There are only a few poker followers on the market who
don’t know the title of “Isildur1”.
The Swede, whose identification would solely later be
revealed as that of Viktor Blom, took the net poker world by storm in
November and December of 2009.
Whereas most excessive stakes gamers appear to
fastidiously select their opponents and solely sit down these they imagine in having
an edge on, “Isildur1” was open to all.
The plethora of high-profile execs like Patrik
Antonius, Tom Dwan, and Phil Ivey have been desirous to tackle the newcomer who was
largely a thriller, however they have been despatched dwelling with tails between their legs.
For some time, no one might beat Blom.
He was reserving one successful session after
one other, and the legend began to develop within the poker neighborhood.
Who was this individual that nobody knew something
about, and who was courageous sufficient to tackle the perfect on the planet with none
discrimination?
After all, as a lot of you most likely know, the
“Isildur1” story didn’t have fairly the joyful ending for the hero. He was
finally stopped and disappeared for some time, solely to come back again later once more.
He was by no means capable of repeat the preliminary success,
however the legend lives on even at present.
So, what occurred to Viktor Blom? The place is he
now, and what he’s been as much as currently?
Man Of Iron Will
When Blom first appeared on Full Tilt, he was thought
of as simply one other wannabe.
Nobody knew how he got here to have the bankroll to
play on the stakes as excessive as $500/$1,000, though there have been rumors he constructed
it just about from scratch.
His first session that attracted the poker
world’s consideration came about in September of 2009 in opposition to Haseeb Qureshi.
After an insane 24 hours, Qureshi was $500,000
lighter, and “Isildur1” simply disappeared.
However everybody knew he’d be again sooner or later,
and in October, “Isildur1” was again, and the collection of epic heads-up matches would
begin.
He began on the shedding facet of issues,
dropping about $1,000,000 in opposition to Antonius, Cole South, and Brian Townsend. The
basic consensus on the time was that the unknown wannabe was taking part in method too aggressively,
and he wouldn’t final lengthy in opposition to such elite gamers.
“Isildur1” would shortly show everybody improper.
As October was drawing to the shut, the Swede
managed to win near $2,000,000 off of South and Townsend, however this simply
boosted his drive and want to play.
After all, challengers weren’t missing.
In the course of the first week of November, Blom took up
none aside from Tom “durrrr” Dwan, a younger poker famous person feared by many.
However “Isildur1” didn’t care.
He performed Dwan at six heads up concurrently on and off for a full week. When it was throughout, Blom was up $4,000,000.
Quickly after, he challenged Antonius to a
rematch, successful one other $1.6 million off of him.
By mid-November, Blom was up $6,000,000 on Full
Tilt Poker.
And whereas “Isildur1’s” opponents have been questioning
what had hit them, poker boards have been heating up.
Some believed this was the straightforward case of a
“fish on the heater,” whereas others have been satisfied this nameless participant was a
poker genius that will deliver the excessive stakes neighborhood to its knees.
The reality was someplace inbetween.
The Swede was clearly working scorching, however issues
finally began to show south for him.
The Delusion Dispelled
One factor nobody might take away from
“Isildur1” was his spirit and his want to tackle anybody prepared to play him.
An admirable trait generally, it ended up
costing Blom round $3,000,000 when he accepted to play Antonious in Pot Restrict
Omaha.
PLO was Patrik’s recreation and Viktor admittedly
didn’t know a lot about it. However he performed nonetheless.
Antonius received huge within the first match however Blom
was capable of make considerably of a restoration in a rematch, finally ending up
$1,000,000 within the pink.
This loss, mixed along with his losses to Phil
Ivey considerably earlier introduced his Full Tilt winnings to $2,000,000 mark.
After which got here the trustworthy match with Brian
Hastings.
In one of many craziest periods recorded within the historical past of online poker, Hastings was capable of take “Isildur1” to the cleaners, reserving an enormous $4.2 million win after 5 hours of play.
It was later revealed that Hastings analyzed
greater than 30,000 palms performed by Blom to determine his technique and Hastings
was “punished” by shedding his Full Tilt Pink Professional standing for a month.
After this huge loss, Blom’s bankroll was
seemingly decimated as he dropped the stakes and was now not difficult
gamers left and proper.
Nevertheless, his coronary heart and dedication to the sport,
as Tony G would aptly put it, actually confirmed throughout these loopy periods.
Blom was defeated in the meanwhile however it
would take greater than that to eliminate the Swede.
What Made “Isildur1” Such A Robust Opponent?
There is no such thing as a doubt that Blom was working nicely
above the expectation throughout his early periods on Full Tilt, which made him
look unimaginable to beat.
Nevertheless it wasn’t simply the great fortune that helped
“Isildur1” grow to be one of many largest legends of the net excessive stakes world.
One factor the Swede positively had occurring for
him was the very fact nobody knew who he was.
To the remainder of the neighborhood, he was an enormous
enigma (to the purpose the place nobody might actually be sure if “Isildur1” was a
he or a she). So, they’d no thought what to anticipate.
On the similar time, Blom was going up in opposition to the gamers who have been very well-known and possibly had a good suggestion of their fashion of play.
Blom’s technique was typically described as
hyper-aggressive, which it was, however it helped him confuse his opponents and put
them in powerful and infrequently unimaginable spots.
Blom performed seemingly with little or no regard
for the cash that was at stake. He constructed his bankroll up from nothing as soon as
earlier than and he was assured he might do it once more.
So to him, it was all in regards to the problem and
the thrill. Why else he’d search to take up the perfect on the planet when there
have been a lot softer video games obtainable?
You could possibly argue that this isn’t essentially the most
smart strategy to the sport however it’s positively a tricky one to play in opposition to.
That’s why it took some time for the professionals to
alter and why Hastings was solely capable of beat “Isildur1” so totally after
taking a deep dive into his palms.
With out it, the match might have turned out
a lot in a different way and maybe the Swede would proceed to dominate the world of
on-line excessive stakes for some time longer.
After all, everybody sort of knew the top to
this episode, even with out Hasting’s knowledge mining shenanigans.
“Isildur1” was dashing along with his break system
malfunctioning.
Ultimately, he needed to crash and burn, however he
was joyful to journey the wave for so long as it lasted. He wasn’t going to cease
till he was out of cash or there was nobody left to problem him.
And that plan was so bold that it was
doomed to fail proper from the beginning.
What Occurred To Viktor “Isildur1” Blom?
After the powerful beating he obtained, Blom
disappeared from the nosebleeds tables however he wasn’t finished with poker by any
stretch of creativeness.
His displaying on the on-line tables sparked
creativeness and curiosity of numerous poker followers in addition to main poker rooms
that have been eager to enroll the mysterious hero as one among their model
ambassadors.
In the long run, it was PokerStars that added the
Swede to its skilled roster.
“Isildur1’s” identification was lastly revealed at
the 2011 Poker Caribbean Journey and the person behind the infamous display title
was offered as Victor Blom, 21 years previous on the time.
It was an enormous reveal that poker followers have been anxiously
awaiting.
For the younger Swede, the sponsorship represented a possibility to maintain taking part in poker at excessive stakes, which was a a lot wanted increase after the powerful beating he took on-line.
For the subsequent couple of years, “Isildur1”
continued to play below the PokerStars flag, getting concerned with some stay
poker tournaments as nicely.
Though tournaments have been by no means Blom’s main
space of curiosity, he managed to build up simply shy of $3,000,000 in winnings
up up to now, along with his largest money win being in 2012 when he took down the
$100k PCA Excessive Curler occasion to the tune of $1.2 million.
When Full Tilt made its return in 2012, the
Swede was one of many few execs the room had signed as much as try to revive the
model. Blom joined Tom Dwan and Gus Hansen and he was again in his pure
habitat.
For the subsequent few years, “Isildur1” was a
common function on the room’s nosebleed’s tables, mixing it up as soon as once more with
the perfect of the perfect.
Blom had some loopy swings over that interval,
sticking to his insanely aggressive fashion of play.
After Full Tilt shut down, for good this time,
Blom was again to PokerStars.
Sadly, HighStakesDB needed to cease
monitoring ends in 2018 however as of late March of that yr, Blom was up over
$1.8 million.
On the subject of stay play, Blom wasn’t very
energetic within the interval 2014 – 2017 however then he got here again, tackling the world of
stay and on-line tournaments alike.
What “Isildur1” Has Been up To Lately?
The world of on-line nosebleeds isn’t what it
was, to the frustration of many followers and gamers like Viktor Blom. The
good previous days of heroes delivery huge six and occasional seven-figure pots
appear to be however a distant historical past.
Whether or not this can change sooner or later and if a
room like GGPoker can fill the void stays to be seen.
So what has the Swede been as much as?
Not surprisingly, he isn’t sitting round twiddling
his thumbs. It appears Blom has turned to tournaments and he’s been doing fairly
nicely, particularly within the on-line enviornment.
When it comes to stay outcomes, the one actually notable rating prior to now couple of years for Blom was his win the partypoker MILLIONS occasion in Rozvadov, which resulted in a payday of €850,000.
His on-line efforts have been fairly productive,
netting near $1.5 million on PokerStars and nearly the identical at
partypoker.
Blom has been very energetic at partypoker currently
and it turned out to be a sensible choice for him as he dominated the 2020 on-line
version of the Tremendous Excessive Curler Bowl.
Because it seems, the Swede isn’t that dangerous of a match participant, both.
His largest rating throughout the 2020 SHRB On-line
collection got here from the win within the 8-max Tremendous Excessive Curler occasion, which was good
for the payday of $407,500.
Different notable scores included:
- The win within the SHRB #09 Excessive Curler
good for $213,750 - Runner-up finishes in SHRB #02 and
SHRB #08, netting Blom $320,000 and $360,000, respectively - The win within the SHRB #21 good for
$195,250
Whether or not Blom has been taking part in in some excessive
stakes money video games on the facet, maybe on a unique website and below a
completely different alias is anyone’s guess.
There have all the time been rumors about “Isildur1”
discovering motion on smaller, off-the-map on-line rooms however with no actual affirmation.
Understanding how huge his drive to play is, although,
it could hardly come as a shock.
A Controversial Hero
To at the present time, Viktor “Isildur1” Blom stays one
of the extra controversial figures of the poker world.
However, in contrast to some, the Swede created this
controversy by taking part in playing cards as a substitute of doing shady or questionable issues.
For a lot of, “Isildur1” will all the time stay the
hero the poker world wants and deserves.
It’s good to see that the younger Swede has stored
going, regardless of the powerful blows he’s endured over the course of his profession.
At all times prepared to regulate and adapt, Blom has
seemingly exchanged the nosebleeds’ atmosphere with that of excessive stakes
tournaments, no less than in the meanwhile.
Even at present, at any time when he makes an look at
the digital felt, the poker world goes loopy with pleasure. If nothing else,
you possibly can relaxation assured that Blom received’t be shying away from the motion and that
any desk he sits at will see chips fly in every single place.
If nosebleeds have been ever to return to the net
enviornment, it’s protected to guess that “Isildur1” can be one of many first gamers to
be part of the fray. Though video games have grow to be a lot more durable and dangerous gamers are a
few and much between at these stakes, it’s not a priority for Blom.
He’s by no means been afraid of a problem.
In truth, he’s all the time been actively on the lookout for
one and I don’t see that altering – it’s simply a part of who he’s!
