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The 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) is only five days in, but already there have been some moves and shakers in the $25K Fantasy League.
As of this writing, David Coleman is the top point earner with 42 points thanks to a sixth-place finish in Event #1: $5,000 Champions Reunion NLH Freezeout for $69,231. That’s great value for Team The Dinkers (Josh Kay & the Florida crew) as they bought him for just $3 in the draft, meaning Coleman is putting up 14 points per dollar (Pts/$).
League commissioner Daniel Negreanu is not far behind with 39 points, though his points per dollar is a paltry 0.3 Pts/$. Negreanu, who belongs to Team DPMC (defending champs Donnie Peters and Matt Clark) finished 50th in Event #1: $5,000 Champions Reunion for $9,141 and the following day placed 16th out of 3,485 players in Event #3: $500 WSOP Kickoff NLH Freezeout for $8,541.
The best value of the draft so far is Team Lady Gaga’s (Ren Lin) Qiang Xu, who they bought for a dollar. Xu, who won a bracelet at the 2023 WSOP, has 35 points (35 pts/$.) thanks to a 37th-place finish in Event #3 for $4,596.
$25K Fantasy Points Leaders (as of 6/1/24)
| Rank | Player | Team | Score | Salary | Cashes | Pts/$ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | David Coleman | Team The Dinkers | 42 | 3.00 | 1 | 14 |
| 2. | Daniel Negreanu | Team DPMC | 39 | 132.00 | 2 | 0.3 |
| 3. | Qiang Xu | Team Lady Gaga | 35 | 1.00 | 1 | 35 |
| 4. | Shaun Deeb | Team Lady Gaga | 21 | 104.00 | 2 | 0.2 |
| 5. | Ben Yu | Team Baker | 14 | 67.00 | 1 | 0.21 |
| 6. | Brian Rast | Team The Dinkers | 12 | 37.00 | 1 | 0.32 |
| 6. | Aram Zobian | Team Wilson | 12 | 7.00 | 1 | 1.71 |
| 6. | Chris Hunichen | Team Kalas | 12 | 15.00 | 1 | 0.8 |
| 9. | Jeff Madsen | Team AJ’s Eagles | 10 | 1.00 | 1 | 10 |
| 10. | Yingui Li | Team Lady Gaga | 4 | 1.00 | 3 | 4 |
Team Lady Gaga is out to an early lead in the league with 61 points, though Team The Dinkers are close behind with 58 points. Team DPMC sits with a respectable 39 points, while Team Baker (David “ODB” Baker) is next closest with 17 points. On the other end of the spectrum, a trio of teams sit with a single point, though Team Sepiol (Dan Sepiol) is in dead last with zero points.
See full results and leaderboards at 25KFantasy.com
Mark Gregorich’s 2024 $2,500 Fantasy Draft
In addition to the $25K Fantasy and ODB’s accompanying $500 league open to the public, there was a third league – the $2,500 Fantasy run by Mark Gregorich. That draft took place at PokerGO Studio immediately after the $25K draft and attracted 14 teams.
The draft had the same rules as the $25K version, and not surprisingly some of the same players went for a hefty price including Shaun Deeb ($112 to Team Nick G), Daniel Negreanu ($111 to Team Ned Ryerson), Alex Livingston ($111 to Team Mike N), and Yuri Dzivielevski ($105 to Team Oz Gary).
Those four were the only ones to go for over $100, but several others cost a pretty penny including Joao Vieira ($88 to Team MG), Koray Aldemir ($85 to Team Oz Gary), Jeremy Ausmus ($81 to Team Joey C), Josh Arieh ($76 to Team Dan F), Chance Kornuth ($76 to Team Dan F), Phil Hellmuth ($72 to Team Alex L), Benny Glaser ($70 to Team YOLO), and Ben Yu ($70 to Team MG).
$2,500 Fantasy Current Standings (as of 6/1/24)
| Rank | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Team YOLO | 53 |
| 2. | Team Josh K | 45 |
| 3. | Team Ned Ryerson | 41 |
| 4. | Team MG | 18 |
| 5. | Team Alex L | 13 |
| 6. | Team ODB | 6 |
| 7. | Team Nick G | 5 |
| 8. | Team AJ | 3 |
| 8. | Team Dan F | 3 |
| 8. | Team Mike N | 3 |
| 8. | Team Toby | 3 |
| 12. | Team Kane K | 2 |
| 13. | Team Joey C | 1 |
| 13. | Team Oz Gary | 1 |
Click here to see the full list of players drafted in the $2,500 Fantasy.
Saturday Sweats
The first Saturday of the 2024 WSOP will offer some $25K Fantasy implications starting with the finale of Event #6: $25,000 Heads-Up NLH Championship. The 64-player bracket is down to the final four, and Artur Martirosian of Team Lang is still alive. How many points he’ll earn for his team will be determined this afternoon. No other $25K Fantasy players cashed the tournament.
There will also be some major points earned in Event #7: $1,500 Dealer’s Choice (6-Handed), which started with 530 entrants but is now down to the final 10. A pair of $25K Fantasy players are still in contention in John Hennigan (Team AJ’s Eagles) and Shaun Deeb (Team Lady Gaga).
In that tournament, Jeff Madsen finished in 12th place to earn points for Team AJ’s Eagles, while some other players to cash were Jerry Wong (30th place – Team The Dinkers), Chino Rheem (34th place – Team Negreanu), AJ Kelsall (38th place – Team Livingston), Taylor Paur (47th place – Team Noori), Daniel Weinman (55th place – Team Lucky), Julien Martini (56th place – Team Girl Dads), Yingui Li (60th place – Team Lady Gaga), Yueqi Zhu (78th place – Team Kalas), and Dustin Dirksen (80th – Team Girls Dads).
In Event #8: $5,000 PLO 8-Handed, there are still 130 players remaining including a bunch of $25K players including but not limited to Dylan Smith, Anson Tsang, Joao Simao, Bryce Yockey, Anthony Zinno, Joao Vieira, and Chance Kornuth.
Similarly, among the $25K players who made it to Day 2 of Event #9: $1,500 Limit Hold’em (8-Handed) are Renan Bruschi, Nick Guagenti, and Georgios Sotiropoulos.
PR & Media Manager for CelestialPoker, Podcast host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.
