The 10 largest pots in online poker history might already just be a lot for us to wrap our heads around. Not to talk of a guy who took part in all ten of them. This player, known only by the enigmatic online poker name “Isildur1”, sent shockwaves through the community. The fascination and mystery surrounding his identity.
You know, there’s a certain level of success that makes anonymity impossible. That’s exactly what happened to Isildur1, the high-stakes online poker player. His success was so monumental that he was inevitably fished out.
For a moment, let’s pretend that that sense of “fascination and mystery” is still there. We will need it as we go into the details about the life of this guy.
This guy, Viktor Blom, entered Earth through Gothenburg, Sweden, on September 26, 1990. What an entry, around 10 years to the end of the crazy 20th century.
Viktor was introduced to poker by his older brother when he was just 14. They played no-limit Texas Hold ’Em, and soon, Viktor started teaching his friends how to play. (He must have had a brain with high horsepower.) Anyway, they played micro stakes, and Viktor, being a natural, won (or burnt) a good deal of their money.
His reputation as a poker ace began to circulate, and soon enough, people were lining up to try their hand against him. During school lunch breaks, they would play games with buy-ins between 3 and 7 dollars. I can understand the loss of appetite. It comes especially in those times when we are excited or anxious, haha.
Seeing the growing interest, Viktor and his brother decided to take their game online. They deposited some money on an online poker site and entered a Multi-Table Tournament (MTT). They finished fifth and won a massive $300 (yes, at least it was for them then). Not long after, his brother set up his own account, leaving Viktor to play on his own under the account, Blom90, they had set up together.
At just 15, Viktor had already made a name for himself, accruing around $275k across several poker sites. He then moved all his money to one site. Afterward, he put skyscraper-size buy-in sit-n-gos and cash games on his shoulders. Painfully, everything went poof. However, Viktor, being the fighter he is, built his bankroll from the ground up again, reaching around $3,000.
He then deposited 10,000 SEK and decided to focus on heads-up no-limit Hold ’em. Within two weeks, he increased his bets by a big percentage. At the ripe age of 17, he threw down a cool $2,500 on PartyPoker. Two days later, he had bagged over $200,000. With another round of success on iPoker, he pocketed over $1.7 million in just a two-week span.
The player appeared on Full Tilt Poker with the username Isildur1. He was what some might consider “too open for a beginner” as he was non-hesitant in contesting with everyone and anyone. This propelled him into the big leagues, where he squared off against big names such as Brian Townsend, Patrik Antonius, Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan, and Cole South, playing at stakes reaching up to $500/$1,000. They probably underestimated Blom.
Isildur1 quickly became a force to be reckoned with. But it wasn’t just his play that caught people’s attention — it was the size of the pots he was playing for.
Remarkably, Isildur1, in 2009, participated in all ten of the largest pots in online poker history. He was in the thick of it, playing for stakes that most could only dream of. His audacious play and seemingly limitless bankroll had everyone asking the same question: Who is Isildur1? (The question needed to be asked, really.)
But Isildur1 remained an enigma. Despite his high-profile games and the massive pots he was winning (and losing), his true identity remained a mystery. The poker community was abuzz with speculation. Some thought he might be a well-known pro playing under a different name, while others believed he was a newcomer with a natural talent for the game.
The first game that brought Isildur1 under the online spotlight was the one with Haseeb Qureshi in September 2009. Isildur1 had won $500,000 crazily from Qureshi just after 24 freaking hours!
Isildur1 pulled a vanishing act, only to reappear about a month later — quite the smart move, if you ask me. He went head-to-head with Brian Townsend, Patrik Antonius, and Cole South at the high-stakes tables, where the blinds ranged from $200/$400 to $500/$1000. Unfortunately, he took a hard hit and suffered a loss of a million dollars.
Critics were quick to pounce, hurling harsh words at Isildur1. But he didn’t let the criticism get to him. Instead, he responded in the best way possible — by winning. During the last week of October 2009, he managed to recover around $2 million from Townsend and South.
However, Isildur1 wasn’t done yet. He continued to challenge and re-challenge more players. His persistence paid off, and by November 15, he had reached a peak of $5.98 million in earnings on Full Tilt Poker. What a comeback!
As Isildur1 continued to dominate the high-stakes games, the fire around the question of his identity intensified in the poker community. It was clear that whoever he was, Isildur1 was a player unlike any other. His fearless approach, combined with his incredible skill, made him a fascinating figure.
In the wake of a scandal, Isildur1 found himself at a crossroads. Brian Hastings, in collaboration with Brian Townsend and Cole South, had played unfairly by sharing hand histories to gain an advantage over Isildur1, pocketing a mind-blowing $4.2 million.
Hastings had studied over 30,000 of Blom’s hands to decipher his strategy, a move that cost him his Full Tilt Red Pro status for a month. This massive loss hit Blom hard, causing him to lower the stakes and retreat from challenging other players. Despite this setback, Blom’s passion for the game remained undiminished, proving that it would take more than a defeat to keep him down.
Isildur1 decided to take a break from Full Tilt Poker for several months. In 2010, he decided to explore new horizons and joined PokerStars, hoping for a fresh start.
While Isildur1 was with PokerStars, he kept the poker community on their toes with his unique playstyle and high-stakes games that could make anyone’s teeth chatter. The poker community finally got to see the man behind the Isildur1 username, Viktor Blom, at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in 2011. But by then, he had already made his mark. The reveal of his identity was a major event in the poker community.
However, as it turns out, Blom’s stint with PokerStars wasn’t destined to be a long one. By August 2012, he chose to bid adieu to the platform. His exit was met with quite a bit of speculation and curiosity. But Blom, being the cool customer he is, didn’t let the chatter get to him. He simply stated that he wanted to fix his mind on playing poker.
Not too long after he left PokerStars, Blom found himself back at square one — Full Tilt Poker. He was welcomed by the platform, signifying his return to the high-stakes games that put him on the map. His comeback to Full Tilt Poker was seen as a sort of homecoming, and fans were on the edge of their seats, eagerly anticipating his next big move.
Blom has had a career that’s nothing short of extraordinary. What his time in the high-stakes online poker battlefield made us see were a lot of impressive wins, record-breaking pots, and a resilience that’s hard to match.
To his earnings, the numbers speak for themselves. Over the course of his career, Blom has amassed total live earnings that could cause an earthquake. He’s managed to pull in a colossal $3.2 million.
That’s not all. Among these earnings is his best live cash — an impressive $1.25 million.
And it will be bad for us to forget his ranking on the All-Time Money List. Blom ranks 728th as of April 2024. This ranking, while impressive, only tells part of the story. It doesn’t take into account the countless hours spent honing his skills, the intense high-stakes games, or the sturdy focus that has characterized his career.
In the All Time Money List in Sweden, he ranks 9th.
In his early days of high stakes online poker, Blom’s “openness” gave an impression that he was unbeatable, possibly boosting his morale. Blom knew what he was doing. His anonymity sowed chaos, as opponents were unsure if they were playing against a King Kong or a penguin.
Here, let’s agree that Blom was “aggressive” so that it can flow. Blom’s aggressive style of play put his opponents in difficult spots.
Additionally, Blom wasn’t worrying about the money he had bet. That one can be a distraction on its own, you know. He always believed in himself that if worst comes to worst he would rebuild his bankroll. After all, he had been doing it from the beginning.
He was driven by the thrill of the challenge, seeking out the best in the game. This made him a tough opponent. He was a headache for the pros. That is very clear from the fact that it was only after Hastings’ deep analysis that Isildur1 was defeated.
If that hadn’t happened, Blom might have continued his dominance in online high stakes. Everyone foresaw the end, even without Hasting’s digging. Isildur1 was on a reckless ride, destined to crash, but he was content to ride on the bus until he ran out of money or opponents. His ambitious plan was doomed from the start.
When you look at the life of the guy Blom, you cannot deny what his presence did to online poker. He left an ineradicable imprint on the community. His approach to the game, which I find most interesting, seemed to kind of emit a vibe of “the fear of the unknown,” instilling a sense of dread in his opponents.
Online poker has changed ever since. This has left players in Blom’s shoes yearning for the glory days. Yet, Blom has shown adaptability. He’s found success in tournaments, with notable victories including the PartyPoker MILLIONS event, where he bagged €850k, and a dominant performance in the 2020 Super High Roller Bowl online series. Whispers suggest he might be playing high stakes games under a different username.
As for Blom’s future, it’s as unpredictable as his gameplay. His resilience suggests that a return to the high stakes tables wouldn’t be surprising. Whether he’ll stick to his aggressive style or adopt a new strategy is yet to be seen. One thing’s for sure — we are keeping a close eye.
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