On Sunday, the second ever SuperStar Showdown took place on the virtual felts of PokerStars and featured sponsored pro Isildur1 facing off against PartyPoker’s Tony G. After the 2,500-hand encounter, Isildur1 booked $44,000 in profit and was declared the winner, boosting his SuperStar Showdown record to 1-1.
Following the match, Tony G sought comfort on the TwoPlusTwo forums and posted a four-paragraph recap. He closed by calling for another round with Isildur1, who many believe he backed earlier this year: “Now, I need everyone to lobby for a rematch that is fair, and my sponsor deserves it. Let’s replay this thing on my home turf at PartyPoker ASAP and I will add $50,000 to the pool, as a contest of this magnitude deserves some money added and we will hide Isildur1’s identity. That is not up for discussion.”
Tony G and Isildur1 fired up two tables of $50/$100 No Limit Hold’em and two tables of $50/$100 Pot Limit Omaha on Sunday, with each table stretching for 625 hands. However, Tony G’s lack of multi-tabling experience may have ultimately led to his demise, according to text found on the PokerStars Blog: “Although he is quite seasoned when it comes to nosebleed-stakes cash games, unlike Isildur1’s previous challenger Isaac Haxton, the name Tony G is not exactly synonymous with multi-tabling online heads-up matches.”
Tony G shot out to an early lead after his wired pair of aces held up in Omaha, but Isildur1 bounced back in Hold’em by hitting a spade flush on the river to scoop a $20,000 pot. Isildur1 then made another flush in Omaha to extend the lead even further, but Tony G ended up $23,000 after the first 207 hands. After 561 hands, it seemed that the match could be out of reach, as the PartyPoker pro had built $47,000 in profit.
Then, perhaps hubris set in for Tony G, who asked his opponent in the chat box on one table, “u feeling ok my man… u getting owned by a total donk old man… start pressing some all-in buttons boy… are you even qualified… are you committed to this?” Isildur1 responded to the pep talk by raking in a $45,000 pot after making Broadway in Omaha to best Tony G’s king-high straight.
After 1,000 hands, Isildur1 was back in it and trailed Tony G by just $22,000. Then, text found on the PartyPoker Blog detailed, “In a three-hand sequence that spanned less than three minutes, Isildur1 entirely eroded Tony G’s profits and was back in the black to the tune of $2,450.” Isildur1 then scooped a $27,000 pot with top two pair against Tony G’s pair of eights. Following that hand, another $70,000 was pushed Isildur1’s way after spiking a set of sixes in Omaha to move ahead $46,000. By the halfway point in the second SuperStar Showdown, Isildur1 was up $77,000.
Tony G scooped an $82,000 pot after making the nut flush to bring the contest closer to even, but Isildur1 struck back by landing a monster pot worth $124,000 with a straight in Omaha. Tony G then proceeded to fume about the rules of the SuperStar Showdown, labeling the match a “freak show” and a “farse” in the chat.
Tony G fought back after his tirade, running hot in Hold’em to draw Isildur1’s lead to just over $7,000. However, when the smoke cleared, Isildur1 recorded his very first SuperStar Showdown win and received the following concession speech from his nemesis: “I have been humiliated… well done… let me go and look for my bike.” Interestingly enough, Isildur1 booked just $500 of his profit in No Limit Hold’em, but dominated in Pot Limit Omaha.
The next installment of the PokerStars SuperStar Showdown has not yet been announced. Officials from the world’s largest online poker site had hinted at another one occurring during the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, which starts this week, but no announcement has been made.
