It's just been announced that young online phenoms Viktor "Isildur1" Blom and Tom "durrrr" Dwan will both be wearing the patch of the newly minted version of Full Tilt Poker when it relaunches next month. The two young pros join Gus Hansen as the only confirmed Full Tilt Pros so far.
Dwan was always looking like a shoe-in for a spot on the team as his credibility and actions far outshone those of his fellow Team Full Tilt members during the difficult time between Black Friday and PokerStars purchase of the then beleaguered site.
It had also been widely suspected that Blom was a likely candidate for Full Tilt sponsorship in the light of his "mystery" departure from the PokerStars roster of pros. Full Tilt was famed for its nosebleed games and nobody did more to encourage high stakes action at Full Tilt than these two who engaged in a near week long multi-tabling NLHE marathon at the $500/$1000 stakes back in the fall of 2009.
Blom was a huge victor in that match (excuse the pun) winning over $5 million from Dwan, although he subsequently lost his gains as he decided to learn PLO at the highest stakes available against the worlds best while Dwan quickly rebuilt his roll in the following months.
Dwan is coming off a near year and a half hiatus from the online scene having played a lot more live poker, especially at the ultra high stakes tables in Macau where he has apparently won a lot of money. Blom meanwhile is having a nasty year online as he once again attempts to learn new games at the highest level. With over $1.5 million in live tournament winnings however and the ability to win huge figures in a single session he is yet to slow down his activity at PokerStars, and will no doubt be doing more of the same at Full Tilt.
This is an announcement that's sure to have railbirds the world over licking their lips in anticipation.
Bring on Full Tilt Poker!