SuperStar Showdown: Blom Beats Negreanu

As you probably all know, four times WSOP champion Daniel Negreanu was the latest player to challenge Viktor ‘Isildur1’ Blom in the SuperStar Showdown. Moreover, the Canadian pro wanted to play not only one but two sessions of 2,500 hands against the heads-up specialist, the first of which took place yesterday, on March 20. They started playing at four $50/$100 NLHE tables, with initial challenge bankrolls of $150,000 each. The Showdown, as usual, was to last until they either reached the 2,500 hands limit or either of them went bankrupt.

Although Negreanu had indeed been preparing for the clash with the strongest opponents possible, it turned out even this was not enough against Isilidur1, who deprived him of his $150,000 in a matter of 1,439 hands. This was the first Showdown to end prematurely.


Blom already was in the lead with $30,000 after 141 hands and, following half an hour of play, Negreanu had to close one of the tables as he no longer had the funds for four tabling. After the 707th hand, half of KidPoker’s bankroll was before Blom and the Swede carried on punishing him: he kept getting his outs and won all-ins with flush draws while Negreanu had TPTK.

KidPoker: pretty sick run
Isildur1: yeah its just sick
Isildur1: i hit nuts all session long
KidPoker: that makes it easy :-)
Isildur1: yep hehe

In the very last hand, Negreanu had $10,000 left with which he 3-bet to $1,000 on a K J hand. Blom went all-in, to which the Canadian responded: "Meh. Let's gamble, I guess" and so he called. Blom showed A K and hit a straight with the J T 7 Q 4 board.


Although it seemed for a while that there would be no rematch, he later tweeted that he would face Isildur1 once again on March 27, and that he was “back to the grind” preparing for it.