The Rise and Fall of Viktor Blom

From Gothenburg to the Global Stage

Viktor Blom was born in Gothenburg, Sweden, on September 26, 1990, as the youngest of four children. Even at the age of 14, he loved playing No-Limit Texas Hold ’em, playing with his older brother, Sebastian.

However, Blom didn’t have to wait long before playing against someone else.  He taught other kids at school how to play, and in no time, there was a lot of poker going on during lunch breaks. 

During one famous session, he beat 25 students simultaneously.

Feeling confident about his game, Viktor decided to take his winnings online.  Using the screen name Blom90, he deposited a substantial portion of his earnings and began playing online sit-and-go tournaments.  By age 15, he had managed to grow his bankroll to more than $275,000.

Early Struggles in High-Stakes Poker

Feeling ready, Viktor decided to test his skills in higher-stakes games. Unfortunately, his lack of experience eventually caught up with him. After putting all his money into one site, he jumped into high-stakes cash games and lost it pretty fast.

Rather than throwing in the towel, Viktor gave it another shot. He deposited $3,000 and began rebuilding from the ground up. He managed to bring it back up to $250,000, but unfortunately, he lost it again. 

As a result, his grades took a hit. After staying up all night playing poker, he missed classes and eventually had to turn to his parents for financial help after using up his school grant. 

They were on board with it, but only if he gave up poker and returned to a regular life. He agreed, but didn’t intend to keep that promise for long.

The Rise

In what turned out to be one of the most memorable moments in online poker history, Blom decided to give poker “one last shot”. He deposited $2,000, reinstated his old PartyPoker account, and played No-Limit Hold’em cash games.

• In just two days, he managed to turn $2,000 into $200,000!
• In just two weeks, he had $1.7 million!

There was a lot of talk about it on poker forums. For one, what was the name of this unknown guy who was winning all the games on the iPoker Network? Blom90. 

Some people called him a “fish on a heater”, while others recognized his ability to capitalize on weaknesses. In early 2009, Viktor Blom was the topic of discussion in online poker circles.

With that said, this whole tale doesn’t start until he changes his identity to Isildur1.

Viktor knew that the best games were at Full Tilt Poker. Notable players included Phil Ivey, Tom “durrrr” Dwan, and Patrik Antonius.  He first played $25/$50 games under the name Isildur1, but quickly progressed to $500/$1000 games.

The regulars who played high stakes were shocked by his aggressive and unpredictable behavior and his careless play at multiple tables at once. AsiMos, Daniel Cates, and Harry Kazakh were among the players who lost hundreds of thousands of dollars because Isildur1 consistently played against them.

Isildur1 on the Rise

People in the poker world had been discussing who Isildur1 truly was for over a year at this point. 

There were all kinds of speculations flying around, from some arguing it was Phil Hellmuth to some guessing it was less well-known Scandinavian player. Amid all the debate, in 2011, a story emerged when PokerStars offered Blom a sponsorship agreement. At the beginning of the “Superstar Showdown,” Viktor Blom was revealed to be Isildur1, making the poker world’s best-kept secret public.

As you remember, the high-stakes scene took a step back when Full Tilt Poker went down on Black Friday in 2011.  At the time, Blom kept being active on PokerStars, playing PLO, 2-7 Triple Draw, and mixed games against some of the best players at $200/$400.

In October 2012, Full Tilt Poker came back and hired Blom as one of its sponsored professionals, along with Gus Hansen and Tom Dwan. The exciting action started up again.

Blom vs Dwan

Viktor Blom kicked things off with six tables of $300/$600 heads-up No-Limit Hold’em and soon started to chip away a massive chunk of Dwan’s bankroll.  The blinds were $500/$1,000, turning the match into the most-watched online poker showdown ever!

For over two weeks in November 2009, they spent 12 to 15 hours each day playing, trading seven-figure pots.  However, after the dust settled, Isildur1 had $4 million of Dwan’s money.

Blom had finally shown up, but he wasn’t done yet.

Blom took the lead in creating what turned out to be the most thrilling month in online poker history. From around mid-November to mid-December in 2009, he took part in:

• All 12 of the biggest pots in online poker history
• Three hands over $1 million
• 17 of the top 20 biggest pots all played heads-up

At one time, he was playing nine tables of $500/$1000 in various formats against Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius, and Tom Dwan simultaneously.  There was nothing quite like it in the world of poker.

The Downfall

Unfortunately for Blom, this kind of aggression doesn’t last forever.

Blom had a losing night, losing $2.1 million to Antonius and $1.2 million to Ivey. He invited Ivey to a heads-up match that would last a week, and Ivey accepted. He later admitted that Ivey was the toughest opponent he had ever faced. After that, there was a heads-up battle that everyone remembered.

On December 8, 2009, Blom battled Brian Hastings for five hours and lost $4.2 million, marking one of the biggest losing sessions in online poker history. 

Over time, it became clear that Hastings had received assistance from Brian Townsend. As it turned out, Townsend had an extensive database of Blom’s hand history. Townsend was suspended for one month by Full Tilt, but the damage had already been done.

Blom was skilled, but his ultra-aggressive style of play began to hit a wall as the poker world shifted toward more Game Theory Optimal (GTO) play. As more fresh faces emerged, the gap between Blom and the best players grew larger. 

Blom liked to gamble. He would bet a lot of money on live football games and play different games, such as Chinese poker. Often, he bet more money than he had, taking uncalculated risks without a solid strategy or the required bankroll.

When faced with massive swings, Blom could not play his A-game and started chasing his losses, rarely moving down in stakes to cushion his bankroll. 

Blom eventually left the online high-stakes scene as a result.

Viktor Blom’s Private Life

Even though Viktor Blom is known to be aggressive at the tables, he’s a quiet person in real life. He embraces a simple life and lives in a small town in Sweden, as opposed to his early 20s, where he loved the lively nightlife of London.

Blom is still a big football fan and enjoys playing pool with his friends. Although he occasionally plays live events, he prefers playing online.

His mother said the ups and downs of poker were “shocking”, especially after the 2008 financial crisis. She saw her young son lose a lot of money. 

Viktor Blom’s Net Worth

Blom doesn’t just rely on his poker winnings to make money.  His deals with Full Tilt and PokerStars helped him earn six figures, which was particularly beneficial during the peak of his career. In retrospect, he earned over $60,000 per year as a brand ambassador for Full Tilt and PokerStars. 

In 2025, Viktor Blom’s net worth is estimated to be around $5 million; however, this figure may not be entirely accurate. Blom has won and lost millions over the years, so the precise figure is unknown.

What’s Viktor Blom up to These Days?

Viktor Blom still competes in numerous live events. On June 13, 2025, he led Day 2 of the $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship at the WSOP.

He earned $188,295 for coming in second place. Four days later, on June 17, he made it to his fourth final table of the series in the $10,000 Big O Championship, where he was trying to win his first bracelet.

Blom surprised his fans on April 27, 2025, when he announced on social media that he had become an ambassador for Phenom Poker.

Conclusion

Say what you will, but Viktor Blom will go down as one of the most intriguing players in online poker history. His bold, relentless aggression and fearless playing style propelled him to fame.

In the beginning, it seemed like he would be crushing online poker for a long time. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. However, he will still be remembered for his epic battles against some of poker’s best and brightest.

His unwavering, intuitive approach evokes an era when poker was centered on assessing the opponents, taking calculated risks, and maintaining a competitive edge.