They’ve been dropping hints for a while. They’ve whipped the playful banter into a meringue. They’ve flirted with the idea for so long, people are starting to sing that “Viktor and Daniel sitting in a tree” song. It’s time to–if you will–get it on.
In news breaking this very moment, we can reveal that Viktor “Isildur1” Blom and Daniel Negreanu have come to terms with the dates, times, stakes, and details of a SuperStar Showdown match that will be spread over two dates.
Blom and Negreanu will face off on two consecutive Sundays, March 20 and March 27, at 15:00 ET. The details are much the same as previous Showdown matches, although this time the contest is spread over two weekends.
They sit down with $150,000 available over four tables of $50/$100 no-limit hold’em on March 20, and after 2,500 hands their finishing stacks are carried over to round two on March 27 for another 2,500 hands across the same tables.
This two-part Ali-Frazier battle has been in the offing for some time. Negreanu has been writing about it on his blog off and on and making no secret of the facts that he both admires Blom and wants to face him in a four-table match.
Just a few weeks ago, Negreanu wrote a bit about his practice sessions. He’s been four-tabling $5/$10 NLHE against a variety of good players. Despite having to deal with the learning curve of multi-tabling, Negreanu’s sessions as of the first part of February had him up more than $13,000. He wrote of his practice at the time that he was only doing what any other competitor would do.
“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,” he wrote. “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.”
Now that Negreanu has swung his bats around with some of the best, he’s going after the Moby Dick of online nosebleeders. For Negreanu, it’s not about the money. It’s simply about being able to compete with the best.
We’re working on getting a few words with both of the players in the run-up to their matches. In the meantime, prepare yourself for what are sure to be the most-watched online heads-up match in a long time, if not ever. And, as always, the PokerStars Blog will provide its usual full coverage of the battle across both Sundays.
Your thoughts, betting lines, and predictions are, as always, welcome in the comments.
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