The sixth running of Viktor “Isildur1” Blom’s SuperStar Showdown series at PokerStars occurred on Sunday and provided perhaps the most notable challenger in its short history. Stepping to the virtual baize on Sunday afternoon was PokerStars front man Daniel Negreanu, who was looking to use his wealth of experience in cash game play to overshadow his deficiencies in multi-table heads-up play. The much-discussed battle began around Noon ET on Sunday, with some caveats thrown into the rules.
Much like the other SuperStar Showdown matches, Blom and Negreanu played four tables of $50/$100 No Limit Hold’em, with the four tables holding a combined $150,000 per player. The play would last for 2,500 hands, with whoever was up at the end of the session being declared the winner. In a change from past battles, however, Negreanu and Blom would play on two consecutive weekends.
Noting his lack of multi-table skills, Negreanu attempted to put in several practice sessions before facing the powerful Swede. On Wednesday, Negreanu Tweeted, “Back in Vegas. 3 full days of practice for my Showdown vs Isildur Sunday 12pm ET. Slightly nervous and I love that. Very excited to play.” Prior to taking on Blom, Negreanu tested out his strategies against other players, including the only person to have defeated “Isildur1” in a SuperStar Showdown, Isaac Haxton.
The match began as scheduled, with the combatants wasting little time getting down to business. Only nine hands in, Negreanu 3bet Blom and the duo saw a K-4-4 rainbow flop. “Kid Poker” led out for $1,200, which was met by a call from “Isildur1.” A ten on the turn brought a tap on the table from each player, but a six on the river ramped up the action. Negreanu put out $3,100, only to see Blom move all-in. After making the call, Negreanu tabled K-Q for two pair; Blom tabled pocket sixes for a rivered boat and took the approximately $20,000 pot.
Soon afterwards, Blom would strike again. After a 9-3-2 flop, the players moved their stacks to the center of the table, with Negreanu’s Q-9 well behind Blom’s A-9. Needless running aces added to Negreanu’s misery as he dropped another $20,000 pot to the powerful Blom. After only 150 hands, “Isildur1” had built a $30,000 lead.
The Blom Express continued to run strong as the afternoon wore on. Although he was able to grind back some at several points, Negreanu never could seem to win the big hands when they came up. Negreanu’s pocket tens were outdrawn by Blom’s A-3 after Blom flopped a Wheel. Then, both players hit trip jacks, but “Isildur1” held a better kicker. The carnage was evident in the scoreboard as, with only about 700 hands completed, Blom held half of the $150,000 that Negreanu had started with.
“This has been pretty disgusting so far,” Negreanu chirped to his Twitter followers. “Can’t imagine running any worse.” His statement served as an unfortunate omen, however, as he continued to run horribly against Blom. After only four hours of play, Negreanu’s $150,000 stake was in the bankroll of Blom, leaving Negreanu to Tweet, “That was pretty frustrating. Lost the match in 1,439 hands. In $20K + pots, he beat me 12-2 and I ran $44K under par in all-in pots again.”
After a couple of hours, Negreanu was able to put the loss behind him. “Ok, officially shook off the loss,” Negreanu Tweeted following the match. “Back to the grind this week and a rematch with a fresh $150K next week.” He also shared several Tweets from followers who offered suggestions on how to take down ‘Isildur1.’”
“Random Tweeters telling me I played too loose, others say too tight, too aggressive, not aggressive enough, LOL love it. Railbirds ftw,” Negreanu Tweeted about the input from the peanut gallery.
Although he crushed Negreanu in the battle on Sunday, another tick in the win column isn’t quite locked up for Blom. As scheduled, Part 2 of the “Isildur1” versus “Kid Poker” SuperStar Showdown will take place this Sunday at 3:00pm ET. Learn more.
