Who Picked Who in the $25,000 WSOP Fantasy Draft 2026

Points System

Here is a look at how points can be won. There are many metrics and multipliers to account for, such as field size bonuses and buy-in multipliers.

25k Fantasy Draft Rules

• Players must cash in an event to receive points.
• Players finishing in the top 18 receive an additional 1 point per 100 entries (no rounding):
• 87 entries: 0-point bonus
• 105 entries: 1-point bonus
• 265 entries: 2-point bonus
• 1,451 entries: 14-point bonus
• For every 1,000 entries, 9 additional players receive the field size bonus.
• Points are multiplied based on event buy-in:
• 0.5x for buy-ins less than $1,000
• 1.5x for buy-ins of $5,000
• 2x for buy-ins of $10,000 or higher
• 3x for the Main Event and $50K Players Championship
• For buy-ins $1,500 and less, the field size bonus is capped at 100 points and applies to a maximum of 81 players (9 tables).
• In heads-up or shootout events, players finishing in the same position split the points for that position, rounded up. For example, 5th–8th place receives 22.5 points (plus field size bonuses).
• Points are awarded only for open events.
• Excluded are events with limited entrants, i.e. Tag Team Events, Seniors, Ladies, etc.

Get Involved

The Fantasy Draft isn’t just for the high-roller poker players. There is a $500 ODBFantasy Draft run by David “ODB” Baker available for entry until May 27th, 1 p.m. PST. This tournament has the exact ruling for points and player pricing as the $25,000 Fantasy Draft.

Last Time Out

Last year, only five teams were paid, and it was Bryce Yockey’s eight-man roster that secured him the top prize. His roster included Dylan Linde, Isaac Haxton, Nick Guagenti, Dan Zack, Punnat Punsri, Stephen Chidwick, Adam Friedman, and Owais Ahmed. Below are the payouts from last year’s event.

$25,000 WSOP Fantasy Draft 2025 Payouts

Check Out the Draft Auction

If you would like to check out the action in full from the draft, check it out on YouTube below.

Big Picks To Open The Draft

This year, 24 teams ponied up the $25,000 to enter. Negreanu was the first to act, and he backed himself for WSOP glory. Player of the Year contender Shaun Deeb opened the bidding at $50. There was a lot of interest in procuring Negreanu across the make-shift auction room at the PokerGo Studio, and he eventually bought himself for $116. It makes sense to have Negreanu as a main pick in a fantasy roster, as the Canadian Hall of Famer will be firing anything and everything across all stakes and variants. High-stakes beast Joao Viera was picked second, and he went for $101. One of the best No Limit Hold’em tournament players in the world, it is no surprise that Viera commanded a hefty fee of just over half the salary cap. Last year, Viera banked $2,649,158, his second biggest career score, by winning the $100,000 No Limit Hold’em High Roller.

Shaun Deeb was the sixth overall pick. He went to Team Trump Power for $133, the highest fee paid for any player at the auction this year. There are plenty of reasons behind this. He is second in the Player of the Year Leaderboard, surpassed by the €5,300 Main Event Champion, Marius Kudzmanas. Deeb finished second in two bracelet events, losing to quads in the final hand both times in the €3,300 Mixed PLO / PLO8 / Big O and the €565 COLOSSUS NLHE, which made up the bulk of his points haul. Deeb is looking to become the first player to win Player of the Year three times and the first player to win the accolade in back-to-back years. Double that with his Mixed Game skills and playing over a wide range of stakes, Deeb will be looking to rack up Leaderboard and Fantasy Points this summer.

Mixed Game Players in Demand

When picking a Fantasy poker roster, it is imperative to include players who can play the widest range of games possible. This is why players like Brian Rast also went for big bucks, eventually becoming a part of Team Stake Kings, headed by Ryan Stiner and Steven Jones Jr. Rast was the subject of a dollar-by-dollar bidding war, which saw the hammer fall on a final bid of $97. Last year, Rast won a bracelet in the $10,000 Limit Razz Championship for $306,644. Rast is a Hall of Famer and a dominant force in the Mixed Game scene, and it would be no surprise to see him rack up a flurry of cashes and a decent chunk of points for Team Stake Kings.

One player who was bound to be in demand is Benny Glaser. Glaser is a complete all-rounder who is incredibly strong in the Mixed Game streets. This is evident by the hat-trick of bracelets that Glaser rattled off over the summer last year: 1st in the $1,500 Mixed Game Dealers Choice Championship for $150,246, 1st in the $1,500 Mixed Omaha 8 or Better for $258,193, and 1st in the $2,500 Mixed Limit Triple Draw Lowball (2-7, A-5, Badugi) for $208,552. On top of that, he acquired 8 more cashes across Hold’em and PLO events. For this poker writer, Glaser would be the number 1 selection for the Fantasy Draft, purely on his proven, consistent ability across an incredible range of variants. He will be one to watch come the summer once again.

Yuri Dzivielevski is another who fits the bill. The Brazilian Mixed Games specialist is second on Brazil’s All-Time Money List and will be playing all the games this summer. He didn’t bink a bracelet last year, but he did accumulate 14 cashes across Mixed Games and No Limit Hold’em. He was the first Brazilian player in the draft, and the five-time bracelet winner went to Team Lady Gaga, headed by Ren Lin.

Biggest Buys

Here is a look at the top 10 biggest purchases from this year’s draft. Michael “Texas Mike” Moncek commanded the second-highest price of the drafted players, going for $130. Like DNegs, Moncek ended up buying himself. He will be putting in the volume over the summer across a range of stakes. High-stakes regular Jeremy Ausmus went for $90, and Nick Schulman went for $89.

Potential Bargains?

A standard in Draft style games is the potential for surprising value picks, and the table of players below all fit that billing. Recent $200,000 Triton Invitational Winner and modern great Adrian Mateos went for a small sum of $12 at the auction. Considering his pedigree and high-stakes acumen, it is surprising to see such a crusher go for such a small price. Another that enters that bracket are Jason Koon and Dan Smith, who went for $1 and $8, respectively. Another duo high in the top 10 of the All-Time Money List, they will be firing most, if not all, of the massive buy-in tournaments in the No Limit Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha domains. Brandon Wilson, who has been on a heater this year so far, went for a surprisingly small $15. Wilson is the leader of the 2026 Card Player Player of the Year race, having accumulated 5,925 points and over $5.2 million in POY winnings through early 2026. The legendary Huck Seed and Erik Seidel also went on the cheap, but that is down to whether both players will play the full schedule. Below are a few more names that could be strong value picks.

Thoughts on Strongest Teams

Of course, poker is played on the felt and not on paper, but by the looks of things, these seem to be the top five in no particular order. Glaser has assembled a strong, well-balanced squad, with Kristen Foxen and Sean Winter being notable bargain picks. Foxen’s best WSOP score came in her 13th-place finish in the 2024 Main Event, where she cashed for $600,000. Winter’s best score was for a cool $1,020,253 for coming in second place in the 2018 $50,000 High Roller. Mixed Game crusher Blaz Zerjav has expertise across the Mixed variants, and he will be in the mix to add a third bracelet to his collection. A former footballer in his homeland of Slovenia, Zerjav’s biggest career cash came at the WSOP last year, where he won the $25,000 High Roller 6-Max event for $1,734,717.

Wasserson has assembled a strong hand with experience across a range of formats. From legendary online crusher Viktor “Isildur1” Blom, to modern greats Isaac Haxton and Stephen Chidwick, Wasserson shouldn’t be short of points come the end of the summer.

Nick Verderamo has backed the legendary duo of Phil Ivey and Nick Schulman to bring him Fantasy Draft glory this summer, going for $80 and $89, respectively. The Hall of Famers could prove to be incredible value come the end of the summer, and, surprisingly, both went for sub $100. Andrew “LuckyChewy” Lichtenberger could also be an insane value call for $3, given his experience over a range of variants and cashing consistency. Lichtenberger’s biggest WSOP score came last year during the $50,000 No Limit Hold’em High Roller, where he finished runner-up for $1,312,610. Jason Mercier and Dan Shak have the experience and skills, and could pull in the points if they show up and play this summer.

Last but certainly not least is Team DNegs. Negreanu will be playing a vast majority of the schedule and is incredibly knowledgeable across all the games that will feature. DNegs included All-Time Money List leader and compatriot Bryn Kenney and Hold’em specialist Jason Koon, as well as high-stakes reg, Ben Lamb. Josh Arieh was Negreanu’s biggest pickup outside of himself. When Negreanu asked ChatGPT about Arieh’s Fantasy cost price, it simply replied, “No.”

Final Thoughts

To check out the full list of 24 teams and the players drafted, click here to see the full lineup. Stay tuned to pokerlistings.com for continued coverage of poker events and promotions from around the world.