Negreanu V Isildur1 Announced In Superstar Showdown
The next PokerStars Superstar Showdown Challenge has been set and is comprised of two big names. Daniel Negreanu is taking on Swedish online cash-game superstar Viktor "Isildur1" Blom.
Considering both of them are such high profile players, PokerStars have decided to run the challenge over two weekends, which is great news for poker fans.
On March 20th things will kick off with the first heads-up challenge. The same rules will apply with the two players battling it out for 2,500 hands of $50/$100 no-limit hold'em over four tables. Then on the following weekend the 2nd Superstar Showdown challenge will take place.
According to Daniel's blog on fullcontactpoker "This is just the early stages of my training for a match with Isildur1, so don’t expect any announcements anytime soon." hence the news being somewhat surprising for many poker players.
It was evident from postings on his blog that Negreanu was putting in the volume online to improve his multi-tabling skills so he could eventually take on Viktor "Isildur1″ Blom on at his own game, it just wasn't expected so soon.
In practise for the Superstar Showdown Challenge, Negreanu has been four-tabling $5/$10 NLHE cash tables against some tough opponents including PokerStars SNE super grinder Randy “nanonoko” Lew.
Commenting on his training Negreanu said:
"It's all part of the learning process, and I'm a big believer in going all out against the fastest competition I can find, because then when I play others, the pace will seem comfortable. It's no different than a baseball player swinging five bats before he goes up to the plate, or a golfer taking some practice swings with a heavy club."
Perhaps the solid online experience Negreanu has had at the $5/$10 level has motivated him to participate in the challenge earlier then expected. As we all know, Daniel is never one to back down from a challenge, having already accomplished so much on the live tournament circuit with total career earnings of $14,116,191. But he has only started taking online cash games seriously relatively recently, back in March 2025.
So far in the PokerStars Superstar Showdown Challenge, Isildur1's results have been impressive, booking four out of five wins for a $166,075 profit, so Negreanu definitely isn’t expecting easy matches.
You can watch the PokerStars SuperStar Showdown between Negreanu and Isildur1 on March 20th and March 27th starting 15:00 ET time on Sunday.