In one of the most anticipated events in online poker history, Daniel Negreanu recently agreed to take Viktor “Isildur1” Blom on in two PokerStars SuperStar Showdown matches. If you’re unfamiliar with this event, it involves Blom challenging a different player every so often to 2,500 hands of $50/$100 No-Limit Hold’em, and the players multi-table four tables. The one other rule in this challenge is that both players have a $150k bankroll, and the game ends once one player loses their $150k, or the 2,500 hands end.
Going into the first matchup with Negreanu on March 20th, Blom was 4-1 against challengers, and he was a big favorite over Negreanu. After all, Kid Poker made a name for himself in live tournaments, while Isildur1 is considered one of the top online cash players in the game. In any case, Blom won big in the first matchup after he took Negreanu’s entire $150k bankroll in a matter of 1,439 hands.
As Negreanu so hastily pointed out, Blom ran a lot better than him in all-in hands, but for the most part, Blom’s overly-aggressive style and Negreanu’s lack of multi-tabling experience did him in. So did Negreanu come back for a March 27th rematch after being beaten badly the first time around? Of course he did!
However, it’s likely that Negreanu was wishing he hadn’t come back since he was down by $130,000 at one point in the second game. Incredibly though, Negreanu fought his way back after being only $20k away from losing. Kid Poker evened the score at around 2,000 hands, and he battled back and forth with Blom from there on out. In the last 50 hands, Negreanu took control of the match for good and beat Isildur1 by $26,500.
As you might have guessed, Negreanu was ecstatic about his victory over one of the best young cash players in the game today.