The news of Isildur1 joining PokerStars evoked mixed reactions from the fans of the game. Some were sad that Isildur1 would be leaving Full Tilt and thus leaving the place where most of the real high stakes action occurs. However, Isildur1 in PokerStars also means that we’ll certainly be seeing more of him, what with the launch of PokerStars’ SuperStar Showdown, where players can go one on one with this mysterious Suede. His first opponent will be Isaac “philivey2694” Haxton who will be battling him at four tables of $50/100 No Limit Hold’em one on one.

A Different Ivey

If you’re one of those who mourned that we’ll never see another Isildur1 vs. Phil Ivey match on Full Tilt, don’t despair. We’ll still see him fighting Ivey, albeit a different one. Obviously a fan of the gilded Full Tilt pro, Isaac “philivey2694” Haxton is a young poker player who has built quite a name for himself in the poker community with his outstanding performance in tournaments and cash games as well. He’s very young, but he has actually been active in the poker industry longer than Isildur1 has. His first big cash was at the WPT PokerStars Caribbean Adventure last 2007, where he won about $860,000 by achieving the runner up finish. He had another runner up finish at the WSOP $40,000 No Limit Hold’em Event last 2009, where he won more than $1 million.

All in all, Haxton has earned more than $3 million by consistently cashing in the WSOP since he first appeared. In contrast, Isildur1 has just appeared a year ago, but has already been storming the high stakes tables, having found himself in the midst of the ten largest pots in the history of poker. He has earned more than $5 million just from cash games but his career is a classic rollercoaster. Coupled with his success is the stigma of being the only player in history to lose more than a million in a single pot. Isildur1 certainly has a pretty challenging opponent for his first match, and it’s going to be pretty interesting just watching these two titans clash.

About the Match

Basically, Haxton and Isildur1 will battle it out for 2,500 hands maximum or until one of them goes bust. The minimum stakes will be at $50/100. They will be playing No Limit Hold’em, though the other challengers also have the option of choosing Pot Limit Omaha.