuda Bowl, in 2009 and 2015.
🥈2023 10th European Transnational Championships - Senior Teams - Milner
🥇2023 4th European Winter Games - Open Teams - Wigoder
🥇2023 US Bridge Championship - Open team - Fleischer
🥉2022 16th World Bridge Series Wroclaw - Open Teams - Robinson
🥈2020 3rd European Winter Games Monaco - Open Teams - Gupta
🥇2019 9th European Transnational Championships Istanbul - Senior Teams - Lall
🥈2019 US Bridge Championship - Open team - Wolfson
🥇2018 2nd European Winter Games Monaco - Open Teams - Mahaffey
🥈2018 US Bridge Championship - Open team - Lall
Photo: European Bridge League (EBL)
Australia
Paul is originally from New Zealand, but he has lived in Sydney since 1981. As a competitor he has won more than 50 national open titles, including 6 international pairs titles. He has won bronze in the world pairs and the Cavendish Pairs, twice won the Cavendish teams, and semi-final in the Bermuda Bowl. He is still very involved in bridge, but he stopped competing in 2007.
He is a full-time bridge teacher/writer and owner of the Grand Slam Bridge Centre. His books have sold more than 550,000 copies and he writes a weekly column in the Australian.
Photo: PM
Scotland
Liz McGowan has been the Queen of Scottish bridge for as long as I can remember. Liz was a member of the Great Britain/Iceland team that won the World Mixed Teams in Rhodes in 1996. Representing GB, she won silver medals at the 1988 Venice Cup and the 1992 World Team Olympiad, and gold from the European Teams in 1997 and 1999. She was a member of the best-performing Scottish team ever, finishing fourth in the Women’s Teams at the 2016 World Games.
England
Originally from Scotland, Andrew made numerous appearances in the Junior Camrose and the full Camrose between 1986 and 1999, before switching his allegiance to England. He finished sixth in the 2006 World Open Pairs partnering David Bakhshi. As a long-time member of the BLACK team, he collected a silver medal from the Open Teams at the 2016 European Winter Games in Monaco, finished third in the 2018 European Champions Cup, and third again in the 2022 Rosenblum.
🥉2022 16th World Bridge Series Wroclaw - Open Teams - Team Black
🥉2018 17th European Champions' Cup Eilat - Open Teams - Black - Engl. Champion
Photo: Peter Hasenson
USA
Jill won the 1998 World Womens Pairs playing with Shawn Quinn. She has finished in all three medal places at the McConnell Cup (the Womens Teams at the open World Championships staged every four years), finishing third in 1998, winning in 2002, and losing in the final in 2006. She also won the Mixed Teams at the 2000 Olympiad playing for E-Bridge. Jill first represented the USA at the 1991 Venice Cup, and she won that event for the first time two years later in Santiago, Chile. She has since reached the final of the Venice Cup on four more occasions, winning in 1997, 2007 and 2013, and losing the 2000 final to the Dutch. She has also reached the final of two other World Championship events, collecting silver medals in the Womens Teams at the 2004 Olympiad and the Mixed Teams at the 2019 World Teams Championships in Wuhan, China.
🥈2023 US Bridge Championship - Women team - Baker
🥉2022 16th World Bridge Series Wroclaw - Women Teams - Baker
🥈2021 US Bridge Championship - Women team - Baker
🥈2019 44th World Bridge Teams Championships Wuhan - Mixed Teams - USA 1
🥇2019 US Bridge Championship - Mixed team - Ivatury
🥇2022 16th World Bridge Series Wroclaw - Women Pairs
Photo: Jonathan Steinberg
England
Alan is a former conductor of the ‘Marks & Comments’ feature in Bridge Magazine. He has represented England many times as a player, coach and NPC, and won a European championship as coach of the England Women’s team in 2001. His partnership with John Holland was instrumental in the England team reaching the final of the Seniors Teams at the 2019 World Championship in Wuhan. Most recently, he won a Bronze medal in the senior teams at the World Bridge Series in Wroclaw in 2022.
🥉2022 16th World Bridge Series Wroclaw - Senior Teams - Penfold
🥈2019 44th World Bridge Teams Championships Wuhan - Senior Teams - England
Photo: From Alan Mould
USA
Nick reached the final of the Grand National Teams back in 1983 and he won his first National event in 1991, the Kaplan Blue Ribbon Pairs partnering Bob Hamman. He has now won 25 US National titles (plus 16 second-place finishes), including the Spingold 9 times, the Reisinger 8 times, and the Vanderbilt 5 times, most recently in Louisville just a few weeks ago. Representing the USA, Nick won the Bermuda Bowl at his first attempt, in Beijing in 1995. He has since won three more times (2000,2003 and 2009) and picked up two silver medals and one bronze from the game’s most prestigious event. Most recently, he won the Rosenblum Cup at the 2022 World Championships in Wroclaw in his second final of that event.
🥇2022 16th World Bridge Series - Open Teams - Nickell
🥉2022 45th World Bridge Championships - Open Teams - USA 1
USA
Jacek won the World Pairs in 1998 (playing with Michal Kwiecien), where he first earned the nickname "Pepsi". In 2017 he won the Bermuda Bowl as part of the USA team.
In between, he has had many successes in international bridge, including winning the Transnational Teams at the 2011 and 2012 World Championships and the Open Teams at the 2011 European Transnational Championships. He finished second in the World Mixed Pairs in 2014 (with Meike Wortel). He has also been the official coach of three teams that have won Seniors World Championship titles, in 2015, 2016 and 2018. Representing his native Poland, he collected three silver and four bronze medals in European and World championship events between 1997 and 2002.
🥇2023 10th European Transnational Championships - Open Board-A-Match Teams - Pepsi
🥇2020 3rd European Winter Games Monaco - Open Board-A-Match Teams - Pepsi
Photo: European Bridge League (EBL)
Sweden
Ola is a member of the Swedish Bridge Royal Family, with ten World and seven European Championship titles between them. Ola first represented his country in the Youngsters Teams at the 2009 European Championships. His first victory came in the Schools Teams at the 2013 European Youth Championships in Wroclaw, and this was quickly followed by winning the Youngsters Teams at the 2014 World Youth Championships. Further wins soon followed, in the Youngsters Pairs at the 2014 Europeans and the Junior Pairs at the 2015 World Championships, followed by the 2017 European Junior Teams and the 2018 World Junior Teams titles. In their first major foray after losing their junior status, Ola and his brother Mikael won the Open Pairs at 2018 World Bridge Series in Orlando. They are now regular members of the Swedish Open team.
🥇2023 4th European Winter Games - Open Teams - Orca
🥇2018 17th World Youth Teams Championships Wujang - Junior Teams - Sweden
Photo: Jonathan Steinberg
