Will Daniel Negreanu’s 2024 Poker Heater Impact $25K Draft?

Daniel Negreanu is coming in scorching to the 2024 World Collection of Poker (WSOP), which kicks off Could 28, in the future after the annual $25k Fantasy Draft.

Talking of that draft, there can be quite a few attention-grabbing storylines to observe on Could 27, one among which includes the GGPoker ambassador. Extra particularly, the quantity groups can be keen to bid on him this 12 months in comparison with earlier years.

Typical Excessive Bid on Poker Legend?

Within the $25k Fantasy Draft, every staff has $200 to spend bidding on a roster of eight gamers. All through the collection, gamers earn factors based mostly on efficiency (cashes, last tables, and bracelet wins), and the staff that racks up probably the most factors wins the biggest chunk of the prize pool.

It’s crucial for these drafting to bid properly and get as a lot worth as potential for every decide. Negreanu and Shaun Deeb generate the best bids every year because of the quantity they put in, they usually’re fairly dang good poker gamers, every with six bracelets.

With out query, each gamers will generate heavy curiosity from many groups within the fantasy draft once more this 12 months. However projecting Negreanu’s bid isn’t going to be as simple this 12 months for a couple of causes, of which we’ll focus on within the subsequent part.

How Will Fantasy Draft Groups Worth Daniel Negreanu?

Negreanu has posted two consecutive shedding summers for a complete of roughly $1.9 million. He hasn’t received a bracelet since 2013, and his final WSOP title in Las Vegas got here in 2008.

The Poker Corridor of Famer, who misplaced over $2 million in reside tournaments final 12 months, disclosed some deliberate modifications to his sport at the beginning of the 12 months. One repair he’s been implementing is to play fewer occasions. And that technique has labored like a attraction and one may argue has been the driving power to what has already been a monster 12 months for one among poker’s all-time greats.

Up to now, he’s received two excessive rollers in 2024 and reached eight last tables, and he’s achieved that on a restricted schedule. So, on the floor, it might appear unlikely his fantasy draft bid wouldn’t drop beneath its ordinary $100-$110 vary.

However there’s one other aspect to this coin, and that’s his deliberate lighter WSOP schedule, which he introduced in February. That might make some staff homeowners a bit hesitant to make use of half the staff’s funds on one participant who admits he isn’t going to focus as closely on WSOP Participant of the 12 months as he has been prior to now.

Is Deeb, who has gone for a minimum of $110 the previous two years, a greater worth particularly when factoring in Negreanu’s consecutive shedding summers? Ought to staff homeowners keep away from each gamers altogether and allocate their funds elsewhere? These are some questions staff homeowners should ponder.

Fantasy Draft Historical past

The $25k Fantasy Draft has been operating every summer season since 2011, aside from 2020 when the WSOP was canceled as a result of COVID. In whole, 12 gamers have been drafted every time. That listing consists of poker legends corresponding to Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, Justin Bonomo, and Eli Elezra.

No participant in draft historical past has racked up extra factors — 2,007 — than Hellmuth, who holds quite a few WSOP data. The “Poker Brat” is not simply placing up longevity stats relating to the fantasy draft. He is averaged incomes 167.25 fantasy league factors per WSOP since 2011, the best for any participant to have been bid on a minimum of seven occasions. Negreanu, averaging 161.25 factors per summer season over 12 years, is in second place.

$25k Fantasy Draft All-Time Prime Level Earners

That stated, the variety of bracelet occasions have elevated considerably lately, and the fantasy league scoring system has been tweaked, resulting in greater scores than again within the 2010s. In 2023, Staff DPMC received the 20-team league with Deeb because the staff’s highest scorer at 241 factors, which solely ranked eleventh out of 160 gamers drafted. Alex Livingston, who gave Staff Woman Gaga distinctive worth at $72, was the highest level earner at 353 factors.

The highest worth decide in draft historical past got here in 2022 when Staff Maria Ho chosen defending world champion Koray Aldemir for simply $2. Aldemir was good for a league-best 358 factors, which helped spark Maria Ho to victory and $200,000.

Final 12 months’s successful staff, Staff DPMC, did not discover a steal like Aldemir. However the staff acquired sturdy performances from their low bids, together with 177 factors from Ian Steinman, a decide that value simply $1. Annually, the successful staff has a minimum of a draft decide or two that prices little however gives nice worth, like Steinman and Aldemir. However many occasions, the normal powers corresponding to Negreanu and Deeb are value their excessive bid worth.

The $25k Fantasy Draft takes place Could 27 on the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas.

Staff Maria Ho Wins 2022 WSOP $25k Fantasy Draft