Isildur1 to Play Isaac Haxton in First SuperStar Showdown

The first opponent for Isildur1’s SuperStar Showdown has been found. The mysterious Swedish high-stakes online pro will be taking on Isaac “philivey2694” Haxton on Sunday, December 19 at 6 pm Eastern Standard Time.

The SuperStar Showdown was the first move made by PokerStars to take advantage of their signing of Isildur1 to their team of professional players. These showdowns will pit Isildur1 against other high stakes players who are willing to risk $150,000 of their bankrolls against him in a single session of 2,500 hands. The players will play four tables concurrently, with all tables featuring stakes of $50/$100 or higher. The games played can be a mix of no-limit Texas Hold’em and pot limit Omaha, as long as at least half of the hands played are hold’em.

According to a statement on the PokerStars Blog, it appears that the players have chosen to battle on four $50/$100 no-limit hold’em tables. Unlike the similar (though much longer) “durrrr Challenge,” there is no extra money at stake; players will simply win or lose whatever money changes hands during the course of play; if a player loses their entire $150,000 stake, the match will end early.

While Isildur1 is an online poker legend thanks to his incredible swings in nosebleed games against some of the world’s top players, Isaac Haxton likely to be an unfamiliar name for many poker fans. The PokerStars Blog provided a handy biography of the challenger:

It was almost four years ago that we met Haxton under the Bahamas sun as he nearly took down a PCA main event title. In 2007, Haxton finished runner-up to Ryan Daut and earned more than $860,000. Since then, he's gone on to be a well-respected cash and tournament pro who has earned three million dollars in tourneys alone.

Of course, given Isildur1’s history against other top pros, playing against him will be a daunting task for any player. However, Haxton believes he has a good chance of coming out on top.

"I am very excited for the match. I love a challenge and Isildur1 will definitely be one," Haxton said. "He is one of the best heads up no-limit players in the world, but I know what I need to do to beat him. I'm as confident as you can be going into a 2500-hand match against a top opponent."