Tag: Viktor Blom

Viktor Blom is currently hurtling across the Super High Roller Bowl Online (SHRBO) on partypoker like a scud missile.

The online cash game legend has now won three SHRBO titles, and finished second on two other occasions after pummeling the 55-entrant field into hyperspace in Event #21: $10,300 No Limit Hold’em.

Blom slapped his white glove across the face of Isaac Haxton during heads-up action, eventually emerging from the duel without a hole in his body. Blom also won Event #9: $10,300 for $213,750 and Event #14: $25,500 for $407,500, and is the overwhelming favourite to win the $102,000 seat into the SHRBO Main Event.

One man destined to be spilling vermilion in that Main Event is Matthias Eibinger. The Austrian star subjugated 70-entrants in Event #19: $10,300 No Limit Hold’em 48-hours after winning the $5,200 No Limit Hold’em, Midweek Freeze, Six Max at the PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) for $111,703.80. Eibinger collected $217,000 for his SHRBO win.

The third title of the day went to Sam Greenwood. The exquisite Canadian crushed a field of 42-entrants to win Event #20: $25,500 Super High Roller. Christoph Vogelsang finished runner-up in that one, with Vyacheslav Buldygin, third.

Here are the results.

Event #19: $10,300 No Limit Hold’em 6-Max

70-entrants

Results

  1. Matthias Eibinger – $217,000
  2. Artur Martirosian – $150,500
  3. Kristen Bicknell – $98,000
  4. Joao Vieira – $63,000
  5. Mikita Badziakouski – $49,000
  6. Sergi Lloveras Reixach – $40,250
  7. Christopher Malcolm Fraser- $33,250
  8. Dan Smtih – $26,250

Event #20: $25,500 Super High Roller

42-entrants

Results

  1. Sam Greenwood – $399,000
  2. Christoph Vogelsang – $262,500
  3. Vyacheslav Buldygin – $168,000
  4. Nick Petrangelo – $94,500
  5. Timothy Adams – $73,500
  6. David Peters – $52,500

Event #21: $10,300 No Limit Hold’em

55-entrants

Results

  1. Viktor Blom – $195,250
  2. Isaac Haxton – $130,625
  3. Stephen O’Dwyer – $83,875
  4. Mikita Badziakouski – $52,625
  5. Timothy Adams – $35,750
  6. Jake Schindler – $27,500
  7. Ali Imsirovic – $23,375

It’s partypoker, so there is no ‘Isildur1’. The saccharine pseudonym that once assaulted the senses may be gone, but the creator of the man, the myth, the legend is very much alive.

Someone has opened the gates to the zoo, and Viktor Blom is out of his cage, tearing more than his fair share of flesh from the 2020 Super High Roller Bowl Online (SHRBO).

The Swedish star came into Day 6 of the SHRBO on top of the preliminary leaderboard after taking down Event #9, and finishing runner-up in Event #2 and Event #8. Now the points gap between Blom and the other animals has grown considerably.

Blom crystallised his menacing molestation of the SHRBO by conquering a field of 40-entrants in Event #14: $25,500, earning maximum points and $407,500 after beating Mike Watsons, heads-up.

David Peters finished third in Event #14, and the former Global Poker Index (GPI) World #1 had a sterling day, conquering a field of 70-entrants in Event #13: $10,300 No Limit Hold’em.

Justin Bonomo remains in a strong position in the rankings after finishing third in Event #13, and sixth in Event #15. The winner of Event #15 came from Canada, with Mark Radoja beating Pauli Ayras, heads-up, during the endgame of a 60-entrant Battle Royale. The World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner collected $195,000 for the win.

Here are the results.

Event #13: $10,300 No Limit Hold’em

70-entrants

Results

  1. David Peters – $217,000
  2. Joao Vieira – $150,500
  3. Justin Bonomo – $98,000
  4. Matthias Eibinger – $63,000
  5. Christopher Hunichen – $49,000
  6. Aleksejs Meiess – $40,250
  7. Kristen Bicknell – $33,250
  8. Lucas Reeves – $26,250

Event #14: $25,500 No Limit Hold’em

40-entrants

Results

  1. Viktor Blom – $407,500
  2. Michael Watson – $265,000
  3. David Peters – $165,000
  4. Adrian Mateos – $100,000
  5. Sam Greenwood – $62,500

Event #15: $10,300 No Limit Hold’em

60-entrants

Results

  1. Mark Radoja – $195,000
  2. Pauli Ayras – $132,000
  3. Ole Schemion – $88,500
  4. Guillaume Nolet – $55,500
  5. Vyacheslav Buldygin – $43,500
  6. Justin Bonomo – $34,500
  7. Christopher Hunichen – $28,500
  8. Timothy Adams – $22,500

Few people in modernity, have smashed the virtual felt with the same impact as Viktor’ Isildur1′ Blom. He wasn’t pretentious. He wasn’t big time. He was a star who loved poker and the way it made him feel.

We’ve seen less of him in recent times, punctured by the odd million-dollar result, but when we do see him, it tends to be on the tournament circuit, not the arena where people used to shower him with roses.

But who cares, right?

As long as we see more of the man ‘being the man’.

The Swedish star currently occupies the #1 spot on the Super High Roller Bowl (SHRB) Online Preliminary Leaderboard after a Day #3 performance that made poker connoisseurs lose the ability to form sentences.

Blom conquered the 75-entrant field in Event #9: $10,300 No Limit Hold ’em and added his $213,750 purse to the $365,500 obtained for finishing runner-up to Dan Smith in Event #8: $25,500 No Limit Hold ’em.

Smith currently sits in second place on the leaderboard. Not only did he win Event #8 for $527,000, but he also finished eighth in Event #9, and is one of four players to have finished in the money (ITM) in four of the first nine events.

Luuk Gieles was the other winner of the day, defeating 90-entrants to win the $234,000 first prize in Event #7: $10,300 No Limit Hold ’em. George Wolff finished runner-up in that event for his third cash of the series, and Ali Imsirovic finished third for his first cash.

Here are the results.

Luuk Gieles Wins Event #7: $10,300 No Limit Hold’em

90-entrants

Results

  1. Luuk Gieles – $234,000
  2. George Wolff – $166,500
  3. Ali Imsirovic – $117,000
  4. Pascal Hartmann – $81,000
  5. Mark Radoja – $63,000
  6. Jonathan Van Fleet – $45,000
  7. Mikita Badziakouski – $36,000
  8. John O’Shea – $31,500
  9. Simon Higgins – $27,000
  10. Adrian Mateos – $27,000
  11. Orpen Kisacikoglu – $27,000
  12. Darrell Goh – $22,500
  13. Kahle Burns – $22,500

Dan Smith Wins Event #8: $25,500 No Limit Hold ’em

68-entrants

  1. Dan Smith – $527,000
  2. Viktor Blom – $365,500
  3. Artur Martirosian – $153,000
  4. Simon Higgins – $153,000
  5. Alex Foxen – $119,000
  6. Giuseppe Iadisernia – $97,750
  7. Orpen Kisacikoglu – $80,750
  8. Darrell Goh – $63,750
  9. Linus Loeliger – $55,250

Viktor Blom Wins Event #9: $10,300 No Limit Hold ’em

75-entrants

  1. Viktor Blom – $213,750
  2. Christoph Vogelsang – $146,250
  3. Arnaud Enselme – $101,250
  4. George Wolff – $67,500
  5. Kristen Bicknell – $52,500
  6. Mark Davis – $41,250
  7. Darrell Goh – $33,750
  8. Dan Smith – $26,250
  9. Justin Bonomo – $22,500
  10. Rui Ferreira – $22,500
  11. Mikita Badziakouski – $22,500

Leaderboard Standings

  1. Viktor Blom – 625 pts
  2. Dan Smith – 511
  3. Daniel Dvoress – 432
  4. Alex Foxen – 402
  5. Chris Hunichen – 347

Ahead of the Phil Galfond Challenge, I asked him who had been his fiercest competitor. The first name that fell out of Galfond’s mouth was Viktor ‘Isildur1’ Blom. The Swedish star who rocked the high stakes boat like no man had ever done, or has ever done since.

Galfond once won $1.6m against Blom in a war spanning multiple tables of $300/$600 & $500/$1000 Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO). It remains Galfond’s largest winning day ever. Blom was ‘learning’ the game at the time (Blom would also win a million in a day from Galfond during their battles).

Today, Galfond prepares to resume his €100/€200 PLO heads-up challenge against VeniVidi1993. In parallel, Blom’s just won the Battle Royale freeroll at the Unibet Open in Dublin, where he’s appearing as a ‘friend’ of Unibet.

Galfond is down a million euros.

Blom’s just won €1,500.

In a revealing blog post penned by Galfond circa 2012, he spoke highly of Blom as a player and a person, stating that the Swede had more raw talent, and therefore the ability to rule the world should he want to.

You can read it here.

In that same blog post, we learned how much Blom loves the game, and how competing with the best in the business, and having fun, are the two primary reasons that he contends.

“It’s just money,” said Blom, when questioned by Galfond about a leak in his game.

How amazing would it be to see Blom competing in the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series, both in tournaments and the cash games? I’ve seen him in the shadows, but so far, he’s not found the courage/fuel/network (delete as appropriate) to take a pew.

If you want to have fun, playing poker, against the best, then the Triton Poker Super High Roller series is where you need to be. Still, you can have all of the natural talents in the world. Without the right forms of nurture, it’s going to be challenging to create a legacy. We will always remember Blom for the way he ripped the game apart during that halcyon period. But man, how incredible would it be to see him chop through whatever weedy paths are preventing him from doing it all again.

From a laptop in the San Fernando Valley, I can’t say why Blom is playing at the Unibet Open, and not the Triton Poker Series, but the smart money is that Blom doesn’t have the fuel to light on fire at the highest levels.

Given that the high stakes poker stratum is still on an uncharted path laden with more treasure than ever before let’s hope that someone does an Abba, and takes a chance on him. Let’s also hope that if he does take this chance, it doesn’t stop him from competing in Battle Royale freerolls. He’s a tall lad. Let the poker world all have a piece of him.

Here are those Battle Royale results.

Results

  1. Viktor Blom – €1,500
  2. David Vanderheyden – €1,000
  3. Espen Uhlen Jørstad – €500
  4. Dara O’Kearney
  5. David Lappin
  6. Jorma Vuoksenmaa
  7. Alexandre Reard
  8. Monica Vaka
  9. Dehlia de Jong

Niall Farrell & Max Silver Cash in High Roller

Blom isn’t the only player with high stakes experience, currently trying to put players in a Bonnington Hotel tomb.

The Triple Crown winner, Niall Farrell, and the World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, Max Silver, are also in the Emerald Isle. Both cashed in the €2,200 No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE) High Roller (results below).

Silver is also in a decent position to make a deep run in the €1,100 Unibet Open Dublin NLHE Main Event finishing 2/24 from a field of 83-entrants on Day 1A.

High Roller Results

  1. Tarek Qunber – €11,170*
  2. Niall Farrell – €10,000*
  3. Robbie Toan – €10,000*
  4. Max Silver – €4,830

*Indicates a threeway deal

A decade ago, nobody in poker was more rock n roll than Viktor Blom. Competing under the alias’ Isildur1′, the Swedish star blew a whistle into the eardrum of every high stakes player on the planet, and a few still have tinnitus to this day. 

PokerStars was the first company to recognise Blom’s brand-ability. In 2011, the giant of the online poker world placed him on top of a mountain of mattresses, and he felt the pea. 

Poker’s prince had a face.

Stars’ relationship with Blom lasted a year, but he had barely stepped back into the shadows when Full Tilt partnered him with Tom Dwan and Gus Hansen to spearhead their reemergence as an online poker powerhouse.

What looked like red liquorice on paper turned out, in reality, to be Brussel sprouts. Full Tilt entered the maze of forgotten greats, and Blom quietly slipped away like heavy eyelids.

The poker press has spotted him, occasionally. Like last year when he turned up at the King’s Resort in Rozvadov and took down the 927-entrant partypoker MILLIONS Germany for $1m, but a teenager with a parentally locked I-Pad is likelier to find porn than the poker community is to find Blom. 

He’s like a ghost. 

Well, the man Phil Galfond recently confessed, was his fiercest rival back in the day, is back, with his head popping up above the unlikeliest of parapets: Pokio.

Pokio and Blom

I know what you’re thinking, “why is one of online poker’s fiercest ever competitors affiliated with The Super Mario Brothers.” I get the confusion, I do. However, I’m not talking about the pokios that live in Mario World’s seaside kingdom.

Pokio’s unique selling proposition is declaring they are the first real money social poker experience to receive a license from the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA).

Last year, Pokio donned their fatigues and entered the war for attention in poker’s ecosystem when they partnered with the Cash Game Festival (CGF), the Portomaso Casino and the Malta Poker Festival (MPF) a triumvirate of activities centred around their H.Q.

But this is something else.

Blom is not the terror he once was, but his name still makes some quarters of the poker community go weak at the knees. If you wish to compete with Blom and have a natter about the good old days, then sign-up, join his club.

Qufan Internet Technology Ltd owns Pokio. In Nov 2016, the Chinese online sports lottery outfit 500.com acquired a 51% stake in the company for the not too shabby sum of $16m.

The app offers all the standard games, and formats, including Open-Face Chinese (OFC), and a Swedish game called Sviten Special, branded as Drawmaha. 

Blom is not the only professional poker player with links to Pokio. The former European Poker Tour (EPT) Champion, and High Stakes Poker contestant, Andreas Hoivold, also has a club on the app. 

The latest Paul Phua Poker School video interview is with French poker pro Rui Cao. Paul Phua explores the lessons to be learned

Rui Cao, the subject of this new video profile for the Paul Phua Poker School, is recognised as one of the best poker players in France. I first played against him six years ago, when he came to Macau to play in the high-stakes cash game known in poker circles as “the Big Game”. Rui Cao is an aggressive, risk-taking player, and he loved the excitement of these huge pots. Anyone who can thrive in such a high-pressure situation, where even the most experienced players can be at risk of losing their bankroll, deserves respect.


In his previous video interview for the Paul Phua Poker School, discussing aggression in poker with myself and Wai Kin Yong, Rui Cao admitted that he sometimes plays a little too loose: “It’s an ego problem,” he said. So this time we asked him what he considers the most important attributes for success in poker.
“I think being smart is a good point,” Rui Cao says in the new video interview, “and being able to learn fast is similar, to adjust fast to the game. Other than that, some human factors as well like discipline, patience, the ability to control ourselves, I think mostly.”

How not to go on tilt

I very much agree with him on this last point. In fact, I wrote a blog about this a few months ago. Even if you have total mastery of poker strategy and poker odds, you will still be a losing player if you don’t have the patience and discipline to apply the theory in practice. What is the point of knowing the best starting hands, for instance, if you get bored of folding and start to play everything you are dealt?
Part of not going “on tilt” is developing a philosophical attitude to the game. Yes, you got unlucky this time. But the longer you play, the more luck evens out. You get unlucky sometimes, you get lucky sometimes. If you make the right decisions, over time you will be a winner. So don’t let temporary setbacks affect you.
When asked in this interview how he deals with losing, Rui Cao says, “Quite OK. I just sleep for 15 hours and try to forget!” The swings in poker, he says, “are just part of the game”. The one thing you can do, he adds, is to examine whether any of the hands you lost were the result of bad play rather than bad luck. “I try to improve my game and losing is part of the game, I would say.”

An epic struggle with Isildur1

Rui Cao originally made his name playing Omaha, which can have even greater swings than Texas Hold ’Em. Asked which of his many matches was the most memorable, he recalls one marathon PLO session against Viktor Blom, better known under his online name “Isildur1” as one of the most skilled, aggressive and feared online players of all.
“We were four-tabling,” Rui Cao recalls in the video interview, “and maybe at one point I was down 30 buy-ins or something, and two hours later I was up like 30 buy-ins, and it was a pretty crazy upswing. We were, like, playing crazy, and it was a really, really fun session to play in.”
I like the way Rui Cao considers this game his favourite not because he bested one of the world’s top players, or because he made a lot of money, but because it was “really, really fun”! We poker players talk a lot about strategy, and discipline, and improving our game. Of course that’s important; in fact, it’s fundamental to the Paul Phua Poker School. Without it, we would lose money. And if we lose too much money, we can no longer play.
But let us not lose sight of the reason we all took up poker in the first place: it’s just a really, really fun game to play!
More videos from the poker pros will be going live weekly on the Paul Phua Poker YouTube channel. Subscribe if you don’t want to miss out. It’s free!