Daniel Negreanu Won the $25k Fantasy Draft – Here’s How He Did It

The 2026 WSOP is a wrap, barring the Main Event final table, and we know the final results of 99 of the 100 bracelet events that were scheduled for the summer. 

Considering the fact that the nine Main Event final tablists were not drafted in this year’s WSOP 25k Fantasy Draft, that competition has now been finalized, and this year it was won by none other than Daniel Negreanu, the man who started it in the first place. 

Daniel won with a total of 1,337 points, nearly 300 more than David Baker’s “Team Banana” in second place, absolutely crushing the competition, and adding another huge win to a very successful summer. 

Daniel won $250,000 for his efforts in the fantasy competition, but more importantly, won all of his side bets, which always reach into the high six or low seven figures, as he always crossbooks action with other teams before the World Series of Poker begins. 

After years of close calls, Negreanu’s team was dominant this time around, allowing him to redeem the losses he may have incurred in previous years. 

Who Won It for Daniel?

While he usually tries to build a fairly well-balanced team, this year’s draft ended up with Negreanu picking two high-value players, along with six others on the cheaper end of the spectrum. 

Daniel’s MVP for the year was his close personal friend Josh Arieh, who won 356 points for the price of $55, a strong performance by one of WSOP’s most consistent grinders. 

Despite not winning a bracelet this year, Josh got two second places and a third, and cashed a total of 15 times, with his results in the $50k Players Championship and the $10k HORSE Championship bringing the bulk of his points. 

Negreanu also drafted himself for a price of $116, which made him one of the most expensive picks of the summer. He was able to return 294 points, making him the second best performer of Team DNegs. 

Daniel’s victory in the $100k High Roller brought him 125 points, while his numerous cashes and final table finishes accounted for the rest. 

Yet, it was the low cost players that actually won the tournament for Negreanu. Nick Pupillo got 210 points for the price of just $2, while Bryn Kenney, who cost just $7, accounted for another 193.

Dong Chen’s 150 points sealed the deal for DNegs, while Jason Koon and Eli Elezra added another 73 and 61 points, respectively. Ben Lamb, who Daniel paid $14 for, ended up not playing at the WSOP at all. 

In the end, Daniel could have done it without his bottom three performers combined, as his victory was by well over 200 points, one of the most dominant performances in the competition’s history. 

Who Else Made the Money?

This year’s $25k Fantasy got 24 entries, creating a prize pool of $600,000. A total of five teams made the money, with fifth place getting paid $50k, exactly twice the buy-in. 

David Baker’s “Team Banana” came second this time around with 1,069 points, good for a $125,000 payday. 

Baker was unfortunate not to win it all, as he managed to pick this year’s overall MVP in Naoya Kihara for the price of just $1. Naoya accumulated an incredible 510 points by winning two bracelets, getting two third places, and making two more final tables. 

Marco Johnson, who Baker drafted for $51, added another 265 points, leaving it to the remaining six players to take Team Baker across the line. 

Yet, it simply wasn’t meant to be, as the likes of Scott Siever, David Coleman, and Danny Tang had disappointing summers by their standards and didn’t bring in enough points for Baker to overtake Negreanu. 

Matthew Wantman’s “Team Wantman” came third with 1,066 points, just nearly losing to David Baker, and getting a $100k payout for the effort. 

Wantman’s team was headlined by Dylan Smith with 293 points, David Peters with 254, and Biao Ding with 233, for a well-balanced team. 

Fourth place and a payout of $75k went to Daniel Sepiol, whose team collected 1,013 points, much thanks to the efforts of the double bracelet winner Calvin Anderson, who won 385 points for the price of just $25. 

Last, but not the least, was “Team Lang Gang”, who got exactly 1,000 points on the wings of Jeremy Ausmus’ 262 point score, Ren Lin’s 196 point performance, and Allen Kessler’s best summer yet with 142. 

Mike Leah and Josh Arieh walked away with $50k for their efforts, while other runners ended up losing their $25k buyins, and will have to wait for next summer to try their managerial skills once again.

Best Performers and Top Value Players in the 2026 $25k Fantasy Draft

The art of the fantasy poker draft usually comes down to picking the right dark horses, players who come at a low price, but end up having amazing summers. 

This year’s draft proved that more than ever before, as Japanese player Naoya Kihara ended up winning an incredible 510 points, after being drafted for just a single dollar. 

Players like Sean Winter and Martin Zamani also showed how low cost players can end up bringing great hauls, while others like Piotr Krupa, Matt Wantman, and especially Joao Vieira demonstrated that putting all the eggs in one basket can easily backfire. 

Here is a look at the top 10 performers by point count in this year’s $25k fantasy draft:

Of the ten most expensive players in this year’s draft, only Shaun Deeb managed to break the top ten in points scored, as he got 331 points, placing him 8th overall. Yet, at a price of $133, this was hardly the kind of return one would expect from Deeb, the reigning POY. 

Players like Texas Mike and Daniel Negreanu brought in decent points, but hardly justified their prices, while Joao Vieira, the fourth most expensive draft, only won 26 points, making him the disappointment of the summer. 

On the other hand, there were quite a few low cost players who brought in lots of points, a list once again led by Naoya Kihara, the revelation of the summer. 

Here’s a look at the top ten players in this year’s draft by points won per dollar spent on their salaries:

Players like Kihara, Zamani, and Pupillo were some of the best picks of the draft, as they produced amazing point hauls at nearly no cost, making them the best value you could get. 

The 2026 fantasy draft once again showed that finding the right balance and picking the right dark horses is the secret to victory, while spending a large chunk of the budget on overpriced champions is a quick path to disappointment.