And that was really the point, wasn't it?

Viktor Blom is a cash game player. He's not a tourney grinder. So, why in the world--how in the world--is he crushing the Spring Championship of Online Poker so hard?

As of this moment, Blom has won $438,408 in this year's SCOOP festival, more than anybody else playing. He's in fifth place on the overall SCOOP leaderboard having only played 38 events (by comparison, leader Shaun Deeb has played 74 events and won $174,503).

So, to put it bluntly, what the hell, Viktor?

"I played a lot of tournaments and SNGs when I started out and did well," he said. 'When I started playing cash, I kind of forgot about tournaments and didn't have any deep runs in a long time."

And then suddenly, Blom pops up in January, wins the $100,000 buy-in Super High Roller at the PCA, and then backs that up with back-to-back SCOOP wins. It was a four-month performance that many poker players would give their career to have.

If you can imagine this, there actually sort of was an "ah-ha, Eureka!" moment for the young Swede, and it's just as smart as it is silly. After winning the big one at the PCA, Blom had a sort of revelation.

"It woke me up again," he said. "I realized if go deep, it's so much more exciting. So. I feel I play better now that I realize that."

For anyone wondering whether Blom plays for the money or the jollies he gets from his poker adrenal glands, that should answer your question. Blom isn't in it so much for the titles as the feeling.

"I enjoying tournaments more than I did before," Blom said today. "Maybe that's because I always busted in the beginning before."

Blom concedes two things: he has worked on his tournament game, and he still understands how bad luck on one hand can ruin an entire day. Though he didn't bring it up, I watched him play a hand the other day--deep in a big SCOOP event-- in which he four-bet all-in with aces and got calls from both jacks and ace-king. The jacks flopped a set. The ace-king ran out a straight. The aces ended up third best. If Blom had won that hand, he was probably guaranteed another giant SCOOP final table instead of a 20th place finish.

But again, Blom didn't even bring that hand up. At the time, I recall him typing something like, "I've been lucky before, too."

Now he just puts it like this: "It takes only one hand to go out of a tournament, but I guess that's the thrill to it."

That's about all you'll get out of Blom right now. He's busy. Not only does he have cash games to think about, but SCOOP runs for another five days, and Blom isn't going to let up.

"I'm going to try hit another deep run in a big one," he said.

After that, though, it's back to what you'd expect. That is to say, Blom is going to frame his mind right for the next few days of tourneys, but you know what's going to happen after that.

"The ones I play I'm going to try do do my best in," Blom said, "but, my biggest effort is still going to be in the cash games."

And that is your Eureka moment for the day.

If that speculation was reaching fever pitch, it went into meltdown when, in December 2010, PokerStars announced it was signing up Isildur1 as a member of the prestigious Team PokerStars Pro. But being a bit of a tease, PokerStars still did not reveal the player's real identity. Not yet, anyway. That was to come at the PCA in January this year, when the online phenom was unmasked as Viktor Blom.

At a special unveiling, he was introduced to the tournament floor and the poker world got its first glimpse of the online terror. He was Swedish, he was young (born in 1990), he had long fair hair, and he was not afraid to get his money in the middle. In an interview just hours before this 'ceremony', he spoke with my colleague Brad Willis, revealing he had first deposited $2,000 and had spun it up to $2 million within just three weeks.

Since then, Isildur1 has played the biggest PokerStars cash games, and also embarked on a series of special SuperStar Showdowns, where he would take on an opponent heads-up across a number of tables, with a specified amount on the line and a required total number of hands to play. One of Blom's victims was none other than Daniel Negreanu.

Sometimes it was bloody. Negreanu was felted for $150,000 in 1,439 hands.

Since copping to his identity, Blom has now become one of the most recognised players on the live circuit. He's got just one decent live score so far - $51,000 for coming 16th in the WSOPE main event in 2010. But if he can start transferring some of his online success to live tournaments, the results could start flowing.

"I will always try to play against the toughest opponents. I always want to improve my game and I like the thrill and the challenge in a really tough game," he explained. You have been warned.

* * * *

We are publishing these daily review articles throughout November as PokerStars gears up to celebrate its 10th Anniversary.

Previous reviews:

PokerStars and charity
Home Games
Daniel Negreanu, poker star
EPT old-timers
Tournament variety
Liv Boeree, winner
Sunday Best
Rocking all over the world
The Selbst Factor
WCOOP
Milestones to go before we sleep
World Cup of Poker
The Bear Necessities
SCOOP, hold the front page
Slaying the EPT monkey
Pole position
When two cards just won't do
ElkY, one name says it all
Going live at the PCA
It's a bling thing
Online wizards cast their spell
The EPT circus
Sporting greats
Making world champions
Party treats

After last week's 2,500-hand session, Palmer held a $5,425 advantage over Blom -- a small edge relatively speaking, given that each player had hefty $150,000 bankrolls with which to battle. Last Sunday Palmer jumped out to an early advantage, Blom fought back to retake the lead for much of the middle portion, then a late charge by Palmer gave him the lead just before the final bell rung. (For a full recap of last week's action, click here.)

Blom Sails Boat into Lead

Blom and Palmer once more stuck with no-limit hold'em only (blinds $50/$100) for these final 2,500 hands.

In one of the first hands on Table 3, Blom quickly closed in on Palmer's small lead, claiming a modest pot after flopping trip aces. Then over on Table 1, just over five minutes in, came the first all-in of the day.

After Palmer had raised and called a three-bet from Blom, a [Ks][Ac][Kh] flop saw Isildur1 continuing and Palmer calling. Palmer called a bigger turn bet after the [Tc] fell, then again called Blom's all-in push on the [Qs] river. Palmer had turned a straight with [Qd][Js], but Blom held [As][Kd] for the flopped boat. That hand gave the Swede a pot of $21,600 and the overall lead -- a lead he would not relinquish for the duration of the match.

Isildur1 would soon claim the next two $20,000-plus pots of the afternoon as well. In the first the pair got it all in on the turn with the board showing [Ah][Kh][9c][5c]. It was an unfortunate spot for urnotindangr who had [Kc][9s] but was behind Blom's better two pair with [Ad][9h]. An ace on the river sealed it, giving Blom the $20,800 pot. And shortly after Blom would take another big one -- $22,700 this time -- turning two pair with [Jd][6s] to crack Palmer's pocket kings. After 200 hands, Isildur1 was up $22,150 on the day for a $16,725 advantage overall.

Blom continued to add to his lead over the next 100 hands, using his characteristic aggressiveness to pressure Palmer into folds. Finally came a hand in which Palmer had three-bet preflop from out of position, Blom called, and the flop came [4d][8s][9s]. Palmer led for $1,200 into the $2,000 pot, and Blom promptly raised to $2,850. Palmer contemplated the situation for nearly a half-minute, then pushed all in for $9,400 total. Blom quickly called, showing [Qs][10s] for overs and both flush and gutshot draws. Meanwhile Palmer had [As][Qc], and after the [Kh] turn and [2h] river his ace-high hand remained best, earning him the $20,800 pot.

Palmer would scoop the next big pot, too, after the pair got it all in following a [5s][4s][3s] flop with Isildur1 holding [Qs][Qs] and Palmer [As][Tc]. A spade arrived on the river to give Palmer the better flush and the $22,500 in the middle, and for a brief time it appeared the momentum might be swinging back urnotindangr's way.

All the All-Ins for Isildur1

However, the next hour saw Blom winning a succession of large pots, including the next three straight of $25,000 or more.

In the first both players made pairs on a [Ts][2s][7h] flop, but the [2c] turn gave Blom trip deuces with [Kh][2h], which urnotindangr subsequently paid off with his [As][Th] on the river (pot $27,000). Then came a preflop all-in with Palmer taking [9h][9d] up against Blom's [Ah][Kh]. A king flopped, Blom's hand held, and another large one ($28,100) went to the Swede.

Soon after that urnotindangr was all in again before the flop, this time with [Th][Td] against Blom's [Ad][9s], but the board came [7s][2d][8s][6d][5d], giving Isildur1 a straight and a $32,200 pot. After about an hour of play and 701 hands down, Isildur1 was up $44,950 on the day.

Palmer scraped back a few, taking a couple of medium-sized pots. But every time the all-ins occurred, Isildur1 seemed to be the one holding the bigger hand. For example, in a hand on Table 3 the pair exchanged several bets on the turn with the board showing [6h][Jh][Ad][Qc], creating a pot of a little over $9,000. The river brought the [3s] and an all-in shove from Isildur1 which Palmer called with the $9,100 he had left. Palmer had [As][Qs] for top two, but Blom had [Kc][Tc] for the Broadway straight, the $27,300 pot swiftly sliding into Isildur1's stack.

The pair crossed the 1,000-hand mark, Blom's profit for the day having mushroomed to $68,800. Palmer won back one stack of high society on Table 3 when his pocket jacks outlasted Blom's [Ac][Qh], but quickly gave it back on Table 1 when the two got it all in on the river with the board showing [9d][7d][Td][9c][3h] with Palmer holding [Qd][Jd] versus Blom's [Ad][2d].

Blom's Away

That flush-over-flush hand was somewhat indicative of how things went for Palmer during the first hour and 45 minutes of play, but Palmer would soon get a brief respite from the constant run of bad fortune.

They'd nearly reached the midpoint for the day, with 1,166 hands down and Blom up by $69,400, when Blom experienced some connectivity problems, causing the match to be delayed for nearly 45 minutes. After moving to a new location Blom was back online, the pair were reseated at four new tables, and cards were soon back in the air.

His set-up might've changed, but Blom's setting up of Palmer time and again to pay off big hands continued as before. Isildur1 quickly took another $20K-plus pot when his top pair outlasted a Palmer flush draw. Then came one in which Palmer opened for 3x from the button, Blom called, and the flop came [2c][5d][8c]. Blom checked, Palmer bet $400, Blom made it $1,300, and Palmer called. The turn was the [7c], and this time Blom check-called Palmer's bet of $2,600. Isildur1 check-called another bet following the [9s] river -- this one $6,400 -- and turned over [2h][2s], more than enough against Palmer's [As][3c] for ace-high. Another big pot -- $21,200 -- was shipped Blom's way.

Palmer would manage to double a couple of times after reloading to $10,000, but every time he did Blom soon grabbed most if not all of those chips right back. By the time they hit the three-quarter mark of 1,750 hands, Isildur1 had pushed to a $78,357 profit for the day ($72,932 overall).

Bing Blang Blom

Then arose a hand which appeared might prove a turning point for Palmer. On Table 6 both were sitting with about $25,000, thus setting the stage for what would prove the biggest hand of the afternoon.

The hand began with a raise to $300 by Palmer, a reraise to $1,100 by Blom, and a call from urnotindangr. The flop came [8d][Qh][Ad], and Blom led for $1,300. Palmer called. The turn was the [Qc], pairing the board, and this time Blom bet $3,150.

Palmer didn't wait too long before pumping it up to $8,000, and Blom responded in kind, reraising again to $12,850. Palmer called, and together they watched the [2h] land on the river. Isildur1 pushed all in with the $8,250 he had left, and Palmer -- with only a shade more -- called the bet. Palmer had [Qd][Jc] for trips, but had been foiled yet again by Blom who held [Ah][Qs] for aces full of queens.

The pot was $47,000 even, and with that one it appeared Blom had all but assured himself another SuperStar Showdown win.

A Late Palmer Push

The last 500 hands saw Blom increase his lead for the day up over $100,000 for a short while, then Palmer gamely battle back to close the final margin, grabbing three $20K-ish pots during the final stretch of hands.

The first saw Palmer all in on a [5h][5s][Jd] flop with [As][Jh], better than Blom's [Ah][Ks], and the hand held. Then came a hand in which Palmer let Blom lead the betting before the flop and on all three streets as the board ran out [5s][Qc][9c][4s][Tc]. In the end Blom had but [8s][6s] for a busted draw while urnotindangr's [Td][9s] gave him two pair and the pot.

Finally, in the last big hand of the night, a series of preflop raises saw urnotindangr all in with [Jd][Jc] versus Blom's [Kh][Qh]. The community cards came [5d][3d][2d][Qd][5c], giving Palmer a diamond flush and a few more chips as the final hands of the day were dealt.

It was not quite enough for Palmer, though, as Blom finished the 2,500-hand session $66,607 up for the day and $61,182 ahead over 5,000 hands. The combatants quickly exchanged messages of "gg" and were soon off on their separate ways, both likely in search of still more action.

It has been quite a run for Isildur1, who after losing his first SuperStar Showdown match to Isaac Haxton last December has compiled an impressive list of vanquished challengers -- Tony G, Daniel Cates, Eugene Katchalov, Attila "DodgyFish72" Gulcsik (the qualifier Blom bested by a single big blind!), Daniel Negreanu, and now Palmer.

Who will be next to show up for the Showdown? Stay tuned!

This was the quickest showdown match to date, Palmer and Blom blasting through all 2,500 hands of $50/$100 NLHE in four hours and one minute. The two were all-in on Table 4 within six minutes, Palmer five-bet shoving preflop with [8c][8d] and Blom making the call with [Qh][Qc]. Nothing changed on the [Ah][9c][2d] flop, but Palmer spiked a two-outer on the turn, the [8h] falling to give him a set and the $20,000 pot. A few minutes later, Blom three-bet Palmer's $300 opening raise to $1,000, then lead out for $1,200 on the [Tc][7s][3s] flop. Palmer called and they went to the turn, which fell the [4c]. Blom checked, Palmer bet $2,800, and Blom came back over the top, shoving for $7,800. Palmer called, revealing [Ks][8s] for a king-high flush draw while Blom showed a pair of sevens with [9d][7c]. Palmer hit one of his 15 outs on the river, the [8c] falling to make him a pair of eights that were good enough to relieve Blom of another buy-in. Throw in a $10,000 pot where Palmer made a full house and after 11 minutes and 150 hands, he was already out to a $38,000 lead.

The next 150 hands saw Palmer increase that margin to more than $50,000. Over on Table 3, Palmer opened for $300 with [Kd][Qc] and Blom defended his big blind with [Qs][3s]. Both hit the [Ks][Qd][8s] flop hard, Blom with middle pair and a flush draw against Palmer's top two pair. Blom checked, Palmer bet $400, Blom raised to $1,200 and Palmer called. The [2c] on the turn missed Blom, but nevertheless, he kept the pressure on and led out for $2,250. Palmer smooth-called, the [Kh] on the river making him the nut boat. Blom checked, Palmer shoved, and Blom called off the $6,350 he had left in his stack only to watch the $20,200 pot shipped across the table.

As quickly as Palmer built his lead, Blom rebounded, reclaiming all his lost chips and then some over the next half-hour. Although in this hand Palmer flopped two pair against Blom's overpair, Blom caught a set on the river to take down this $32,100 pot:

Palmer dropped a $23,900 pot when he three-bet shoved a [Ts][3s][2d] flop with [4h][5h], but couldn't fill his open-ended straight draw against Blom's pair of tens. Minutes later, Blom turned a two-outer of his own, his pocket kings making a set on a [Ad][8h][2d][Kh] board. Palmer check-called Blom's $1,400 bet with [Ah][9d], then checked the [5d] on the river. Blom moved all-in for $7,900 into the $4,400 pot and Palmer looked him up only to see the bad news. Blom evened the match when he won $20,800 preflop coinflip with pocket queens against Palmer's [Ad][Kh], then took an $11,025 lead after turning a six-high straight in another $20,000 pot. By the time one hour had ticked off the clock, Blom held a $22,050 advantage, having ground up $72,350 in just under 300 hands.

20 minutes later, Blom had nearly doubled his lead to $41,325. In a $27,550 pot, all the money went in on the river with the board reading [Ts][7s][Qd][Ad][Ks], Palmer rivering a Broadway straight with [Qc][Jc] while Blom made the nut flush with [As][8s]. Then, in a $16,000 pot, Blom got three streets of value with top two pair, Palmer check-calling to the river on a [Jh][6c][3h][Qc][9h]
board. However, before Blom could get too far ahead, Palmer pulled out a win in the largest pot they'd seen yet. Blom opened for $300 with [Ks][Jh], Palmer three-bet to $1,200 with [Qh][7h] and Blom made the call. Palmer flopped huge, hitting top pair and a flush draw when it came down [Qs][9h][5h]. Palmer checked, Blom bet $1,500 with his gutshot straight draw, Palmer raised to $4,000 and Blom called. Palmer made his flush on the turn with the [3h] and Blom called his $4,800 bet, having picked up an inferior flush draw. The [Kc] on the river made Blom top pair, and it was enough for him to call Palmer's $11,475 shove. The $42,950 pot went to Palmer, cutting Blom's lead to $18,350.

The swings just kept on coming through the middle third of the match. Blom ground his lead back up to $47,900 only to give up a significant chunk of those profits when Palmer flopped a set of eights against his pocket aces and got full value. Blom flopped his own set only a few hands later, but Palmer got there on the turn when he filled his open-ended straight draw. However, once again, Blom stormed back, turning a flush against Palmer's aces up in this $30,800 pot:

After 1,507 hands, Blom was holding on to a $50,150 lead, but two simultaneous Palmer double-ups cut that margin in half. On a [Ks][6d][3s] flop, Blom check-called Palmer's $400 bet, then check-raised the turn when the [Ad] fell. Palmer looked him up and they went to the river, which fell the [7s]. Blom moved all-in and Palmer happily called off the $6,625 he had behind, having made the nut flush with [As][Js]. Blom could only show [3d][5d] and Palmer raked in the $22,350 pot. At the very same time, Blom made the very same move on Table 2, shoving the river with the board reading [Jh][Jc][4c][Kc][6d]. Palmer called and both players showed trip jacks, Palmer's [Ah][Js] outkicking Blom's [Jd][7d] for the $25,700 pot.

Palmer continued grinding away at Blom, picking up a series of mid-sized pots that erased another $15,000 or so of his deficit. Just before the 1,700-hand mark, he moved back into the lead after getting his money in on a [Qh][6d][2d] flop with [2c][6s] against Blom's [Ad][3d]. Although Blom turned top pair, his flush and two pair outs missed on the river, the $23,000 pot giving Palmer a $10,675 overall lead. In yet another blink-and-you'll-almost-miss-it comeback, Palmer won $60,825 in only 164 hands, but Blom didn't let him sit on his lead for long. Six minutes later, Blom was back in the black to the tune of $18,525, thanks in large part to this 368 big blind pot.

Holding $18,400 to Blom's $27,475 to start the hand, Palmer opened for $300. Blom three-bet to $1,100 and Palmer made the call. Blom led out for $1,300 on the [Ac][Qs][8c] flop and Palmer came along. The turn brought the [6d] and Blom fired again, making it $3,250 to go. Palmer called, and the [6h] hit the river. Blom checked, Palmer bet $8,400 of the $12,750 he had behind, Blom set him in and Palmer called off his remaining $4,300, turning over [6c][7c] for trips. They were no good as Blom revealed [8s][8h] in the hole and took down the $36,800 pot with eights full of sixes.

Over the next 200 hands, Palmer switched gears and chipped away at Blom's lead via small-pot poker. Both players' stacks had grown quite deep-- there was $80,000 spread between them on Table 2 alone. As they crossed the 2,000-hand mark, Blom's smallest stack was the $16,200 he held on Table 3. Blom doubled that stack when he check-raised all-in on the turn holding [Kd][Qh] on a [Kh][6d][5s][7c] board and Palmer looked him up with [Kc][8c]. Palmer had outs to two pair and a straight, but missed on the river when the [As] fell. Although Palmer picked up a $19,600 pot when Blom made a triple-barrel bluff right into his trip sevens, closing the gap to $2,625, Blom went on another tear, picking up three five-figure pots over the next ten minutes, inlcuding this $29,700 hand:

With 100 hands to go, and Blom hanging on to a $24,000 lead, the monsterpotten of the match unfolded. With $45,150 behind, Blom opened for $300 with [Ts][8d] and Palmer smooth-called with pocket fives and $29,425 in his stack. The [5c][2h][2d] flop gave Palmer a full house and he decided to slow-play it, checking over to Blom, who bet $500 with his unimproved ten-high. Palmer called, and the [7d] came on the turn. Palmer checked a second time and Blom decided to bluff another street, making it $1,400 to go. Palmer smooth-called. The river was the [4d] and Palmer decided to let Blom try and stab at the pot again. He checked, Blom bet $2,850, Palmer raised to $8,600, and still with an unimproved ten-high, Blom shoved for $42,950. Palmer snap-called $18,625 more, the $58,850 pot pushing him into the black by $5,075.

In the closing hands of the match, the lead changed twice more. Although Blom pulled back out to a $8,025 advantage by hand 2,479, this match came right down to the wire, Palmer snapping off Blom's pocket aces when he turned trips with [Ad][3s] in a $16,000 pot to take an $8,725 lead. Blom managed to shave a few thousand off that total, Palmer finishing with a $5,425 profit after 2,500 hands.

The two rivals offered a few parting words before departing to continue their Sunday grind:

Isildur1: gg
urnotindangr: gg very funmatch thinking not so fun with swings
Isildur1: :)
Isildur1: yep
Isildur1: cu next friday
urnotindangr: cu gl

We're pretty sure Blom meant Sunday there, as Round Two of this SuperStar Showdown will commence in one week's time, on April 10 at 3:00pm EDT. If it's anything like this one, it should be a nail-biter to the end. Do join us again. And in the time it took us to compose this post, Scott Palmer won $490,000 playing PLO. That's just how he rolls.

Blom's SuperStar Showdown matches currently have him in the black. While he's taken some losses, he's still way ahead on the balance sheet, thanks in large part to his dismantling of Daniel Negreanu for $150,000 in their first match.

Blom isn't sitting back and resting on a pile of money, however. Over the next two Sundays, Blom will take on fellow nosebleeder Scott '"urnotindangr" Palmer. They'll play the first $2,500 hands over four tables of $50/$100 NLHE on Sunday April 3. Then, assuming all goes to plan, they'll be back for another 2,500 hands on April 10.

We know you folks love your Isildur1 coverage, so we'll be back on the case with a complete wrap-up of the action Sunday night. For a look back on a whole bunch of words about Viktor Blom, see all of our previous Isildur1 coverage.

Tune in to PokerStars Sunday at 3pm for the first round of action.

As you might have seen, the first match last night ended badly for Kid Poker. In a SuperStar Showdown that was scheduled to last 5,000 hands over two weeks with a $150,000 stop-loss, Blom dismantled Negreanu in fewer than 1,500 hands.

Negreanu took to Twitter when the match was over and gracefully endured 18 tons of advice from the rail. He hinted they he'd be back for the re-match, but it was unclear whether the match was going to happen for sure.

Just a few minutes ago, Negreanu's people talked to our people and it's now locked up for sure. Negreanu and Blom are going to go at it again. Negreanu is reloading for a full $150,000. Otherwise, the rules are the same: 2,500 hands (or until somebody goes broke) of $50/$100 hold'em over four tables.

If you'd like to watch the match as it happens, tune in to PokerStars at 3pm ET. We'll be there. You should be, too.

Stop press: Just moments after we hit the big red button that publishes this thing, Negreanu updated his blog to talk more about his re-match. Here's a snippet:

"I elected not to play the Wynn Classic, and instead devote my time to playing heads up on PokerStars all week in preparation for my rematch next Sunday. I haven't decided how I will approach the next match, a lot of that will depend how this week goes. I'll be doing some experimenting, as I mentioned, and I won't know exactly how I'm going to play him until the match starts."

You can read the whole thing HERE.

In news breaking this very moment, we can reveal that Viktor "Isildur1" Blom and Daniel Negreanu have come to terms with the dates, times, stakes, and details of a SuperStar Showdown match that will be spread over two dates.

Blom and Negreanu will face off on two consecutive Sundays, March 20 and March 27, at 15:00 ET. The details are much the same as previous Showdown matches, although this time the contest is spread over two weekends.

They sit down with $150,000 available over four tables of $50/$100 no-limit hold'em on March 20, and after 2,500 hands their finishing stacks are carried over to round two on March 27 for another 2,500 hands across the same tables.

This two-part Ali-Frazier battle has been in the offing for some time. Negreanu has been writing about it on his blog off and on and making no secret of the facts that he both admires Blom and wants to face him in a four-table match.

Just a few weeks ago, Negreanu wrote a bit about his practice sessions. He's been four-tabling $5/$10 NLHE against a variety of good players. Despite having to deal with the learning curve of multi-tabling, Negreanu's sessions as of the first part of February had him up more than $13,000. He wrote of his practice at the time that he was only doing what any other competitor would do.

"It's all part of the learning process, and I'm a big believer in going all out against the fastest competition I can find, because then when I play others, the pace will seem comfortable," he wrote. "It's no different than a baseball player swinging five bats before he goes up to the plate, or a golfer taking some practice swings with a heavy club."

Now that Negreanu has swung his bats around with some of the best, he's going after the Moby Dick of online nosebleeders. For Negreanu, it's not about the money. It's simply about being able to compete with the best.

We're working on getting a few words with both of the players in the run-up to their matches. In the meantime, prepare yourself for what are sure to be the most-watched online heads-up match in a long time, if not ever. And, as always, the PokerStars Blog will provide its usual full coverage of the battle across both Sundays.

Your thoughts, betting lines, and predictions are, as always, welcome in the comments.

Sunday at 3pm ET, Blom will take on the Hungarian PokerStars qualifier known as DodgyFish72. Instead of those $50/$100 no-limit hold'em games Blom is used to, the match will be four tables of $5/$10 for 2,500 total hands.

DodgyFish72 qualified for the shot at Isildur1 after beating a field of 124 players in an
$11 qualifying tourney and winning a 140-player final.

For his efforts, DodgyFish72 will get to keep whatever he has left on the four tables after all 2,500 hands are played. If either of the players manages to stack his opponent during the match, he will get a $10,000 bonus from PokerStars.

DodgyFish72 won't be the last one to have a chance at Blom. PokerStars is already running tournaments where you can win a seat in the next Qualifier SuperStar Showdown. For more information, visit the SuperStar Showdown qualifier page.

Due to turn 30 this month, Katachlov has already amassed more than $6 million in live winnings. He's going to put a small chunk of that up against Isildur1's skill and current streak of run-good.

PokerStars is set to announce today that Isildur1 and Katchalov will face off this coming Sunday, February 13 at 3pm ET for the next SuperStar Showdown.

By now, the SuperStar Showdown format has become pretty familiar. The game will again be played over four tables of $50/$100 NLHE for 2500 hands.

So far, Blom is 2-1 in SuperStar Showdowns. He lost the first one to Isaac Haxton, but won his next two against Tony G. and Daniel Cates. Now it's Katchalov's turn.

As always, you'll be able to watch the match play out online. Katchalov will be playing under his longtime screen name "MyRabbiFoo."

If you can't watch Sunday afternoon, the PokerStars Blog will have a full wrap-up Sunday night with all the highlights.

"I want to play this guy again, because I didn't feel he was so good," Isildur1 said of Isaac Haxton. "I dont think he deserved to win."

Isildur1 is not Don Quixote's windmill. He is not a shadow-boxer's foil. Fighting Isilidur1 is like grappling with a ghost that battles back. Most people who speak of him have no idea what it's like to have their money at stake against the King of Swing. Haxton is one man who can speak from experience. This weekend he walked away with more than $40,000 of Isildur1's money...and he's still getting over it.

"No one has ever more consistently made me miserable when playing against them," Haxton said.

This is coming from a man who played 2,500 hands across four tables against Isildur1 in Sunday's SuperStar Showdown...and won. This is coming from Haxton, a man that most people in the poker world regard as a tremendously good heads-up player. It's this man who--without provocation or incentive--rates Isildur1 as one of his toughest-ever heads-up opponents.

"I guess I'd put (Phil) Ivey in second for that, but it's honestly not that close. Isildur's brand of over the top--but carefully balanced--aggression is unlike anything I've played against and really takes me out of my comfort zone in a lot of situations," Haxton said. "As someone who's probably played half a million hands of high stakes HUNL, that's saying something."

That's a long way of saying, Haxton's candidacy for the Mayor of Good Sports is still strong.

What Haxton is careful not to do, however, is declare Isildur1 the best. Why? Well, you'll have to talk Haxton about that. This is as far as he will go:

"I'm not saying he's definitely the best I've ever played, and I'm not saying he definitely isn't, but, damn, is he a pain to play against," Haxton said.

Haxton's bonhomie is an easier sell. After all, he won what was to this point the most publicized PokerStars heads-up match in recent memory. He harpooned the Moby Dick of heads-up poker players. He stuck it to the international man of mystery and did it on a very big stage.

Isildur1, as previously mentioned, isn't very happy.

"(Haxton) is too passive and a weak player. He did get lucky," Isildur1 said. Then, to drive home the post-game needling, Isildur1 said of Haxton: "He never had the guts to play me higher limits before either."

Isildur1 went on to say he craves someone who will give him more action. He wasn't used to Haxton's style and said he had never purposefully sat with someone who consistently min-raised their button. It appears that might have been Haxton's plan all along.

"I was on the defensive a lot of the time--a lot more than I'm used to--but that had been my plan going in," Haxton said. "I think I did a fairly good job of neutralizing his strengths and exploiting his weaknesses."

Haxton said, while he had a lot of fun, he doubts that either he or Isildur1 fully understood what was going on in the other's head over then 2,500 hands. Moreover, Haxton said, the thousands-deep rail probably missed a few of the nuances going on across the four tables.

"One thing I noticed which was probably hard for railbirds to spot was just how frequently and dramatically Isi's game plan shifted," Haxton said. "He would do one thing for a few hundred hands, I'd make a call that made it clear I knew what was up, and suddenly his bet-sizing and frequencies were different on every street."

In case you're not good at reading between the lines, Haxton has just offered Isildur1 something that few poker players get from their opponents: respect. While Isildur1 might be among the world's best players, he's not about to return Haxton's respect in kind.

"He ran too good and I want re-match in a game for 5,000 hands," Isildur1 said. "I would beat him easily. I am certain."

Them's fightin' words in most circles.

So, could it happen? Could there be a re-match in the offing? It appears both sides may be amenable to the idea.

Asked who he thought was the better player, Haxton only said with a smile, "Man, it's close. I guess we'll just have to play some more."

Fifteen months later, Isildur1 is a newly minted member of Team PokerStars Pro and now has his own personal arena for heads-up challenges with the SuperStar Showdown, which kicked off Sunday evening. The first in line to take him on was the was one of the top young minds in the game today, high-stakes no-limit hold'em specialist Isaac "philivey2694" Haxton.

As the rail frantically traded last-minute side action, Haxton and Isildur1 sat at four $50/$100 heads-up no-limit hold'em tables, buying in for $10,000 in each game. They were committed for sitting for 2,500 hands or a $150,000 stop/loss. More spirited than the crowd in a London pub at last call, the rail was not shy about offering their theories regarding Isildur1's identity. Our favorite guesses included Steven Seagal, Jamie Gold, Charles Barkley, Julian Assange and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The first major pot unfolded about fifteen minutes in, Isildur1 defending his big blind with [Kc][Tc] against Haxton's pre-flop min-raise. Isildur1 check-called Haxton's $200 bet on the [Ac][8h][4h] flop, then paid off another $550 when the [Jc] hit the turn, giving him the nut flush draw. Isildur1 rivered his flush with the [6c] and checked to Haxton, who bet $1,666. Isildur1 raised to $7,850 and Haxton looked him up only to muck his hand. Haxton was forced to rebuy, but won all those chips back and then some a few minutes later when he five-bet shoved pre-flop with pocket kings and Isildur1 called with [Ad][Qh]. Isildur1 couldn't find an ace on the board that time, but did flop a set of threes against Haxton's [As][Qh] on an ace-high board a few hands later. Haxton led the flop and turn and shoved the river, Isildur1 happily calling him down. After 45 minutes and 372 hands of play, Isildur1 had racked up $11,650 in profit.

Sounds like a good time for a good old-fashioned suckout, doesn't it? As the first hour of play came to a close, Haxton and Isildur1 engaged in a raising war that ended with Haxton five-bet shoving for $10,100 holding [Qs][Js] and Isildur1 making the call with pocket queens. Haxton hit an open-ender on the [Th][9s][4d] flop and rivered a king to snap off Isildur1's ladies with a straight. That hand cut Isildur1's lead to a mere $316.00 after 536 hands.

From there, Haxton began taking control and pulled out to a $16,500 lead by hand 820. In this pot, Haxton's river raise spooked Isildur1, who had led the action the entire hand:

Haxton's run, however, came to a halt when Isildur1 reclaimed the lead in the largest hand of the showdown so far. Haxton opened for his standard min-raise to $200 holding [5h][6c] and Isildur1 called from the big blind with [6d][7d]. Haxton hit the nut straight on the [2d][3s][4d] flop while Isildur1 picked up a gutshot and a flush draw. Fireworks ensued as Isildur1 checked, Haxton bet $200, Isildur1 raised to $800, Haxton three-bet to $2,400, Isildur1 four-bet to $4,350 and Haxton called. The [5d] on the turn was a disaster for Haxton as Isildur1 made his flush. He led out for $6,250 and Haxton called. The river was the [Ad], putting another scare card on the board. It didn't stop Isildur1 from making the thinnest of thin value bets, moving all-in for $6,350. Haxton made the call and Isildur1 raked in the $34,300 pot with his flush.

After 1,124 hands, Isildur1 held a $12,550 lead and he nearly doubled that margin in the next 118 hands. Flopping a full house with [Ah][2d] and getting three streets of value certainly helped, as did the $23,000 pot he raked in after his [Ac][Qc] flopped a straight against Haxton's pocket nines in a pre-flop all-in. At the halfway point of the match, Isildur1's lead was up to $24,749 and he expanded it even further in this hand where he turned a flush against Haxton's set of sixes:

With just over 1,000 hands to go, Isildur1 was sitting on $31,099 in profit when Haxton began to make his comeback. If there was a hand that was a catalyst for this resurgence it had to be this one, where Haxton's seven kicker played in order to beat Isildur1's own ace-high at showdown:

After two more pots, one where Isildur1 paid off Haxton's flush and another where Isildur1 (tilt-shoved?) the river on a [3s][5c][Ah][Qc][7d] board holding only [3h][4d] and Haxton called with aces up, Isildur1's lead was down to a mere $1,299. Haxton moved back into the black a short time later when he went to war with Isildur1 on a [Kd][3c][2d] flop. Haxton led out for $1,200, Isildur1 raised to $2,850, Haxton shoved and Isildur1 called off his remaining $6,100 with [Kh][7h] for top pair, only to discover he was outkicked by Haxton's [Kc][9c]. The turn and river blanked out for Isildur1 with the [Ac] and the [Th], Haxton collecting the $20,000 pot and leaping out to a $10,151 lead with 471 hands to go.

Stuck and perhaps steaming, Isildur1 flicked the "gambool" switch to "ON" and ramped up the aggression. Instead of three-betting small over Haxton's opening min-raises, he started 5x-ing. Rather than continuation-betting two-thirds of the pot, he was going for full pot. Haxton continued picking up the majority of the mid-size pots and with 150 hands to go, nailed himself a $26,500 monsterpotten.

Holding $28,750 to Isildur1's $13,250 on Table 3, Haxton called Isildur1's $300 opening raise and they saw a [9d][7c][5c] flop. Haxton checked, Isildur1 bet $500 and Haxton came back over the top for $1,750. Isildur1 called and they went to the turn, which fell the [Ah]. Haxton fired again, making it $2,400 to go and Isildur1 called. The river was the [6c] and Haxton went for max value, shoving for $24,300. Isildur1 called off his remaining $8,800, turning over [8d][9h] for a straight, but it was no good against Haxton's flush with [Jc][8c].

As the final 100 hands ticked down, Haxton won two pots in excess of 200 big blinds within minutes of one another on Table 1. In the first, Isildur1 paid off Haxton's aces up on the turn and called another $6,400 on the river when Ike filled up. Then, Isildur1 found himself in kicker trouble again on a king-high flop, his [Ks][Js] falling to Haxton's [Ah][Kc]. At this point, Isildur1's frustration was evident, so it was no surprise the match ended the way it did-- in a thrillingly dramatic, wheels-coming-off-the-bus, $44,000 pot. Watch it right here for yourself:

With 2,500 hands completed, Isaac Haxton logged off a $41,701 winner as the curtain fell on the first SuperStar Showdown. Although a few railbirds were calling for everyone to send Isildur1 a dollar "since he's broke," rest assured, he'll be back online in no time, just as he always is. Expect to see another Isildur1 SuperStar Showdown in the very near future, or even at the PCA, where his secret identity may or may not be revealed as he rides into the Atlantis on the back of a dolphin. Or rappels down the Coral Tower. Or flies headfirst down the water slide.

And to celebrate the hottest poker signing of the year, PokerStars is launching a cash game spectacular, the SuperStar Showdown, in which Isildur1 challenges all-comers to take him on at the nosebleed stakes.

Unless you've had your head buried in the sand (what are you, an ostrich?*), you'll know Isildur1 lit up the poker world by coming from nowhere to compete in the highest stakes online cash games. When I say high stakes, I mean games that generated the biggest pots in history - one coming in at a whopping $1.3million. And the swings! One week the poker world saw Isildur1 spin up several million dollars, then watched aghast as he lost it soon after. If heart-stopping action is what you're after, Isildur1 is the one to follow.

But what makes Isildur1 even more of an enigma is that no-one knows his or her true identity. Is this player really a young starlet with the guts to take on the world's best? Or is it a seasoned professional who, under a new guise, has been taking everyone to the cleaners?

Well, that's for a select few to know, and the rest of us to guess. What we do know is that the player's real identity MAY be revealed before the PCA in January, but in the meantime the new Team PokerStars Pro will be playing online at PokerStars as Isildur1.

It's no exaggeration to say all this is something of a coup, because the whole poker industry was after the player's signature, a signature hotter than a tin roof in Las Vegas. So how did it come about?

"I chose to join PokerStars because it's the biggest site and it will be an exciting challenge," Isildur1 said. "It means a great deal to be playing in a team alongside players such as Daniel Negreanu, Dario Minieri and Johnny Lodden."

And Isildur1 had some bad news for those brave enough to come and take him/her on: "My goals now are to improve my live game for some upcoming events, continue to focus on no-limit heads-up Hold'em, but also try to develop my Pot Limit Omaha game."

Aha! That last bit leads us nicely to his/her SuperStar Showdown. Here's the top secret blurb that I had to collect this morning from a man in a beige overcoat, reading a copy of The Times newspaper under the clock at Victoria Station.

"A SuperStar Showdown is a head-up cash game match that takes place over a single session of 2,500 hands. The hands will be split evenly across four tables of No Limit Hold'Em and Pot Limit Omaha, at stakes no lower than $50/$100. The winner of the match will be the player that shows a profit after all 2,500 hands have been played.

"The SuperStar Showdown will take place once per week (at a mutually agreeable time/day to be determined in consultation with Isildur1). The opponents will alternate between a specially selected invited player, and a player that has responded to Isildur1's open challenge."

Oh my word, these are going to be great fun to watch! More good news is that the boffins in the PokerStars Lab (which is set in a huge crater under a false lake on the Isle of Man) are working on making the railing experience even better. Soon, the four Showdown tables will be hosted within a single window that will display the current leader on each of the four tables, the overall match leader, the number of hands remaining on each table and the number of hands remaining in the match. There will be a chat box for players and a separate chat box for observers. The table will be especially themed for the matches. Nice!

If, like me, you are seriously contemplating taking Isildur1 on (my nose grows long; my pants are on fire) you can see all the rules on the Isildur1 SuperStar Showdown page that details things like bankroll requirements, breaks, rules etc.

I can confirm that the first SuperStar Showdown will be on December 19 at 6pm (ET). Put that in your diary now.

So there you have it, the world's biggest online poker name joins the world's biggest online poker site. You can read Isildur1's bio on his/her PokerStars Team PokerStars Pro page. Furthermore, you can follow Isildur1's progress via Twitter where the player will be sending exclusive updates from @RealIsildur1.

Hold on tight. This, ladies and gentlemen, is going to be fun.

* OK, OK, an ostrich does not really bury its head in the sand (unless, I guess, it trips over something while running at full speed).