Viktor Blom: The Man Behind “Isildur1”

In late 2009, one screen name kept appearing in some of the biggest games on Full Tilt Poker: Isildur1. The player behind it took on Tom Dwan, Phil Ivey and Patrik Antonius, sometimes across several tables at once. Poker fans watched fortunes change hands while trying to answer a more basic question: who was he?

The name most often mentioned was Viktor Blom, a young Swede who had already attracted attention in European online poker games. But it was not until January 2011 that Blom officially confirmed what many had long suspected: he was Isildur1, already one of poker’s most recognizable names.

His story began in the small Swedish town of Ed, far from the cameras, with games against his brother, small tournaments among school friends and an increasingly difficult choice between education, conventional work and poker.

Who Is Viktor “Isildur1” Blom?

Viktor Blom is a Swedish professional poker player who became an online sensation in 2009 under the screen name “Isildur1.” He built his reputation in heads-up no-limit hold’em before establishing himself in pot-limit Omaha and expanding into mixed games.

He rose from small online games, including $0.50/$1 cash tables, to some of poker’s highest stakes. His progress was uneven, with big wins followed by heavy losses and repeated attempts to rebuild. He later found success in tournaments, including victories in the 2012 PCA $100,000 Super High Roller and the 2018 partypoker MILLIONS Germany Main Event.

This biography explores his early life, introduction to poker and emergence as a public figure. Our separate article on Viktor Blom’s net worth examines his biggest wins and losses, tournament results and what those figures reveal about his finances.

Viktor Blom: Personal Background

Early Life: Sports, Family and His First Poker Games

Blom grew up in Ed, a small town in Dalsland, with his parents and three siblings. He was the youngest, with two older sisters and an older brother, Sebastian. As a child, he played football, tennis and other sports for fun, without considering himself particularly talented.

He was around 14 years old when he first tried his hand at poker. The television programme Pokermiljonen helped inspire him and his friends to start playing, while his brother taught him the basics of no-limit Texas hold’em. The brothers began by playing heads-up against each other before Blom introduced friends to the game.

The earliest games were simply for fun, without money at stake. Small wagers followed. In an early account published under the Blom90 name, he recalled using coins as chips and feeling delighted when he won 80 Swedish kronor in an evening.

As more friends learned to play, poker spread to school breaks and small tournaments with buy-ins of 20 to 50 kronor. Blom recalled winning one of those tournaments against around 25 players, an early highlight long before he became known for playing against the world’s best.

How Did Viktor Blom Start Playing Online Poker?

Blom started playing online poker alongside his brother, sharing a $100 deposit and entering small tournaments. In his early account, he recalled finishing fifth in an $11 tournament with roughly 700 players for around $300. At the time, it felt like an enormous win.

They continued with small tournaments and Sit & Go games. When his brother began playing separately, Blom teamed up with a friend, splitting their winnings equally. He later began playing independently under the name Blom90.

His aggressive style was already evident in those early games. As the blinds increased in Sit & Go tournaments, he recognized the importance of applying pressure. He also tried cash games, but initially felt that tournaments and Sit & Go games suited him better.

Success encouraged him to move up in stakes, but his progress was far from steady. He could lose a bankroll almost as quickly as he had built it, leaving him to start again.

Early Losses and the Decision to Keep Playing

As poker took up more of Blom’s time, school became harder to keep up with. In his early account, Blom recalled playing through the night, arriving at school exhausted and falling behind in his studies.

He described building a bankroll of around $300,000 before losing it and struggling to recover. Attempts to win the money back brought further losses, even as he moved down to smaller games. He recalled dreaming that he was winning, only to wake up and remember that the money was gone.

By late 2008, Blom was 18 and living away from his parents. After the losses, they wanted him to move home and find a job. He had a girlfriend at the time and did not want to move back home. Despite how badly things had gone, he still believed he could make a living from poker.

He described three options: move home and return his attention to school, get a job, or try poker again. He told his mother he would stop playing, but ultimately chose to give the game another chance.

At the end of December 2008, he deposited around $1,500 on the iPoker network. In his telling, he was giving poker one last chance.

From Blom90 to Isildur1

As he rebuilt on the iPoker network, Blom attracted growing attention under the name Blom90. Players following those games began to recognize his aggressive heads-up style and willingness to take on opponents across several tables.

In 2009, he began playing on Full Tilt Poker as Isildur1. There, he would reach a much wider audience and face some of poker’s biggest names.

How Isildur1 Took High-Stakes Poker by Storm

On Full Tilt Poker, Blom found opponents prepared to play for stakes few others could afford. Among them was Tom “durrrr” Dwan, already one of online poker’s biggest stars.

Taking on Tom “durrrr” Dwan

Their heads-up encounters in November 2009 became central to Isildur1’s rise. Playing across several tables for long sessions, the newcomer repeatedly put Dwan under pressure and won millions. Spectators logged on to follow the action, while poker forums filled with discussions about his decisions and identity.

Bigger Games and Heavy Losses

Blom also took on Phil Ivey and Patrik Antonius, sometimes playing different opponents simultaneously. He played long sessions, switched between no-limit hold’em and pot-limit Omaha and risked enormous sums. For spectators, the action was difficult to turn away from.

The same approach exposed him to heavy losses. Success against one opponent could be followed by an expensive session against another, and his rapid rise soon gave way to a severe downswing.

In December 2009, he lost more than $4 million in a single session against Brian Hastings. The match was followed by controversy over hand-history data and analysis, and Full Tilt suspended Brian Townsend’s Red Pro status for one month.

Our article on Viktor Blom’s net worth explores these financial swings and the Hastings controversy in greater detail. By the end of 2009, Isildur1 had become one of online poker’s biggest attractions, although his identity remained publicly unconfirmed.

When Was Isildur1 Revealed as Viktor Blom?

The moment of truth came on January 8, 2011, when Viktor Blom officially stepped forward as Isildur1 at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in the Bahamas. PokerStars had signed the player behind the account the previous December, setting the stage for a public unveiling.

A crowd gathered around a table where Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier waited for a heads-up exhibition match. Blom emerged from behind a curtain wearing PokerStars patches, finally putting a face to the screen name.

For Blom, the announcement was less dramatic than it might have appeared to spectators. Many people had already suspected his identity, and signing with PokerStars made it feel like the right time to confirm it.

He had seen little reason to seek publicity before then. He enjoyed playing poker and had been happy to keep his life outside the games private.

Playing Live Before the Reveal

The unveiling was not Blom’s live poker debut. He had already appeared at the 2009 WSOP Europe in London and played the EPT Copenhagen in February 2010, where speculation about his connection to Isildur1 followed him to the tables.

His first live tournament cash recorded by The Hendon Mob came in September 2010, when he finished 16th in the WSOP Europe Main Event.

Blom was already a familiar face to some followers of the live circuit. The PCA unveiling officially connected that face with the Isildur1 account.

Stepping Into Live Poker and Sponsored Teams

Joining Team PokerStars Pro brought new commitments alongside Blom’s usual online games. He played in the site’s SuperStar Showdown, a series of heads-up matches against invited opponents, and became more visible on the live tournament circuit.

In January 2012, he won the PCA $100,000 Super High Roller, defeating Dan Shak heads-up. For a player whose reputation had been built largely behind a screen, it was an important live breakthrough.

In August 2012, PokerStars confirmed that Blom’s sponsorship agreement had expired and that both parties had agreed not to renew it. In October of the same year, Full Tilt Poker announced that Blom and Tom Dwan would join Gus Hansen in its sponsored group, “The Professionals,” ahead of the platform’s November relaunch.

The move brought Blom back to the site where Isildur1 had become famous, now as one of its public faces. He continued expanding beyond heads-up hold’em, playing pot-limit Omaha and mixed games alongside tournaments. Full Tilt confirmed in October 2014 that its sponsorship agreement with Blom had expired.

By 2017, Blom was appearing at Unibet events and participating in its poker content, although contemporary reporting described a developing relationship rather than a clearly defined sponsorship. In 2018, another major live victory followed at the partypoker MILLIONS Germany Main Event.

A New Partnership With Phenom Poker

In April 2025, Blom announced that he had become a Phenom Poker ambassador. Explaining the move, he said he had played less online in the preceding years because the state of the industry had discouraged him, despite his continued love of the game.

The Personality Behind Isildur1

From the beginning, Blom was known for his relentless aggression at the tables. Away from them, he came across as more reserved, giving relatively few interviews and keeping much of his personal life private.

In London, he could enjoy a degree of anonymity despite his poker fame. His days included meals out and exercise, followed by evening online sessions that often lasted until around three in the morning. He enjoyed the city and was rarely recognized in the street, although he missed his family, friends and familiar food back in Sweden.

London also offered distractions. Blom later acknowledged that he sometimes partied too much and was not always playing at his best. By 2017, he had returned to a smaller town in Sweden, where the quieter surroundings made it easier to focus on poker. He spent more time with friends and family, exercised more and cut back on drinking.

How Did Viktor Blom Improve His Poker Game?

Blom developed his game mainly through playing and reviewing difficult decisions in his head. In 2017, he described mentally revisiting hands rather than using poker software or training videos.

A hand might come to mind while he was sitting on a train, prompting him to consider alternative decisions and what he could have done differently.

He also saw physical fitness and a regular routine as important to playing well through long sessions.

Social Media & Online Presence

Follow Viktor “Isildur1” Blom on X, or explore his tournament results and poker coverage through these profiles:

• The Hendon Mob Profile

• PokerNews Profile

• Official WSOP Profile