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Due to the April 15th indictments, I was forced to rethink the rest of the Top 20 Most Influential People in Poker list.

In fact, the next player on the list fell about three spots as a result.

PokerStars' Newest Superstar

Back in late 2009, a new player exploded on the scene. In a short amount of time, this player took a staggering $5 million from internet superstar Tom Dwan and instantly made himself a high-stakes legend.

Since then he has captured the imagination of all of the poker world.

Yes, #10 on the list of the Top 20 Most Influential People in Poker is Viktor “Isildur1″ Blom.

As stated earlier, Isildur1 rose to prominence in 2009 when he took $5 million from Dwan. He made just as many headlines when he lost that $5 million plus $2 million more to Brian Hastings and other players.

Through most of 2010, all eyes were on Isildur1. First, they wanted to know for a definite fact who this player was. At the time, he had not revealed his identity to the public, but many suspected it was Swedish professional Viktor Blom.

Next, players wanted to know when the big Isildur1 comeback would take place. If he had a big win, everyone reported on it. If he had a big loss, everyone reported that too.

The railbirds flocked to watch him play and speculate on his bankroll’s status.

Isildur Signs with PokerStars

In December 2010, Isildur1 signed a deal with PokerStars. A series of Superstar Showdown Challenges was then announced with Isildur1 taking on all challengers.

Players must play either four-handed $50-$100 NL Hold’em or $50-$100 PL Omaha.  In later challenges, a $5-$10 challenge was established that allowed PokerStars qualifiers to play against Isildur1.

At the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, Isildur1 was officially revealed to the public as Viktor Blom. While the announcement was probably one of the worst kept secrets in poker, now PokerStars had its new poster child.

Since joining PokerStars, Blom has taken part in nine separate SuperStar Showdowns and emerged with a 7-2 record. His only losses came against Isaac Haxton and the rematch against Daniel Negreanu.

It should be noted that in the first match with Negreanu, Isildur1 stacked him for $150,000. In the rematch, Negreanu only won around $26k.

So far, only one professional has faced Blom in the challenge matches and walked away ahead. (Technically the two qualifiers finished ahead after facing Blom, but only because they had part of the $15,000 given to them by PokerStars to play Blom.)

Isildur1 is by far one of the most exciting players to come along in poker in a long while. His play in NL Hold’em has been called revolutionary by players such as Negreanu. His style keeps his opponents reeling and many have to do what they can to control the damage to their stacks.

The events of April 15th have definitely affected PokerStars’ American players, but since Isildur1 is an international pro he will continue to be a face for the site to the rest of the world.

The Greatest All-Around Player Since Dwan?

Blom does not have a live tournament record to speak of as of yet, but if he starts performing in the live arena, he will definitely ascend to be one of the greatest all-around players to hit the poker circuit since Tom Dwan.

Whether or not Blom can reach the heights of Dwan and Ivey remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain. He will have the attention of the online world for a while to come while he makes the attempt.

Previous posts:

11: Daniel Negreanu

12: Tom Dwan

13. Doyle Brunson

14. Matt Savage

15. Phil Hellmuth

16. Annie Duke

17. Dan Harrington

18. Linda Johnson

19. Brian Balsbaugh

20. Chris Moneymaker