Isildur1: The Phenomenal Rise and Dramatic Fall of a Poker Legend

Isildur1, an anonymous account from Sweden, appeared at high stakes on Full Tilt Poker in September 2009, playing No-Limit hold’em against top players. His super-aggressive style of play incorporating insane bluffs and massive over-bets caused a stir in the poker world.

Isildur1's identity was revealed as Viktor Blom at the PCA tournament in January 2011. Isildur1 first noteworthy opponent was Haseeb Qureshi. He completely dominated and bested him, winning $500,000 after 24 hours of back and forth action; his victory drew much attention from the poker world. By the end of October 2009, Isildur1's winnings had reached $2,000,000.

In November 2009, Isildur1 won over $4,000,000 against Tom ‘Durrrr’ Dwan. Isildur1's bankroll at Full Tilt Poker reached $6,000,000 in mid-November 2009. Isildur1 lost around $3,000,000 to Patrik Antonius in a heads-up PLO game. On December 8, 2009, Isildur1 lost $4,200,000 to Brian Hastings in a high-stakes battle. Brian Hastings conspired with Cole South and Brian Townsend to analyze Isildur1's playing style. Isildur1 has been highly active off late; he emerged victorious, winning £850,000 at the partypoker Millions Germany main event in 2018. Isildur1 won $407,500 in the 8-max Super High Roller event on partypoker in 2020.