“Waiting for this is like waiting for a movie you already know the ending to.” That’s how one TwoPlusTwo poster expressed his feelings in the moments before Isildur1 revealed his true identity on Saturday evening at the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas. The mysterious Swede who completely changed the dynamic of the high-stakes cash tables on Full Tilt Poker was widely believed to be 20-year-old Viktor Blom, but PokerStars planned a special introduction of its new Team Pro during Day 1A of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) Main Event on Saturday.
With the poker community holding its collective breath, PokerStars de-masked Blom as he walked through a cluster of media members and onlookers in the tournament area. Blom waved. People grinned and clapped. Reporters took pictures. It pretty much played out exactly how we all envisioned it would.
The unveiling was anything but dramatic and poker fans seemed disappointed with the way PokerStars presented Blom in what was certainly poker’s most anticipated revelation in quite some time. “It was a very, very poor presentation in my opinion,” said TwoPlusTwo poster “ZiagZaga,” who was in the Bahamas to watch it happen in person. “They (should have) made it like when Hellmuth plays the World Series of Poker (Main Event) or at least put on the ninja mask. That would be epic!” Another viewer commented, “Worst unveiling ever.”
Now that Blom’s identity has been revealed, what does his future have in store? Leave it to the poker community to speculate. “Interesting to see what Viktor has for us, the poker fans, in the future,” said TwoPlusTwo member “IflyLikePaper.” “Sure, his game has been analyzed a lot, but I hope to see him on televised tournaments. So hot.” Blom said in a press release that he would be playing several European Poker Tour events in the near future. He’ll have to wait until his 21st birthday to play in the United States.
Some believe that Blom’s reveal has taken most of the intrigue out of his online poker persona. Said “razztapes,” “November 2009 was undoubtedly the most exciting time I can remember. However, as the song says, ‘The thrill is gone.’ Also, it’s not like he’s crushing anything anymore and hasn’t in a long time. His degeneracy is a blast to watch, but when the stakes are 1/10 of what they were last year, that is also not quite as fun. Plus, the reveal reminds me of ‘Lost.’ I was a huge fan, but the resolution would never live up the hype. Same with Isildur1. Wish the man the best, but this whole thing has been awkward since he joined PokerStars.”
One topic that quickly came to the forefront was Blom’s tax issues. It has been speculated for a long time that Blom kept his identity secret in order to dodge the costly taxes on his gambling winnings in Sweden. Now that his identity is known, what would happen to his previous tax obligations? “If (the back taxes) exist, he will still be responsible for any earnings before he moved to London,” answered TwoPlusTwo member “sdrf.” “So, most of the FTP play would still be taxable under Swedish law. He is no longer taxable from the date he moved though.”
Another poster joked, “Chances part of his deal was having PokerStars pay the taxes he would owe by revealing himself?”
Blom is spending Sunday playing Day 1B of the PCA Main Event, which will run through Saturday, January 15th, with the final table aired on ESPN2 and ESPN3.com. Follow Poker News Daily for more updates from the PCA.
And so it goes. Another big announcement and the predictable “very poor showing” from those negative people who love to criticize everything. The inclusion of Blom is good. Congratulations to him! Congrats to online poker for continuing to defend freedom in America! Booooo to those small minds who criticized it.