User:WhoWhoWhoIsMrBlue/Isildur1

Isildur1 is the handle of an anonymous Swedish high stakes online poker player at Full Tilt Poker. He drew considerable attention in the poker world in late 2009, taking part in all ten of the largest pots in online poker history. He is purported by many to be Swedish poker professional Viktor Blom, but Blom himself has denied this.

Career

Isildur1 first appeared at Full Tilt Poker on September 16, 2009, and remained largely unnoticed until November when he began playing well known professionals such as Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Dwan, Phil Ivey, and Patrik Antonius at stakes as high as $500/$1000. He reached a career peak on November 15 with total winnings of $5 million. By mid December, however, he was down $2 million net, including an approximately $4 million loss to Brian Hastings on December 8, when the two played heads-up $500/$1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha for five hours. With a few brief exceptions, Isildur1 did not appear on Full Tilt between his collapse in mid-December and his return in February 2010.

Isildur1 is now signed by pokerstars.

Reaction

A number of Isildur1’s regular opponents commented on him in the media buzz surrounding his collapse. On December 11, Illari “Ziigmund” Sahamies appeared on Finnish radio show Radio Rock Korporaatio, saying, “He’s playing 9 tables at once against Patrik [Antonius], [Phil] Ivey, and durrrr [Tom Dwan] – the guy must be missing a chromosome.” Also that day, the Full Tilt Academy released a video in which Patrik Antonius discusses Isildur1 with Phil Gordon. Antonius, who won the largest online pot ever ($1.4 million) against Isildur1, called him “extremely dangerous” because he constantly puts his opponents to difficult decisions. Antonius further opined that the mysterious Swede would return.

Tom Dwan and Tony G both referenced Isildur1 in their 2009 end-of-year blog posts. Dwan, who by most accounts lost $5 million to Isildur1, estimated that Isildur1 won and then lost $7 million (such estimates vary) but that he expects him to return. Tony G called him “the biggest thing that has happened in poker for a long, long time” and that “it is likely I will stake him in some big cash games in the future.”

The rise and fall of Isildur1 was on nearly every Top Stories of 2009 list, including those of Cardplayer, PokerNews.com, and PokerNewsDaily.com.

Identity

Though widely speculated to be Swedish professional Viktor Blom, Blom himself has denied this, saying, “I am not the one you are looking for. Keep searching.” Other suggested identities include Robert Flink and Todd Brunson. In late November, poker professional Tony G blogged “I don’t want to talk too much about Isildur1 but I can reveal to all it is Viktor…." Tony G later retracted that statement, saying, “I also have to say that earlier I was guessing and I will never reveal who he is from here on out. I think it’s more exciting for everyone, leaving the mystery as a mystery.” On December 22, 2009, PokerNews.com published an interview with Isildur1 about his loss to Brian Hastings, but Isildur1 again refused to reveal his identity.