Matthew Parvis
Editor-in-Chief Pokernews.com
Interviewing Isildur1: Part 2
So, as many of you have probably already read, the second part of the interview with Isildur1 has been published. I wanted to take to my blog to discuss a few things regarding the legitimacy of the interview, as well as the process. While I can not reveal any of the sources that were used to get in touch with Isildur1, I can say with 100% certainty that the person we spoke to was in fact Isildur1.
The majority of my conversations with Isildur1 took place over the phone. After the first session we also chatted on MSN messenger, and via email to discuss the second part of the interview, however no questions were ever answered in that matter. They were all answered over the phone.
I will also state on the record that PokerNews' owner Tony G was involved in the process of obtaining the interview. He spoke to Isildur1 himself a number of times to calm him down about actually being interviewed. All three of us, Tony, Isildur1 and myself were involved in Part 2 of the interview. Again, as with Part 1, I can say with 100% certainty that it was Isildur1 and nobody else that answered the questions.
Update: To answer some of BJ's questions.
I'm gonna go backwards here as the terms of the interview answers some of the other questions. The terms were simple; Isildur1 agreed to speak to us as long as we did not ask his true identity, or do anything to try to reveal his true identity. This goes further, as he had the right to not answer any questions he felt jeopardized his identity being revealed. His last request was that even though his English was not very good, he did not want to come of as sounding unintelligent or scattered, meaning we agreed to remove the pauses, language oddities, and grammar problems. That being said, in the end he was able to very clearly state his meaning, and feelings on all of his answers, so while yes the grammar was cleaned up by me, the answers and the emphasis on any answers are %100 Isildur1.
In terms of confirming his identity, unfortunately any explanation of how we were able to get the interview, or confirm that it was in fact Isildur1 would put his identity in jeopardy. I have developed nothing but an extremely solid reputation in this industry. The idea that I would in any way, shape or form put my name on something that I was not confident was accurate and true, will unfortunately for those doubting its authenticity have to be enough. I stand by my story, and I stand by my word which I gave Isildur1 to not put his identity in jeopardy.
I do not believe there will be any more interview sessions with Isildur1 for the foreseeable future. if you want to get answers to your follow-up's BJ, I guess you'll have to get in touch with him yourself.
Interviewing Isildur1
By now most serious poker fans are aware we have an interview being published shortly with the mystery Swede high-stakes player "isildur1." I am extremely nervous and on edge at this time, as I feel like there will be a lot of people scrutinizing this, which is completely fair. That being said, getting an interview with someone who has tried his absolute best to keep his identity secret was not an easy task. In addition, actually getting Isildur1 to open up and actually chat about the topics everyone wanted to discuss was even more difficult. At this stage Isildur1 only answered questions regarding the Brian Hastings session. I had hopes that when he called me back last night he was ready to discuss other topics in depth, but we hit a bit of a wall. It was extremely late for him, and the language barrier (yes he is Swedish, that part is no secret) was a big problem.
We have planned to discuss the big games in depth more today after he had a chance to get some rest. I do hope Isildur1 will be as transparent as possible and open to answering some additional questions. However, it is completely possible that he shuts down and stays quiet again. I hope those who are ready to rip me for doing what they perceive is a "half-ass" job understand how difficult it was to even get a line of contact with this man. I am doing my best to serve our reader, be honest and fair with Isildur1, and maintain journalistic integrity.
This was pretty exciting no matter what the result is, and I am proud that PokerNews was able to get direct access to someone that so many were unable to reach. Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I look forward to all the comments that are bound to come my way; the good and the bad.
UPDATE: Just called Isildur1 and had a brief chat. We are hoping to discuss his involvement in the big games on Full Tilt in depth later today.
