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Hot commodity Nick Schulman quickly shot up to the $80s and settled at $89 as the Poker Hall of Famer and commentator was picked up by Team Verderamo.
25K Fantasy Draft 2026
2026 Draft
Day: 1
Players Left 24 / 0
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Chip Counts
Chip Counts
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42
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34
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33
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24
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17
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Justin Liberto was the 20th player nominated in the 2026 $25K Fantasy Draft, and he ended up going for $70 to Team Blez/NGNF, headed up by Brent Hanks & Jeff Platt. It was their first player on the roster.
Max Neugebauer started at $1 and climbed up into two digits with a bid from Shaun Deeb, who picked up the German for $11.
"I'll take it," said Deeb.
Fresh off winning three gold bracelets last summer, Benny Glaser was a hot commodity in 2026.
After being the 18th player nominated, bidding was fast and furious to enlist his services for several teams. Ultimately, it was Team Chocolate Factory selecting him as their first player for $94.
Jesse Lonis quickly shot up from $40 to $50 and went up a few more times before settling around $69.
The team that got poker's resident gorilla is Team Blades & Shades, and there was no cage included in the purchase.
Jeremy Ausmus, who last year went for a $25K Fantasy record-high $141, was the 16th player nominated in 2026.
There was strong interest in Ausmus, who crushed the 2024 WSOP, but he failed to fetch the hefty price he did last year. In fact, he didn't even crack three figures as Team Lang got him for $90.
Ausmus joins Ari Engel as the second member of Team Lang, which is spearheaded by Mike Lang & Josh Reichard.
High-stakes Chinese crusher Bao Ding was the 15th pick in the draft as the bidding started in the single digits and ended up at $24 as he was picked up by Matthew Wantman's Team Spitework.
Adam Hendrix just sold to Team Wasserson for $31, becoming the second player on Eric Wasserson's team alongside Viktor Blom.
Combined, the pair went for $100, meaning Wasserson has already spent half his salary cap.
David ODB Baker went to Team Stake Kings for $61, but he included a disclaimer for the team who drafted him.
"Whoever drafts me needs to stake me," he joked. "I'm broke!"
Team Fleyshman drafted Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi as their first player, and they followed it up with a second in the form of 17-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth for $66, a price some might say was undervalued.
That could prove true if Hellmuth goes on to win his 18th gold bracelet this summer.
