Tom Dwan's $3 million drubbing on the virtual tables this week by mystery Swedish player Isildur1 (see previous InfoPowa reports) has been avidly watched by high stakes online poker fans, and it now appears that Dwan has plans to take the heads up clashes live.

In a move that a number of observers are speculating is a publicity stunt for Team Full Tilt, which Dwan recently joined, the audacious online poker star has issued a challenge for Isildur1 to reveal his identity and meet him for a live confrontation in London.

The invitation is for the Swede to accept a spot in the live Full Tilt Poker Durrrr Million Dollar Challenge, arranged by Matchroom Sport and scheduled to take place next week at the Les Ambassadeurs club in Mayfair. "The poker community seems to have stood still over the past few days to watch this epic online match-up between Tom and Isildur1," said Eddie Hearn, managing director of Matchroom Sport.

"We are hoping he can come out from behind his avatar to be part of TV history in London." The rules of the heads-up match are: blinds are $500/$1,000 and each player buys in for $500 000. Neither player can leave until they are broke or 500 hands are complete.

Opponents may choose No-Limit Hold'em or Pot-Limit Hold'em.

Three players have so far accepted the challenge: Ilari "Ziigmund" Sahamies, UK businessman Sammy "any two" George and online cash game maven Marcello "Luckexpress" Marigiano. "This is poker in its most raw form - two players battling it out for $1 million, mano-a-mano," said Hearn. "It doesn't get any bigger than this."

Published: 19th November 2009