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Viktor Blom

PokerStars and Viktor ‘isildur1′ Blom Part Ways


Blom and Stars have parted ways. Not getting along? Moving to Tilt? Interesting.

This one is a little unexpected.

PokerStars and Viktor ‘isildur1′ Blom have parted ways.

Stars was looking for a high-stakes superstar after being unable to secure Tom ‘durrrr’ Dwan (despite presenting a better offer than Full Tiltback in November 2009. So enter isildur1, the Swedish nosebleed sensation. Amid much hoopla, fan-fare, and build-up, Blom singed with PokerStars in December 2010.

Eric Hollreiser, Corporate Communications head at Stars, told PokerNews that “Blom and the company mutually agreed not to renew” his sponsorship agreement…which usually means PokerStars wasn’t happy with some aspects of Blom’s performance or personality, so cut bait.

Or maybe Stars is recalibrating their budgets to bring on other high-stakes superstars like Gus Hansen and Patrik Antonius.

Read more about Blom’s departure here.

* Photo credit wsop.com

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Viktor ‘isildur1′ Blom Leads $50k Player’s Championship


isildur1 didn't know Stud games a few days ago, now he's leading the Player's Championship.

In the $50k Player’s Championship, it should go without saying that

Surprising to some, leading this stacked field with 26 remaining is Viktor ‘isildur1′ Blom. The Swede is currently stacked at 1,262,000. He’s closely followed by David Oppenheim with 1,165,000.

Other interesting story lines in contention include:

  • Andy Bloch (667,000) – Can he avenge(?) his 2006 runner-up finish as well as capture his second bracelet of this WSOP and continue the Year of the Pro Who No Longer Has a Sponsorship DealTM?
  • Michael Mizrachi (632,000) – Can the so-called Grinder win his second Player’s Championship in three years and continue the Year of the Pro Who No Longer Has a Sponsorship DealTM?
  • John Monnette (586,000) – Can Monnette win his second bracelet of this year’s WSOP, get a stranglehold on the Player of the Year rankings, and be recognized by more than 2% of the poker public as he walks down the hallway at the Rio?
  • Phil Ivey (397,000) – Can Ivey solidify his POY status over Monnette, make his sixth final table of this year’s WSOP, win his ninth bracelet, and continue the Year of the Pro Who No Longer Has a Sponsorship DealTM?
  • Phil Hellmuth (28,000) – Uhhh…Hellmuth took a big hit at the end of the night. Can he mount the biggest comeback in Player’s Championship history?

Get full chip counts here.

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Viktor ‘isildur1′ Blom Wins 2012 PCA Super High-Roller


Viktor Blom treated the 2012 PCA Super High-Roller like it was durrrr's bankroll circa 2009, giving him his first major tournament score.

The new-look Viktor ‘isildur1′ Blom showed off a new-look poker game to kick-off 2012, capturing the PCA $100,000 buy-in Super High-Roller event.

Blom, who in the past was more known for his lack of patience and chip spewage during tournaments, showcased a more measured game.

Starting the final table fourth in chips, Blom methodically built his stack up, taking the chip lead for good once play got three-handed. Blom then knocked out last year’s PCA Main Event winner, Galen Hall, in third ($470,400) and High-Roller specialist Dan Shak ($846,700) heads-up for the title.

The win Blom’s second ever live tournament cash. He finished 16th at the 2011 WSOP Europe Main Event.

Jonathan Duhamel finished fourth ($313,600) and Daniel Negreanu came in fifth ($250,900).

Get a full recap of the final table here.

* Photo courtesy PokerStars Blog.

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Viktor Blom Officially Unveiled As Isildur1



People at PokerStars, if you have a cleaner video*, please let us know, but for now, here’s the best we can find of the long-last unveiling of isildur1.

Oh yeah, it was Viktor Blom.

No real shocker there. It was a conclusion that…dare we say…was already foregone?

Buy yeah, Blom is isildur1. OJ is the real killer. Obama was born in Kenya. Everyone pretty much knows and accepts these to be truths already.

Interesting write-up/interview with Blom though on the PokerStars blog that’s worth a read here.

* Look at Jess Welman in the above vid trying to get in a few clicks of isildur1. New crush? Rawwwrr.

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PCA Kicks Off With $100,000 Super High Rollers Event


Expect Viktor Blom's secret identity to be revealed at the 2011 PCA.

The 2011 PCA kicked off yesterday with the $100,000 NLH Super High-Roller event.

A total of 38 entered, which is impressive given that most of the nosebleeders on Full Tilt can’t/won’t play in the event, and that the buy-in is one-hundred-freaking-thousand-dollars. Five places get paid, and the winner will bank $1.5M.

After Day 1, 23 of the starting 38 remain. Tobias Reinkemeier of Germany is the chip leader, stacked at 896,000. You may not remember Reinkemeier from his victory in last year’s EPT Monte Carlo $25,000 High Roller event.

He’s followed by Daniel Negreanu with 848,000. Negreanu would need to finish in third or higher to overtake Phil Ivey on poker’s all-time tournament money winner’s list.

Plenty of notables remain. Among the bigger stacks are Nick Schulman (705,000), Daniel ‘jungleman12′ Cates (622,000), and Jason Mercier (459,000).

Get full chip count here.

In semi-related news, Viktor Blom played the event, but was sent to the rail on Day 1. PokerStars is scheduled to reveal Blom (allegedly) as isildur1 at 7pm ET on Saturday. Watch for that announcement here.

* Blom photo courtesy of the PokerStars Blog.

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