Isildur1’s First Month As A PokerStars Pro
Just two weeks ago, one of online poker’s most notorious pros – Isildur1 – announced that he was going mainstream by joining the PokerStars Team. His first month on the job has proved to be a bumpy one with Isildur1 consistently making headlines for big losses and wins alike. While the true identity of Isildur1 remains a mystery, the results of his new high profile match-ups have been open to the public…and plenty of scrutiny.
Earlier in the month, we reported on Isildur1’s triumphant first day of work. As anyone following the action knows, the mysterious Swedish player followed that inspiring 14-hour session with an equally dramatic loss, largely to fellow pro Phil Galfond. In the past, Isildur1 may have chosen to hide out for a few days and wait for his luck to change, but now as a PokerStars pro he has obligations.
With that in mind, Isildur1 returned to both the PLO and NL Hold’em tables several times in the days that followed, but overall he continued to lose. Last week, PokerStars continued to milk their new pro’s 15 minutes of fame by announcing his first match in the new SuperStar Showdown. On December 19, Isildur1 once again faced up to his new obligations by going head to head with Isaac Haxton. The end result was more of the same, and by that we mean more pain for the new guy. By the end of the four table, 2500 hand session, Isildur1 was down about $40,000.
After their match-up, Haxton was quick to complement his competitor’s skill level, saying that Isildur1 was one of the toughest heads-up opponents he’d ever faced. Isildur1, on the other hand, wasn’t quite as generous, ascribing Haxton’s victory to luck and hinting at an upcoming rematch.
In all honesty, after his poor initial showing as a Team PokerStars member followed by his poor sportsmanship, we were ready to write Isildur1 off as a one trick pony. We would have looked silly if we had. That’s because Isildur1 just completed a multi-day run in which he transformed his initial $10,000 bankroll into more than $300,000 in wins.
Fresh off this impressive multi-tabling feat, PokerStars has announced that Isildur1 will be engaging in a second SuperStar Showdown match-up. This time, Isildur1 and Tony “Tony G” Guoga will take to the $50/$100 PLO and NL Hold’em tables. The smack talk has already started, and judging by both players’ big egos the bragging rights will likely mean more to these guys than the prize money. Drop in and watch the action live on January 2.