Poker News

The next competitor in the PokerStars SuperStar Showdown was announced earlier today through the PokerStars blog.

The next opponent for the hyper-aggressive Viktor “Isildur1” Blom will be a man who has racked up a tremendous record in both live and online competition. Eugene “MyRabbiFoo” Katchalov will be Blom’s opponent this Sunday when the SuperStar Showdown kicks off. A rough start time for the heads-up match is 3:00pm ET, giving the railbirds a chance to mark their calendars.

Katchalov’s live tournament history dates back to 2004, when he earned his first cash in a preliminary event at the Five Diamond World Poker Classic at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Since that time, the Ukrainian born Katchalov has gone on to amass 18 cashes in World Series of Poker (WSOP) tournaments, with a sixth place finish in the 2008 $10,000 Omaha High/Low World Championship and a third place finish in the 2010 $10,000 HORSE Championship as his highlights. Although he hasn’t captured a bracelet on poker’s biggest stage, Katchalov has made his mark on other tours.

In 2007, Katchalov defeated a field of 664 players to take down the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic, earning a $2.4 million first place prize. At the 2009 European Poker Tour (EPT) High Roller tournament in London, Katchalov pulled a third place finish for €193,000. So far in 2011, Katchalov has been raking in the money, with a victory against Daniel Negreanu in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure’s $100,000 Super High Roller event for $1.5 million and a second place finish in the PCA’s $10,000 Six-Handed No Limit Hold’em event for $131,920.

While Katchalov’s live numbers are impressive, his online numbers display that he is well versed in both arenas. Since 2004, he has been able to cash in 214 different online events. In September 2009, Katchalov was the champion of the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) $530 Heads-Up event, for which he earned a $170,000 payday. All totaled, Katchalov has lifetime earnings of slightly over $6 million from live play and another $825,000 in online earnings.

“Isildur1” isn’t about to cower in fear over facing Katchalov in the SuperStar Showdown. Blom has been able to move into a 2-1 lead in the previous three SuperStar Showdown events, which started back after he was signed to Team PokerStars Pro in December.

Soon after signing with PokerStars, “Isildur1” opened up the inaugural SuperStar Showdown by dropping a hard fought battle against Isaac “philivey2694” Haxton when Haxton emerged from the competition with a $41,000 edge. Over the past two SuperStar Showdown contests in January, Blom has defeated PartyPoker sponsored pro Antanas “Tony G” Guoga, taking $44,000 off the Lithuanian/Aussie pro, and Dan “wooki3z” Cates. In the battle against Cates, Blom emerged victorious to the tune of $51,196.

For those who still aren’t familiar with the SuperStar Showdown format, the two competitors play over four tables simultaneously at the minimum stakes of $50/$100. No Limit Texas Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha, or a combination of the two is played, with a 2,500-hand requirement. The winner of the event is the one who emerges at the end with the most money.

In handicapping the upcoming SuperStar Showdown between Blom and Katchalov, it would be the Russian who has the experience edge. Blom’s highly aggressive style of play, however, is extremely important in a short-term battle such as the SuperStar Showdown.

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