Just a few weeks ago, PokerStars announced their newest signee’s first endeavor for their poker site, which was the Isildur1 “Superstar Showdown”. Similar in capacity to previous online challenges that have been issued in the past, many opponents stepped up to the plate willing to take on the infamous Isildur1 in hopes of building notoriety and monetary value. While many were interested, Isaac “philivey2694″ Haxton was the first participant ready to take on the challenge. Against most predictions, Haxton eventually won the contest at the clip of just over $41K.
With the recent online poker community buzzing about the defeat of Isildur1, there was a certain level of speculation on whether or not Isildur1 is indeed beatable at heads-up No-Limit Hold’em. While after the contest, Isildur1 stated in the PokerStars blog that he believes he’s unquestionably a better competitor than Haxton at No-Limit Hold’em, the level of interest in regards to playing Isildur1 at NLHE definitely increased even more. With the newly sparked intrigue, came the introduction of Isildur1′s newest opponent, the famous Tony G.
Known for his incredible table banter, intimidating persona, and his recent quest for Peter Eastgate’s bracelet, Tony G seemed like the perfect competitor to take on the unknown Swede. Two unique personalities, both littered with drama and magnetism, certainly expected to spur entertaining table action. They didn’t disappoint.
On January 2nd, the pair took place in the second installment of the 2,500-hand “Superstar Showdown”, with Isildur1 taking Guoga for $44,280. Although in the first challenge both Haxton and Isildur1 exclusively played No-Limit Hold’em, in the latest contest the game alternated between Pot-Limit Omaha and the former challenge variation.
Before the contest began, there was a ton of interest in side-action on whether or not Tony G would indeed end up victorious at the conclusion of 2,500 hands. Possibly because of the manner in which Haxton seemed to exploit Isildur1′s strategy, many of poker’s biggest names, including Tom Dwan, mentioned on their Twitter that they would’ve loved to put money down on who would win.
Nevertheless, as the contest was underway, the early lead went to Tony G. Up over $23K in just over 200 hands, the first half-hour of play was filled with all-in moments. Several all-ins were awarded to Tony G, which was the biggest account for his early lead. Within the first fifteen minutes of the contest, Tony G had his pre-flop shove looked up by Isildur1 when he held 
against Isildur1′s 
. Tony G’s aces held, and he took down the $20K pot. Only moments later, another all-in occurred, when Isildur1 held an open-ended straight draw & a flush draw when he held 
against Tony G’s 
. The flop fell 
and it was only a matter of time before the money piled in. Isildur1 ended up rivering a flush to take down the second $20K pot.
Despite a few fluctutations, Tony G managed to seize control for the rest of the hour after consistently hitting set after set. Flopping three-of-a-kind with both pocket sixes and pocket sevens in Hold’em and Omaha respectively, after 561 hands Tony G was in the lead a considerable $47,000. It was then, that the instinctive Tony G trash-talking kicked in.
Tony G: u feeling ok my man
Tony G: u getting owned by a total donk old man
Tony G: start pressing sme all in buttons boy
Tony G: are you even
Tony G: QUALIFIED
Tony G: are you COMI to this
Although many of the high-stakes seasoned pros are accustomed to Guoga’s antics, Isildur1 has more than likely only wondered about his characteristic berating. After getting a first-hand account of how scrutinizing it may be, he may have in fact let Tony G’s words affect his game as he continued to put the pressure on him. In a hand nearly a quarter of the way through the contest, Tony G turned a 15-outer with 
on a 
board. With perfect timing fell the 
, giving Guoga the nut-straight on the river.
Tony G’s conversation would only grow to be more effervescent as the match continued in his favor to the tune of $63,000. Several comments about Isildur1 being a “donk”, and losing another bankroll online, soon became the staple of conversation in the chatbox.
But just as things started to look bleek for the newly appointed PokerStars celebrity, he turned his misfortune around and battled back against his adversary. After switching gears by using experience to adjust more appropriately to Tony G’s playing style, Isildur1′s game took off. He won several consecutive five-figure pots, including one which clocked in at $40,500, one of the biggest of the match. Isildur1, after just the halfway point, not only managed to erase his entire deficit but also gained an additional $77,000 to put himself in great position to win the challenge with less than half of the hands left.
The rest of play continued with several back and forth moments, and eventually with Tony G erasing his deficit as well. But nonetheless, there were several key PLO hands that Tony G seemed to mis-play, which ended up costing him another $70K deficit with under 500 hands left in action. Several pots were nearly snap-called by Tony G on draw-heavy boards, when Isildur1 seemingly always held two-pair. His two-pair however nearly always held up, and this left many railbirds stunned in amazement. Tony G later even admitted himself, that his late decision-making in the PLO sessions may have cost him the challenge.
As play winded down, the game switched back to No-Limit Hold’em, and this time around, Isildur1 seized control of his best game. He played with careful aggression, and although Tony G did surmount a glimpse of a comeback, he nearly conceded towards the end. His comments during the final hour of play were certainly as close as you can get.
Tony G: i gambled up on the PLO
Tony G: fr all the people that had side bets
Tony G: well done u got this now
Tony G: it was clse
Tony G: my man
Tony G: your a real star
Tony G: congtrars
Isildur1: i got lucky in the big hands
Tony G: would have been nice fr it to be closer
Tony G: I played real bad PLO
Tony G: jus tnow
Tony G: just tried to get it close
Tony G;: fr the side bets
Tony G: although i had none mytself
After giving each other a great deal of frustration for nearly 9 hours, one of the contest’s final hands fell when Tony G four-bet shoved light with King-six suited against Isildur1′s pocket kings. The board ran dry, and Isildur1 scooped the pot putting one of the final nails in Tony G’s coffin.
Several Team PokerStars pros chimed in with their comments in the chat during play’s final stages, including David Williams, Lex Veldhuis and Daniel Negreanu. All showed a great amount of respect for both participants.
Isildur1 finished the challenge up $44,280.
For more information on the second “Superstar Showdown”, visit the PokerStars blog.
