The standout deals from the 2025 eBridge Cup

Summary

The 2025 eBridge Cup brought together thousands of players, showcasing an exceptional field: world champions, rising young talents, Funbridge instructors, and content creators followed well beyond the platform. This diversity produced a rich, high-intensity final, shaped by strikingly different playing styles.

Before diving into the deals shared by several players, here are the personalities who helped make this edition an unmissable event.

The key personalities of the 2025 eBridge Cup

The final brought together an eclectic community: experts, teachers, young talents, streamers… along with regular players from both platforms, BBO and Funbridge.

Champions & Elite Players 🏆

Players who matter on the international scene, whose reputation speaks for itself:

Your turn to play!

Here is a deal selected by Léo Rombaut, U21 world champion… with his comments at the end of the deal. If you would like to defend against the same contract as he did, choose to play card play only.

Play the deal

Funbridge’s Educational Pillars 🎓

A Funbridge ambassador, junior world champion, and a trained statistician, Milan Macura is known for his methodical and educational approach, as well as his strong involvement in the development of bridge.

His videos and analyses have become essential resources for the international community.

Milan has selected two deals for you: the first one where he played well, and the second where he was a bit lucky—but above all, disciplined… Test yourself against one of the most recognizable faces of Funbridge, and of bridge in general!

In competitive auction
Pushing for the slam

A teacher and creator of the French Masterclasses, Dominique Fonteneau is one of the most recognized voices in the French-speaking bridge world. His talent for sharing knowledge, combined with his rigor and kindness, makes him a guiding figure for many players.

A deal told by the Professor

Opening lead: the Queen of Clubs to East’s Ace, and East returns a Club. I cash the Ace of Hearts, then play a low Diamond. West rises with the King and returns the 10. East gives count.

I cross to the Jack of Hearts to play Spades. Assuming the Ace of Spades is behind, I finesse the 8 of Spades, aiming for an elimination and endplay.

Back in hand with the Jack, West is forced to take the Ace of Spades and either return a Spade or give me a ruff-and-discard… and since I still have an entry with the 8 of Hearts, I can cash my now-established 10 of Spades to discard the losing Diamond.

I therefore finish with +1, i.e. +140 and 90%.

Bridge Points Ranking Standouts 🔥

The competition also brought together many players featured in the top 100 of the Bridge Points Circuit, whose consistency commands admiration:

Aviram, who finished 34th overall (and 7th on Funbridge), shares a slam deal with us

The following deal occurred during the final of this e-Bridge Cup. I am in second seat, vulnerable against not vulnerable, my right-hand opponent passes, and my hand certainly calls for some thought.
Of course, I could simply open a natural 1♣, as most of the field would likely do. But with such an extreme distribution, I also considered opening 3NT “gambling”.

This opening shows a solid seven-card minor with very little outside strength. My hand was not perfect for that: holding four Spades and two outside Queens perhaps made it too unbalanced… and probably too strong.

But since we were playing matchpoints, and I was in an adventurous mood, I eventually decided to open 3NT.

My left-hand opponent passes, and my dear partner quite naturally bids… 7♣!

Well. Partner knows I have those seven solid Clubs and seems to be counting thirteen tricks. Am I even allowed to think? Should I dare to convert to 7NT? Granted, he might have a side void, or perhaps his count of thirteen tricks involves establishing a suit through ruffing… But I have those two outside Queens he knows nothing about… and I do not trust Argine to factor in the extra gain from 7NT compared to 7♣.

So this time, I decide to fully commit to my “gambling” idea: I bid 7NT! No one doubles, and the decision proves profitable when dummy comes down: thirteen top tricks and a score of 95.5%.

A fun fact: no one in the field played 7♣. Three pairs out of twenty-three reached 7NT; all the others stopped in the small slam.

Two deals from the winner of this eBridge Cup: Bernhard Bussek

🥇 At the top of the leaderboard, Bernhard Bussek (Germany) claimed victory with 61.27% over 100 deals.

This represents his average across 50 deals on BBO and 50 deals on Funbridge.

Here are two deals from the Funbridge final: one in which Bernhard particularly excelled, and the very last deal of the event, when he secured the title after one final feat!

In competitive auction
The final deal!

Streamers & Content Creators 🎥

A new, highly followed generation that is modernizing the way we experience competition:

  • Peter Hollands – Australian coach, known for his intuitive and light-hearted teaching style
  • Steve Raine – British specialist in card play and squeezes
  • Remo « Wilder Bridger » – German creator behind the U21 Team, known for his fresh tone and well-crafted humor

These creators covered, explained, and brought the eBridge Cup to life, offering a perspective that complements that of the players.

Remo invites you to put your bidding judgment to the test with a deal from the final, where players were split between two decisions.

Play the deal

To round out your reading

Would you like to place the analyzed deals back into the broader context of the event?
Find the full recap of the eBridge Cup — key figures, highlights, countries involved, prizes, and a portrait of the winner — in the dedicated article: eBridge Cup 2025: the largest online bridge competition ever organized.

And what about you — did you take part in the final?

If you have any comments about this article or about the competition itself, feel free to share them here!

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