Let the rumors and speculation begin. Viktor Blom, best known in the online poker world as high stakes poker player “Isildur1,” is no longer a PokerStars pro. The news was first reported on Tuesday by our friends over at PokerNews.com, who discovered that Blom was no longer listed on the pro roster on PokerStars.com.
Blom was an online poker legend before most people even knew who he really was. He burst onto the scene in 2009 as an unknown under the Isildur1 screen name on Full Tilt Poker and was soon mixing it up in the nosebleed stakes cash games against the likes of Phil Ivey, Tom “durrrr” Dwan, and Patrik Antonius. Seemingly every day, the mystery Swede experienced wild swings that most players don’t even dream about. Up a million, down a million, up a few hundred thousand, down a few hundred thousand. According to PokerTableRatings.com, Isildur1 was involved in the ten largest pots in online poker history, winning four for a combined $3.5 million.
In December of that year, he lost over $4 million to CardRunners instructor Brian Hastings, who later told ESPN that fellow instructor Brian Townsend “analyzed a database of heads-up hands that Isildur1 had played and constructed ranges of what Isildur1 was doing in certain spots.” Townsend used that information to help Hastings in his battles against Blom. Full Tilt stripped Townsend of his prestigious “red pro” status for a month as a result.
In the meantime, Isildur1 was a star and the main attraction on Full Tilt Poker for railbirds. But his identity was still a secret. There were strong rumors that Isildur1 was, in fact, Viktor Blom, but this was not confirmed until January 2011, when PokerStars revealed Isildur1’s alter ego at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.
No real reason has been given for Blom’s split with PokerStars, but Eric Hollreiser, PokerStars’ head of corporate communications, told PokerNews that it was a mutual decision between the player and the poker room. Blom simply said, “I’ve enjoyed my time as a Team Pro and I wish everyone at PokerStars the best. Now I just want to concentrate on playing poker.”
Of course, that’s not good enough for the internet poker forums, where many speculate that Blom will sign with Full Tilt Poker once the beleaguered poker room returns from the dead. PokerStars struck a deal with the U.S. government and Full Tilt on July 31st to purchase Full Tilt Poker and return all lost funds to its customers. PokerStars plans to re-open Full Tilt by early November with almost entirely new management and staff (the key executives and members of the financial team have been jettisoned). Full Tilt will remain a separate brand, running its own games and promotions. Because Blom was such a high profile figure on Full Tilt pre-Black Friday, people think he would be a natural fit as one of the new Full Tilt pros. Like we said, though, this is purely internet speculation.
This year, Blom has established himself as a force to be reckoned with in tournament poker, in addition to cash games. In January, he won the $100,000 Super High Roller event at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure and recently finished 14th in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship at the World Series of Poker. In May, he wowed the poker world by winning two of the first three events in the PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP).
