button in SafariWelcome to the 25k Fantasy Draft 2026
With the World Series of Poker now just one day away, PokerNews is on-site at the PokerGO Studio for the 25k Fantasy Draft.
The draft kicks off later today and will be broadcast live. If you can't watch the stream, PokerNews has you covered with live, blow-by-blow updates throughout the entire event.
$25k Fantasy Draft Yearly Results
| Year | Entries | Winner | Winning Team Top Player |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 15 | Team Jason Somerville, Jason Mercier | Ben Lamb* |
| 2012 | 11 | Team Jason Mercier | John Monnette |
| 2013 | 14 | Team Matthew Waxman | David "Bakes" Baker |
| 2014 | 12 | Team Gypsy | George Danzer* |
| 2015 | 11 | Team Hastings | Brian Hastings |
| 2016 | 11 | Team Alaei | John Monnette |
| 2017 | 8 | Team Leah | Ben Yu |
| 2018 | 15 | Team Fleyshman | Ben Yu |
| 2019 | 12 | Team Reiss | Dario Sammartino |
| 2022 | 14 | Team Maria Ho | Koray Aldemir |
| 2023 | 20 | Team DPMC | Shaun Deeb |
| 2024 | 19 | Team The Dinkers | John Racener |
| 2025 | 24 | Team BTG | Dylan Linde |
The $25k Fantasy Draft has been running each summer since 2011, except for 2020 when the WSOP was canceled due to COVID. In total, 14 players have been drafted each time.
All-Time 25k Fantasy Draft Players
| Rank | Player | Total Score | Total Cashes | Times Drafted | Average Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniel Negreanu | 2,103 | 133 | 14 | 150 |
| 2 | Phil Hellmuth | 2,080 | 98 | 14 | 149 |
| 3 | Shaun Deeb | 1,884 | 147 | 13 | 145 |
| 4 | John Racener | 1,640 | 102 | 12 | 137 |
| 5 | Ben Yu | 1,590 | 160 | 13 | 122 |
| 6 | Paul Volpe | 1,518 | 75 | 13 | 117 |
| 7 | John Monnette | 1,511 | 78 | 14 | 108 |
| 8 | David "ODB" Baker | 1,510 | 108 | 14 | 108 |
| 9 | Jeremy Ausmus | 1,458 | 90 | 10 | 146 |
| 10 | Scott Seiver | 1,375 | 69 | 14 | 98 |
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. Exclusions:
- Tournaments of Champions
- Tag Team events (as of 2022)
- Online events (as of 2024)
- Ladies, Seniors, and Employee events count toward points (as of 2023).
- Only events scheduled before the draft count.
- Results are final as long as at least one event runs.
- If an event is canceled, its results do not count.
- If an event is rescheduled and completes, its results count.
- The field size bonus is capped at 100 points.