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.

Blom may not be literally afire, but if he were, he'd have enough money to buy more fire extinguishers than he'd ever need.

In case you decided to ignore the poker corner of the internet for the past few days and missed it, Team PokerStars Pro Viktor Blom won his first-ever major online title in Event #2 of the Spring Championship of Online Poker. And then he won his second title a day later in Event #3-H. And let us not forget, this comes just a few months after he won his first major live title in the €100,000 buy-in Super High Roller at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.

And while we're not forgetting things, let's remember this: Viktor Blom is a cash game player who not too long ago had no use for tournaments. He made his bones and his bucks crushing the nosebleed games as the king of swing. Now, he's done more in tournaments in the past five months than most good players will do in their lifetime.

Today, Blom sits atop the overall SCOOP Player of the Series leaderboard. The $411,257 he's won so far is more than anyone else who has played SCOOP this year. It's getting such that it's impossible to keep up with the Blom news as it happens. I tried to take a break yesterday to cook dinner for my family, but I couldn't pull away from Blom's second title attempt. I nearly cut off my finger mincing shallots when he won.

With that in mind (and to save your fingers from any injury) here are a few quick links to the Blom Chronicles from the 2012 SCOOP.

If you want to see how he did it, here's the highlights from his first win, courtesy of our friends at PokerStars.tv.

It took 5,030 hands for Viktor "Isildur1" Blom to win half a million dollars cash from Isaac "philivey2694" Haxton. In total, they played for just about 12 hours over three days. Blom earned more than $40,000 an hour for his work. Blom is 21 years old.

It's a ridiculous conceit by almost any normal person's standard. Forty thousand dollars an hour is the kind of pay CEOs make. It takes well-educated people with great jobs years upon years to earn that much, let alone save enough of it to see $500,000 in the bank.

Viktor Blom picked that much money up over a long weekend.

If you're just tuning in, this did not happen in a vacuum. Blom's quick path to half a million bucks came by way of the PokerStars SuperStar Showdown promotion, a series of heads-up poker matches in which anyone with the cash can challenge Blom to a four-table game. Most of the SuperStar Showdowns last only 2,500 hands and had a $150,000 stop loss.

This match, however, was different. Haxton was Blom's SuperStar Showdown nemesis. They had played two matches before, and Haxton had profited both times. The grudge was growing deeper with each meeting. So, last week, the two players negotiated special rules. The game would be played over four tables of $200/$400 No-Limit Hold'em. Both players would put up $500,000. They would play every day for four hours a day until one of the two heads-up titans had a million bucks and the other one had nothing.

On the first day, Blom was up $198,438.

On the second day, Blom was up $281,365

On the third day, Blom won it all.

"It feels good. It was a tough game," Blom said afterward. "Haxton played good as usual. Maybe he played a bit too passive."

No layman--and maybe nobody else in the world--could analyze this game without making a fool of himself. To do so would be like picking up a river rock and using it to explain the cosmos. Only Blom and Haxton know what really happened inside those five thousand hands, and only they know the true significance of the match. We can only look at what happened at the end and try to make our heads understand it.

THIRD VERSE, SAME AS THE FIRST

Viktor Blom opened Day 3 of the $1 million match with a $281,365 lead. He was more than halfway to his goal of $500,000. On the very first hand, he cut another $40,000 from Haxton's stack. The video below shows it happen.

Thirty minutes later, Blom tore another $40,000 from Haxton's grasp. Blom raised the blinds to $1,200, Haxton three-bet to 4,200, and Blom called. On a [2h][7c][Kd] flop, Haxton check-called a $4,800 bet. The turn brought the [Ks]. Again, Haxton check-called the bet, this time $9,600. The river, [4d], was another check-call, now for $22,200. Haxton held a pair of nines, but Blom actually had it. He tabled [Kh][Jc] for the $81,600 win.

That was the story of the hour. After 60 minutes of play, Blom had stretched his lead out to $370,720.

THE DEFINING HANDS

There will be countless analyses of this match. The railbirds and other experts will try to define what happened to the exceptionally-talented Haxton. There will be defenses and counter-defenses. There will be a thousand different explanations for how today turned out as it did. Many of those experts will point to two hands as the ones that undid the man they call Ike.

The first was an exceptionally chilly cooler. Haxton min-raised the button, Blom made it $3,200, and Haxton called. On a flop of [2s][Qs][Kd], Blom check-called $3,000. The turn brought the [9d]. Blom checked, Haxton bet $6,000, and Blom simply shoved in enough to cover the rest of Haxton's chips. Haxton snap-called with [9h][Ks] and got the chill of his life when he saw Blom's [9s][9c]. Haxton couldn't find a two-outer on the river and dropped the $48,768 pot to Blom. It wasn't the biggest pot of the day, but it might have been the most demoralizing at the time, as it meant one of the four tables had to be closed down. Why? Because Haxton didn't have enough money to continue on all four.

Haxton, however, did not give up. He made several big hands and managed to build his stack back over $120,000. Queens full versus a flush. Flush over flush. A well-timed trap with two pair. It seemed for half an hour that Haxton was on his way to mounting a massive comeback.

And then came the big one.

Haxton had aces. That much you should know as you watch the video below play out.

That pot was worth $106,000. Blom was up nearly $425,000. Haxton's $500,000 had been reduced to $75,000. It wasn't only demoralizing. It also meant another table had to close down. Fifteen minutes later, Blom took out Haxton's third table. It looked as if everything was going to be over just two hours into the day. With just one table remaining, Haxton's stack seemed to evaporate. Within a few minutes, he was down to $16,000.

It was over.

Except, it wasn't.

RESILIENCE

No one will ever call Isaac Haxton a quitter. Even when he had less than 2% of the money in the match, he didn't give up. He took his last $22,352 and put it in the middle with king-jack versus Blom's pocket queens. A king spiked, and Haxton went on a tear that made more than a few Blom fans scream "Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!" on the rail.

He trapped Blom with two pair. He got big value with the nut straight versus Blom's second nuts. By the beginning of the fourth hour, Haxton had turned his $16,000 stack into $160,000. It was a comeback that drew cheers and jeers across the rails. The closed tables were opening back up, and Haxton was back in business.

Indeed, Isaac Haxton was back.

Briefly.

The problem with playing against the over-betting, hyper-aggressive King of Swing Viktor Blom is that sometimes he has a real hand. A real big hand.

And so it was that, after his big comeback, Isaac Haxton slipped, flipped, and flopped.

THE SLIP, THE FLIP, AND THE FLOP

The slip began with a min-raise from Haxton, a three-bet by Blom, and call from Haxton. On a flop of [5d][6c][4h], Blom bet $4,000, and Haxton shoved for more than $22,072. Blom snapped him off with pocket aces. Haxton had [8d][Ah], missed his four-outer, and lost the $50,544 pot.

Minutes later, Haxton flipped. He put $37,056 in the middle pre-flop with [Qh][Ac] and found himself flipping against Blom's pocket fours. A pair of tens on the flop helped Haxton's case, but he whiffed. The comeback was over.

All that was left was the long, painful death rattle to the end. Haxton managed to hold on for a while, and even double up a couple of times, but he never had a workable stack again. Finally, just a few minutes before the day was scheduled to end, Blom put Haxton down.

There will be those who say this proves Blom is the best heads-up player in the world. There will be others who say that it's just another step down the long road of Blom's career. It's impossible to say who is right.

Haxton didn't respond immediately to a request for comment, but Blom said even he doesn't know what the match signifies about his talent versus Haxton.

"I just try play my best game," Blom said.

Today that was worth half a million bucks.

It was an axiom delivered by a railbird named skllzdatklls just before the world's poker community watched a bloody, eye-gouging brawl that saw two poker players prone and spent in the middle of the street. Weeks of careful analysis would surely follow, but for the moment both Isaac Haxton and Viktor "Isildur1" Blom looked as if they knew the truth. Neither had won. Neither had lost. And yet, both had lost, and both had won. No, it didn't make sense, but little does in the fog of war.

The storm in question actually began several days ago when Isaac "philivey2694" Haxton's Maltese home suffered the battering of a record-breaking storm. The resulting internet outage cost Haxton more than a night of watching cat videos on YouTube. When Sunday's SuperStar Showdown shut down due to Haxton's connectivity issues, he was down nearly $100,000 to Blom with fewer than 700 hands of the 2,500 match played. It was a gigantic hole in which Haxton was force to sit for 48 hours before the Showdown could resume.

There was already a history between these two. Haxton was Blom's first SuperStar Showdown opponent in 2010, and he was the only one to leave the field of battle with a profit against Blom. When they met on Sunday, it was time for Haxton to prove himself again and time for Blom to seek his revenge.

And so, when the fight resumed today, it was up to Blom to hold his massive lead. It was up to Haxton to come back. What happened?

Blom extended his lead to almost $130,000.

Haxton erased all of Blom's profit.

Haxton moved nearly $80,000 into the black.

Blom won it all back to bring the contest even again.

And in the end, Haxton eked out a $5,093 win, a number that at once represented a victory, a loss, and a tie.

Here's how it played out.

FAIR WEATHER FRIENDS

"Sorry again about the connection last time," Isaac Haxton said. Down nearly $100,000, he was still apologetic about his early exit on Sunday.

No problem, Blom said, "Hope no storm today."

Haxton came out of his chair swinging. Within a few minutes, he had recovered more than $20,000 in losses when his [Qc][Kc] out-kicked Blom's [Kd][Jc]. They got it on a king-high flop and Haxton's hand held for the $42,144 pot. The recovery didn't last long. Within seconds, Haxton got [Ad][Jc] all in against Blom's [As][Ah] and lost a pot worth more than $48,000.

All being fair in love and kicker battles, neither man was too worse for the wear until the following monstrosity that likely left Haxton looking for sharp objects.

Rivered and soaking wet, Haxton was down $125,122 after 1,013 hands. Forty-five minutes had passed and the niceties a friendly talk about the weather was done.

OH, SNAP

As if something awoke inside him, Haxton went to work on Blom. A series of traps and big bets saw Haxton erase $50,000 of Blom's profit in just a matter of minutes. For a moment, it looked as if all of Blom's work in the early going was not only going to be for naught, but also perhaps be his undoing. Haxton seemed to have figured something out. An hour into play, he was only down $77,000.

And then this happened.

Blom came in for a 3x raise to $600. Haxton three-bet to $2,200, and Haxton called. On a flop of [Qc][4c][Ah], Haxton led for $2,640 and Blom called. The turn brought the [jh]. Haxton led out again, this time for $7,100. Again, Blom only called. The [6s] fell on the river and Haxton pushed for $18,590. Blom snap-called with [Jc][Jd], a turned set, and always ahead of Haxton's [5h][8h]. The pot was worth $61,060 and a huge morale bump for the young Swede.

At the halfway point in the match, Blom was up $117,845. It seemed just a matter of time before he could officially declare victory over Haxton.

BOAT ON BOARD

If this narrative needed a fulcrum to help us understand the balance between the opponents' resolve, we found it an hour and 15 minutes into the day's festivities. Blom's haymakers had hit, they had missed, and they'd been met in kind. Something had to happen to define the rest of the match. This was it.

This board got checked all the way to the river: [8d][8c][Qs][Qd][Qh].

There was precious little in the pot when Haxton moved a $7,200 bet into the center. It was a giant over-bet in front of Blom. His response? All-in with more than enough to cover the rest of Haxton's stack.

Haxton thought for a good long while, but finally released his hand.

There was something about that moment that, perhaps, neither of the opponents will remember. But for those of us watching on the rail, it seemed to signify the moment something flipped in Haxton's head.

After that move, Blom wasn't going to screw with Haxton anymore.

Over the next hour, Haxton refused to be bluffed. He picked Blom off time and again. With a thousand hands left to play, Blom's profit was down to $49,775. All Haxton needed next was a game-changing hand.

THE GAME-CHANGER

If the Boat on Board hand defined the psychological battle between the two players, The Game Changer came in the form of pure poker, a sort-of cooler that could've gone a lot of ways, but ended up with Haxton nearly erasing Blom's lead. You can watch it as we did in the video below.

After that hand, Blom's lead was barely more than $8,000, a minuscule amount compared to his profit just an hour before. A few minutes later, Haxton flopped two pair to Blom's top pair, and just like that, Haxton had his first lead of the day. After 1,800 hands, he was up more than $40,000, a $140,000 swing in less than 1,200 hands.

Haxton continued to work on Blom through the next three hundred hands, finally hitting his high-water mark at 2,150: $78,921 profit.

THE BIG ONE

In a battle as bloody as this one had been, a a fight between two people so similarly stubborn and vicious, it all would essentially come down to this hand:

Haxton min-raised, Blom three-bet to 1,600, Haxton four-bet to $4,000, and Blom called. Blom check-called $4,000 on a [8d][7c][Qd] flop, and $10,400 on a [7d] turn. When the [3s] hit on the river, Blom checked again, and Haxton moved all-in.

Woops.

The effective amount was Blom's $29,000 remaining stack.

Haxton's [jd][6d] flush was no good against Blom's [qs][7s] boat. The pot was worth $94,800 and effectively erased half of Haxton's comeback. Though he held the lead for another couple hundred hands, before long, Blom had done enough work to cut Haxton's lead to $363...less than a min-raise.

THE DENOUEMENT AND THE RAIL'S RESPONSE

There would be more hands. About eighty more, in fact, but the blood-thirsty rail was left with the understanding that nothing was going to end with satisfaction. Both men would be bloody. Both would be tired. But neither would be dead. Everyone was...say it with me...so.un.sat.is.fied.

As if to confirm the even nature of it all, one of the last hands was a huge all-in that saw Haxton turn up king-ten for a full house...and Blom turn up king-ten for a full house. It was over. It didn't matter who won, because it would be a tie.

With three hands remaining, PokerStars paused the game long enough to ensure it would go no longer than the specified 2,500 hands. When the game resumed, Blom won this giant hand, but it wasn't enough to off-set Haxton's lead. It was a three-run homerun when he needed four.

And so it was on the day after the day after the day. A storm came. A storm went. Isaac Haxton lost. Isaac Haxton won. Viktor Blom won. Viktor Blom lost. In the end, it was likely the worldwide rail that profited the most. At least we got a show out of the deal.

Now, Blom has just a few days to regroup before taking on English high-stakes standout Alexander "Kanu7" Millar. That match kicks off this coming Sunday at 12pm ET.

And, of course, now begins the call for Haxton to come back. He's still the only player besides Blom to profit on the SuperStar Showdown.

Will there be a Round 3 to give Blom another chance at the guy they call Ike?

We sure hope so.

"I'm really sorry about all this. I know it's ruining the flow of the match for spectators.

To clarify the weather stuff: There was a really bad storm 2 days ago. My internet was completely down for 2 hours and has been a little unstable ever since. I think something between the ISP and my apartment must have been damaged."

That's some pretty remarkable poise coming from a man on the worst kind of tech tilt. And as if gnawing through red tape to get a Maltese internet connection repaired isn't bad enough, when the match does resume, Haxton will start off $99,886 in the hole.

Since it's been a while, let's refresh our memories on the rules of the SuperStar Showdown. A match lasts 2,500 hands spread across four tables. Blom and his challenger each escrow 15 buy-ins to use as their bankroll. Blinds are typically $50/$100, although for today's match, Blom and Haxton upped the stakes to $100/$200 NLHE. Buy-ins are 100 BB apiece and stacks are automatically topped up any time they dip below that mark. Should either player lay claim to the other's 15 buy-ins before the end of the 2,500 hands, the match is over.

Cards were in the air at 12:03pm EDT, the first significant pot unfolding only three minutes later. On a [7d][6s][3d] board in a raised pot, Blom flopped an open-ended straight draw with [5c][8c]. Haxton check-called $1,000 on the flop, then checked again when the [9s] fell on the turn. Blom bet $2,800 with his nine-high straight and Haxton called. The [Jd] on the river put a potential flush on board but it did not deter either player, Haxton check-calling an additional $7,600 only to see the bad news. Blom raked in the $24,000 pot and moved out to a $7,300 overall lead after only 50 hands.

Minutes later, Blom flopped bottom two pair and turned a full house, getting in a nice value-raise on the river when the board read [Qs][Jd][8s][8c][9h]. Haxton paid him off and Blom dragged the $19,200 pot, taking his lead up to more than $15,000. Haxton at last picked up a five-figure pot when he check-called three streets on a [3h][2d][7h][Qd][2h] board, his [Qs][Jd] outkicking Blom's [Qc][9h]. With that pot, Haxton erased his deficit and took a slight lead-- the only one he'd see all day.

The first all-in of the match occurred on a [9c][8d][7d] flop. Holding [Kc][Kh], Haxton three-bet shoved and Blom called off his remaining $9,300, having flopped the nuts with [Jc][Ts]. No miraculous running cards for Haxton on the turn or river, and the $40,000 pot was shipped to Sweden. Although Haxton picked up a $13,700 pot when he rivered two pair, he gave most of those chips back after calling two streets then folding to Blom's river shove on a [8s][2c][Jd][Ah][3c] board. Blom kept barreling and Haxton kept calling him down only to be shown monsters, as evidenced in this $24,000 pot where Blom rivered his flush:

With 351 hands in the books, Blom led by $45,732 and had double his starting stack on three of the four tables. Only now it was time for Haxton to hit a river card. In a setup that would have likely seen him felted, Haxton's dominated ace caught two pair on the river, just in time for Blom to pull his signature overbet-shove. Haxton called off his remaining $12,620 and nabbed the $40,840 pot:

Although Haxton managed to cut Blom's lead to $35,676 over the next hundred hands, Blom nabbed the monsterpotten of the day when he picked up pocket jacks. Blom opened for $600 and Haxton called from the big blind, the flop falling [Qs][Jd][Td]. Haxton checked, Blom bet $1,000 with his set and Haxton called. The [Th] on the turn filled Blom up, but Haxton did his bidding for him, leading out for $2,400. Blom smooth-called. Haxton led again when the [9c] hit the river, betting $5,280. Blom raised to $23,600 and Haxton called, mucking his hand as Blom raked in the $55,200 pot. With 501 hands completed, Blom's lead stood at $71,376.

The wheels really started coming off the wagon a few minutes later, when Blom picked up pocket eights and opened for $600. Haxton three-bet to $2,100 with [Jd][Td] and Blom called. Haxton led out for $2,400 on the [Js][4s][2h] flop and Blom called. The [2s] on the turn put a potential flush on board and earned checks from both players. Blom hit gin on the river, though, the [8d] falling to make him an extremely well-disguised full house. Haxton checked, Blom shoved and Haxton called all-in for $15,700, his top pair up in flames. With 553 hands complete, Blom was up $94,954.

Moments later, Haxton's internet connection began acting up. The match went on a five-minute break while he restarted his router, but it took more than thirty minutes for Haxton to reconnect. Three minutes after cards went back in the air, Haxton disconnected again, and it was another half-hour before the match could resume. Haxton's connection held for only 15 minutes before going out again, and this time the decision was made to suspend the match and resume action at a later time once Haxton's connection was repaired.

Hopefully that will happen sometime later this week. With 1,808 hands to play, Haxton trails Blom by $99,886. While that might seem steep, fortunes can change quickly at these stakes, even more so when you're up against the "King of Swing."

Meanwhile, tune in one week from today for another SuperStar Showdown as Viktor Blom takes on a new challenger-- English high-stakes NLHE star Alexander "Kanu7" Millar. Action begins Sunday, March 18 at 12pm EDT. Let's hope for dry weather.

I ran really well in this tournament. I tried to pick my spots more in this one that I had in the past. I was lucky to win the big all in pots. The end of Day 2 felt good for me, because we were playing short-handed, which I am more comfortable with. This allowed me to play my game a bit more, and as the money approached, I was very comfortable.

The key hand for me was against Jonathan Duhamel: I called his opening raise with [Ah][Qh] from the small blind. The flop was J-5-7 with two hearts, and we got it all in on the flop after a series of raises. I knew he wouldn't make the last raise as quickly as he did with any kind of really big hand, so I felt I was in okay shape. I hit the heart on the turn, and it was the key hand that really helped me get the win.

I needed those chips because, of course, on the very next hand, I pick up [Kh][3h] on the button and face a three-bet from Galen Hall. I called, the flop came J-7-2 with 2 clubs and one heart. He lead out, I raised, and he quickly shoved. At that point, I thought "What the hell am I doing in this pot?"

I folded. Sometimes I can't hold on to my chips for very long.

I was so happy won, but I was so tired, and I had a feeling like I was ill. My whole body was aching. I really wanted to go out that night and celebrate. Maybe you saw my interview. I was so tired, during that interview. I don't even remember half the questions. I went back to my room and slept. I saved the celebration for later in the week.

When I woke up the next day, I started to feel really good, and the win started to sink in. The win feels great.

I hope it isn't my last.

Follow Viktor on Facebook
Follow Viktor on Twitter: @RealIsildur1

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.

Just call him KidComeback.

Last week's SuperStar Showdown was nothing less than a disaster for Daniel Negreanu. A terrible run in all-in pots ended with all $150,000 of his challenge bankroll in Viktor "Isildur1" Blom's pockets after only 1,439 hands. What was supposed to be a two-part, 5,000-hand challenge looked to be over after only a few hours. But "KidPoker" wasn't finished with the 20 year-old Swedish wunderkind and was willing to put another $150k on the line for a rematch.

The rules were the same. Four tables of $50/$100 heads-up no-limit hold'em for 2,500 hands. And for a while there, the match unfolded in a shockingly similar fashion to last week's meeting. Blom played a dominating first half, claiming $120,000 of Negreanu's challenge bankroll within 1,300 hands. However, Negreanu turned it around in stunning fashion, mounting a comeback to finish $26,500 to the good and end Blom's five-game winning streak.

Blom leapt out to a fast start, winning close to $28,000 in the first 350 hands. Much of that sum came from two all-in pots-- in the first, Blom's pocket kings held against Negreanu's [As][Qc] and a few minutes later, Negreanu called Blom's three-bet shove on a [Tc][8c][6c] flop with [Kc][Ts] only to be shown pocket queens. Although Negreanu managed to win a bit back when Blom turned two pair against his set of sevens (which rivered quads for good measure), he was about to get involved in a hand that left most of the rail wondering if PokerStars really did have a "doom switch***."

Negreanu opened for his standard raise to $300, Blom three-bet to $1,000 and Negreanu called. Blom led out for $1,200 on the [5h][4h][2h] flop, Negreanu raised to $3,100, Blom shoved and Negreanu called, turning up [Jh][8h] for the flopped flush. Blom showed pocket jacks. The board paired with the [5d] on the turn and in a gut-wrenching three-outer, tripped on the river with the [5s], the $27,700 pot going to Blom with fives full of jacks.

One hour into the match, Blom was not only winning the big pots, he was taking more than his fair share of the mid-sized pots as well, especially those that did not end in a showdown. Blom's natural aggression coupled with his signature move, the river overbet, was quite effective.

As Blom's winnings crept past the $40,000 mark, Negreanu picked up [Ac][Kh] and called Blom's preflop five-bet shove. A 3 to 1 favorite over Blom's [As][Qs], Negreanu's tilt-meter started pushing into the red zone as a queen hit the flop and his nemesis dragged the $20,100 pot.

"This is unreal," Negreanu wrote in the chat window.

Negreanu did his best to quell the bleeding, not only by throwing the river overbet right back at Blom, but with some good old-fashioned soul-reading. In a $12,000 pot, Negreanu called Blom's river bet holding an unimproved [Ac][Kc] after correctly deducing that Blom was betting a busted draw. A few minutes later, Negreanu called Blom's opening raise, then check-called his $500 lead bet on a [Ks][3h][2c] flop. Negreanu check-called another $1,400 when the [Jd] hit the turn, and checked a third time when the [As] fell on the river. Blom shoved, setting Negreanu in for his remaining $8,700 and this time KidPoker couldn't call quickly enough, having rivered Broadway with [Qs][Td]. Blom could only show [4d][6s]. Although Negreanu was still down overall, things were starting to look up for the four-time bracelet winner. But as we all know, in no-limit hold'em, everything can turn around on a dime.

Fifteen minutes and two preflop coolers later, Negreanu was down over $80,000. After five-bet shoving with pocket tens, he ran into Blom's pocket queens in a $22,500 pot, then made the same move with pocket jacks only to run into aces in a $41,900 pot. Negreanu was more than a little tilted.

"You run insane against me," he wrote.

"Yep its really insane," Blom replied.

Negreanu scarcely had time to recover before another hand sent him reeling. All the money went in on a [Ad][Jc][6d] flop, Blom making the final raise and Negreanu calling all-in. Although Negreanu flopped top two pair with [Ac][Js], Blom's [Kd][3d] turned a flush when the [Qd] hit. The river blanked with the [3s] and another Negreanu buy-in sailed into Blom's stack, the damage now totaling $89,350 after 975 hands.

A pretty reckless river call from Blom with bottom pair against a king-high flush yielded Negreanu a $39,500 pot and put a small dent in Blom's lead, but it only took Blom a few minutes to regain that lost ground... and then some. Negreanu dusted off another buy-in when his pocket kings ran into Blom's pocket aces in a preflop all-in, then got the last of his remaining chips on Table 4 in the middle with [As][Qc] against Blom's pocket threes. The board ran out so comically it... well, just see for yourself:

Down $119,600 in 1,279 hands, things were looking grim for KidPoker. His remaining $30,000 was spread across three tables, his $10k stacks dwarfed by Blom's virtual towers. Could Negreanu really go broke again? And in even fewer hands than last week's match?

The only thing Negreanu could do at this point was hope to double up while he still had enough chips left to do some damage. He did it on Table 2, pulling in a $17,600 pot when he made a better two pair than Blom, then did it again seconds later on Table 5 when his [Ac][8h] caught an ace on the flop against Blom's pocket nines. On Table 1, Blom tried to wrest control preflop, five-bet shoving for $27,550 over Negreanu's $2,400 four-bet. Holding [Jc][Ts], he clearly didn't want a call, but Negreanu happily pushed in $12,800 more with his pocket queens, which held up to win the $30,400 pot. Finally, just past the 1,500-hand mark, the money went in on a [Th][7s][6s] flop, Negreanu with [8d][9h] for the ten-high straight and Blom drawing to the same with [5s][9s]. No disasters on the turn or river and Blom suddenly found his lead cut in half.

After a short break, Negreanu returned to the grind and insta-doubled his stack on Table 4. After calling Negreanu's preflop four-bet with [7h][9h], Blom shoved for $55,700 into the $4,400 pot when he hit middle pair on the [Tc][9c][4d] flop. Negreanu called off the $9,550 he had behind with [Kd][Kc] and the overpair held, shrinking Blom's lead to $55,000. Only a few hands later on the same table, Negreanu made another preflop four-bet and Blom came along with [Qd][Jh]. Blom hit top pair on the [Js][6c][5c] flop but just couldn't let it go, even when he encountered some serious resistance. Blom checked, Negreanu bet $3,100, Blom raised to $7,650, Negreanu shoved, and Blom called off his remaining $17,700. Negreanu revealed [Ah][As] and picked up the $56,300 monsterpotten. While that hand played out on Table 4, Negreanu was also busy doubling his stack on Table 5 when he picked off Blom's river bluff:

Less than an hour after being down 80% of his buy-in, Negreanu trailed Blom by only $7,800. But with 842 hands to go, this roller-coaster ride was far from over.

Blom regained a bit of traction when he took down back-to-back $20k pots on Table 5. In the first one, Negreanu tried to use Blom's own signature move against him, shoving for $23,550 on the river with the board reading [2c][5s][2h][3h][Js]. Although Negreanu had the best hand through the turn with [5h][9h], Blom called off the $5,800 he had behind having rivered top pair with [Qh][Jh]. On the next deal, Blom checked to the preflop raiser on the [Ac][Kh][9c] board. Negreanu bet $500, Blom raised to $1,600 and Negreanu called. The turn came the [2h] and Blom made it $2,650 to go. Negreanu looked him up and they went to the river which fell the [Kd]. Blom checked, Negreanu bet $5,800, and Blom came back over the top, moving all-in for $16,350. Negreanu let it go and Blom took down the $20,700 pot.

With Blom back in the lead by $20,000 and 600 hands remaining, the largest pot of the match unfolded. On a [Kc][Kd][3s] flop, Negreanu check-raised Blom's $500 bet to $1,800 and earned a call. The turn came the [8s] and Negreanu decided to fire again, betting $3,100. Blom called and the [Qd] hit the river. Negreanu bet $7,100 and Blom moved all-in for $34,700. With $17,450 behind, Negreanu went into the tank, using almost his entire time bank before deciding to look him up with [Ks][Js]. Negreanu's trips were no good, though, as Blom turned a boat with [Kh][8c]. In a situation where most players would just snap-call, you've got to hand it to Negreanu for actually taking the time to really think over that river bet.

Although Blom pulled out to a $46,650 lead after that pot, Negreanu went on another run over the next 20 minutes and closed the gap to $8,400. He even found a bit of "Isildur"-style run-good when he boated on the turn in this hand after Blom flopped a straight:

With 350 hands remaining, Negreanu pulled out to his first lead of the match. On a [As][7c][5s][6h] board, Blom moved all-in for $6,400 holding [7d][8d] for second pair and a straight draw and Negreanu called with [Ah][8h] for top pair. The [8c] on the river improved KidPoker to aces up, good for the $20k pot and a $9,150 overall lead. This was truly anybody's match now and like a basketball playoff game, it would all come down to the last few possessions.

The lead moved back and forth with nearly every hand until a massive cooler tipped the scales. This time, Blom was on the receiving end, getting his money in with a set of fours on a [Ts][9c][4d] flop only to run into Negreanu's set of tens. The $36,300 pot put Negreanu out front to the tune of $15,350, but Blom quickly caught back up when he flopped the nut flush and got full value on it when Negreanu rivered a straight. Back and forth, back and forth it went until the action was briefly paused on all four tables with only 38 hands to go. Negreanu took the time-out to make a little confession in the chat box.

KidPoker: I was stuck like 120k at one point I think
Isildur1: yeah crazy =)
KidPoker: I broke lots of stuff in my room btw lol
KidPoker: smashed everything

Those final hands saw only one all-in confrontation, Blom three-bet shoving on a [Qd][4s][3h] flop with [Ad][2h] and Negreanu making the call with [As][Qh]. There was no miracle wheel on the turn or river, which safely fell the [4d] and the [6d] to give Negreanu the $20,000 pot.

As it turned out, KidPoker and Isildur1 played a couple of bonus hands, bringing the evening's total to 2,502 when the tables finally closed. And much to his surprise, the final tally was Negreanu +$26,500.

Isildur1: gg, nice comeback!
KidPoker: I won? wow sick! gg man thanks
KidPoker: I broke so much stuff in this room the first half
KidPoker: my assistant has lots of cleaning to do lol jkjk

Negreanu scurried off to grab a celebratory cocktail to unwind, but not before offering his opponent quite the compliment.

"Isildur is incredible. I hope to do a training lesson with him one day. He's the best."

The SuperStar Showdown will return in one week with the first installment of another 5,000-hand, two-part match. Blom's next opponent? None other than nosebleed-stakes cash game fixture Scott 'urnotindangr' Palmer. Join us next Sunday, April 3 for what should be a thrilling, heads-up master class.

***= The doomswitch does not exist. Really. It's not in Negreanu's bathroom, you paranoid sickos.

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.

You read that right. One big blind. A ten-spot. €7.29. Dinner for two at Taco Bell. Considering Blom was up more than $10,000 at one point, Gulcsik's final result was nothing short of miraculous.

While the format of the SuperStar Showdown remained the same-- 2,500 hands of heads-up no-limit hold'em played across four tables-- the blinds were set at $5/$10 rather than the usual $50/$100. Gulcsik was staked $15,000 for the match; he'd keep whatever remained of his challenge bankroll at the end of the session plus any profits. There was also a special $10,000 bonus at stake for either player if they managed to win their opponent's entire $15k.

Gulcsik got off to a strong start, doubling up twice within the first twenty minutes. On Table 1, the money went in on a [Ad][4h][2d] flop, both players holding top pair with Gulcsik's [Ac][Qs] outkicking Blom's [Ah][Tc]. Then, on Table 3, Gulcsik check-raised the river on a [Qs][Th][6s][5c][5h] board with queens up, Blom paying him off with tens and fives. As these two felt each other out, it quickly became apparent that Blom was playing this one fast and loose, fearlessly building large pots preflop with holdings like small suited gappers. Here's a prime example, as Blom's aggressive preflop action slowed Gulcsik down despite decent board texture for his pocket tens:

Although Gulcsik held a $1,323 lead at the end of the first half-hour, Blom quickly began to assume control over the match and pulled even when he scored a double-up on Table 4. Holding pocket threes, Blom opened for his standard 3x raise to $30 and Gulcsik three-bet to $110 with [8d][9d]. Blom called, hitting bottom set on the [Kd][9s][3d] flop. Gulcsik led out for $125 with middle pair and a flush draw and Blom called. The turn was the [Th] and Gulcsik fired another $250. Blom looked him up. Gulcsik moved in for $515 when the [8c] on the river made him two pair and Blom called, taking down the $2,000 pot.

Near the 500-hand mark, Blom caught the first wave of a tsunami of run-good that propelled him to a substantial early-match lead. Following a $20 opening raise from Gulcsik, Blom three-bet to $80 holding [Ah][6d] and Gulcsik made the call with [Jd][9d]. Gulcsik hit top pair on the [Jh][5h][2s] flop, but played it a little coy, smooth-calling Blom's $100 lead bet. Blom got what Tony G would call an "ace from space" on the turn, the [Ac] falling to give him the advantage. Blom bet $220 and Gulcsik called. The [6s] on the river made Blom aces up and he got full value on his hand, setting Gulcsik all-in for $745 and earning a call. Five minutes later, Gulcsik caught the the bad end of a cooler. In a $2,800 pot, Gulcsik flopped top pair with [Qc][Js], but Blom had him outkicked with [Ks][Qs]. Then, Gulcsik got his money in good, three-bet shoving a [Th][7h][4s] flop holding [As][Ts]. Blom called with [Tc][5c] only to receive another blessed turn card, the [5s], to make him two pair. The river blanked with the [9h] and after 634 hands, Blom's lead grew to $5,076. With 25% of the hands complete, Blom had already laid claim to more than a third of Gulcsik's challenge bankroll.

In another suckout of epic proportions, Blom hit a runner-runner straight to win a $2,300 pot after getting his money in with a dominated hand:

Blom grew his lead to $6,300 over the next 250 hands and padded it even further with this pot. While Blom was deep-stacked on every table, Gulcsik could only say the same about the $3,300 he held to start this hand on Table 1. Holding [Qh][Th], Gulcsik opened for $20 and Blom three-bet to $80 with pocket kings. Gulcsik called and they saw a [Ks][Jd][3c] flop. Blom led out for $100 with top set and Gulcsik called with his open-ended straight draw. The turn brought the [2d] and Blom fired again, making it $220 to go. Gulcsik went for the big ammo and shoved for $3,121 total, Blom calling all-in for $1,095. Gulcsik did not find any of his outs on the river and had his lone deep stack halved. With close to 1,000 hands in the books, Blom was up $8,871.

Although Gulcsik caught a whiff of run-good when his nut flush draw came in against Blom's set in a $2,200 pot, he quickly lost it back on Table 4 when his [As][Kd] did not improve against Blom's pocket sixes in a preflop all-in. Following that hand, Gulcsik's stack auto-reloaded to only $573, indicating that his entire challenge bankroll was active. Fortunately, Gulcsik was able to double that short stack relatively quickly when his [As][Qc] held up against Blom's [Kd][Td]. Blom did not let up in the least, however, and in this hand, picked a good spot for a river shove. He might have had the nuts, it might have been a bluff, but whatever it was, it got Gulcsik to give up his hand:

Two hours into the match, things went from bad to worse for Gulcsik. Holding [Qh][8h], Gulcsik opened for $20, Blom three-bet to $80 with [Ac][Kc], Gulcsik came back over the top for $230 and Blom called. The flop came down [Tc][3d][2d] and Blom check-called Gulcsik's $240 continuation bet. The turn was the [2c], giving Blom the nut flush draw. He checked it, and rather than firing a second bullet, Gulcsik shut down and checked behind. The [Qc] on the river made things interesting, however; Blom made the nut flush while Gulcsik hit top pair. Blom went for his signature river overbet, moving all-in for $3,115 and Gulcsik called off the $1,385 he had behind. After raking in that pot, Blom was up by $10,768...and they weren't even halfway through.

With only $4,232 left in his challenge bankroll, Gulcsik was forced to split one of his stacks to keep the action going on all four tables and the rail began started setting lines on how many more hands it would take for Blom to clean him out. Perhaps that lit the fire Gulcsik needed to get himself out of this hole because in the next 15 minutes he managed to recoup 40% of his losses. It started when Blom opened for a min-raise to $20 and Gulcsik made the call. Gulcsik checked the [Qc][9c][7s] flop over to Blom, who bet $40. Gulcsik raised to $140 and Blom called. The turn came the [6h] and Gulcsik led out for $260. Blom quickly called and they went to the river which fell the [8s]. Gulcsik bet $650, Blom shoved, and Gulcsik called off the $670 he had behind, turning up [Jd][Ts] for a queen-high straight. Blom could only show a ten-high straight with [Ks][Th] and Gulcsik raked in the $3,480 pot.

Over on Table 5, Gulcsik four-bet his pocket jacks before the flop and Blom looked him up with [4d][5d]. The flop came down [8s][5h][3d] and Blom tried to blast Gulcsik out of the pot, check-raising his $220 bet to $670. Gulcsik responded with a three-bet shove to $1,800 and Blom tossed in his last $140 to see what he was up against. The jacks held through the [3c] on the turn and the [2s] on the river to cut Blom's overall lead to $6,076 after 1,367 hands.

The more Blom's profit shrunk, the more he seemed willing to gamble. After all, these aren't giant stakes for the "King of Swing." Witness this hand, the largest in the match thus far:

Only five hands later an even larger pot developed on the same table when Gulcsik picked up [Ac][As] and five-bet preflop. Blom called with [Kc][9s] and hit trips when the flop came [Kh][Ks][3s]. Gulcsik made a cautious play, check-calling Blom's $560 bet. However, Gulcsik got his own ace from space on the turn, the [Ah] falling to give him a full house. Gulcsik checked, Blom moved all-in for $1,435, and Gulcsik snap-called, the river blanking out with the [4s] to give him the $5,550 pot. Blom's overall lead was shaved to only $2,351.

Over the next stretch of hands Gulcsik was imbued with a bit more luck than he'd previously enjoyed, at least when it came to all-in confrontations. Gulcsik got his money in on the turn with two pair and was called by Blom with a straight only to boat up on the river. A few minutes later, Gulcsik five-bet shoved preflop with [Ah][Jd] and Blom called with [As][Kd], only to have a jack miraculously appear on the river. Before Gulcsik could really get on a roll, Blom decided to change gears. Translation? Gamboooool.

Blom ran well in the ensuing flurry of preflop all-ins. He called a six-bet shove with [8c][9c] against Gulcsik's [Ah][Qs] and rivered a nine to win a $4,720 pot. He called a four-bet shove holding [Ah][7d] against Gulcsik's pocket eights (the eights held for $2,250), and with the almighty [3s][7s], he stacked off against Gulcsik's [As][Jd], rivering a three on the [Kc][Kh][Qc][2c][3d] to felt his opponent. It was so ugly Blom apologized in the chat box.

Isildur1: ouch sry

Stacks were split. Tables were changed. The rail went beserk. Forum threads erupted. Three-seven suited, really? With 500 hands left to play, Blom was up by nearly $5,000 and Gulcsik's hopes of turning a profit were fading fast.

That's when all hell broke loose. Over the next 15 minutes, there were no fewer than 12 all-in pots. Nine were preflop all-ins and Gulcsik turned over the best hand each time. [Ad][Kh] against [Kc][5c]. Pocket nines against [5s][7s]. [Ad][Qc] against [As][7d]. Pocket eights against [Ks][6s]. Blom was unabashedly gambling and got as many chips as he could in the middle as fast as he could. Gulcsik won all but one of those nine preflop all-ins and when things finally settled down, Blom's lead was cut to $2,466.

The game tempo slowed down dramatically during the final 200 hands. Since Gulcsik would be able to keep whatever remained of his challenge bankroll at the end of the match, it was in his best interest to tighten up a bit and preserve what he had left. Blom, however, was still in a gambling mood and when he three-bet shoved for $1,065 over a $20 opening raise, Gulcsik made the call with [Ah][Qs]. Blom's pocket fours held up though the turn on a [Td][2c][5c][Jh] board, but the [Kc] spiked on the river to make Gulcsik's Broadway straight. Only moments later on the same table, Blom got another 100 big blinds in the middle. Gulcsik four-bet shoved and Blom called with [Ad][Td] only to run into pocket jacks. The fishhooks held and Gulcsik took it down.

In an ending that couldn't have been more perfectly scripted, Blom open-shoved on the final hand and Gulcsik folded. Little did either of them know that the $10 big blind that Blom stole would represent his entire profit for the 2,500-hand match. The fifth edition of the SuperStar Showdown ended in a draw and Gulcsik pocketed the $14,990 that remained in his challenge bankroll. Before departing the tables, Blom had some kind words for his opponent.

Isildur1: GG
DodgyFish72: gg
Isildur1: u played really good
DodgyFish72: thanks u 2
DodgyFish72: u r really a class guy

Attila "DodgyFish72" Gulcsik is a recreational poker player who works for a pharmaceutical company. He described Blom as a "very talented player" who adapts well to his opponents' styles and is capable of switching gears quickly. He was realistic about his chances in this match, stating "my main goal is to try and play well without making huge mistakes. It is obvious that I am a huge underdog as Viktor has significantly more experience being one of the best in the field of heads-up cashgames."

This time, even though David didn't defeat Goliath, it sure feels like he won.

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.