Daniel Negreanu’s World Sequence of Poker (WSOP) $25k Fantasy Draft, which can maintain its draft for the 2024 WSOP this Monday on the PokerGO Studio (it’s going to be streamed and PokerNews can even be there to dwell report), was initially the creation of Howard Lederer, a as soon as distinguished poker professional who not has many followers throughout the group as a result of April 15, 2011 Black Friday scandal.
The previous Full Tilt Poker professional and government ran the fantasy league throughout its 2011 inception 12 months, however he handed the keys off to Negreanu the next summer season.
Annually, these prepared to place up $25,000 on a fantasy poker competitors bid on the efficiency of varied poker gamers throughout that summer season’s WSOP. Groups should draft eight gamers with a $200 auction-style bidding finances, and the winner is the group that accumulates essentially the most factors all through the sequence. Participant factors are earned based mostly on cashes, closing tables, and bracelet wins.
Jason Mercier Holds a File
In 2011, 15 groups signed up, however none may high Group Jason Somerville & Jason Mercier Ben Lamb, the WSOP Participant of the 12 months, carried the group with a league-best 403 factors. One 12 months later, Jason Mercier went out on his personal and received once more, and stays the one two-time winner in league historical past.
There’s been a distinct winner every year since. Group Matthew Waxman took it down in 2013 behind the WSOP success of David “Bakes” Baker. Group Gypsy, because of the memorable summer season from George Danzer, beat a discipline of 12 groups in 2014. Group Hastings, led by group proprietor Brian Hastings, conquered the fantasy league in 2015.
Group house owners will not be required to draft themselves. In truth, many keep away from doing so. Hastings is the one participant in league historical past to steer the group he drafted to victory. John Monnette (2012 and 2016) and Ben Yu (2017 and 2018) are the one gamers to twice lead a successful group in factors.
Maybe a little bit of a shock, solely twice has the successful group drafted that 12 months’s WSOP Participant of the 12 months (2011 and 2014). And no Fundamental Occasion champ from the identical 12 months has been most liable for a fantasy league group successful, though Koray Aldemir led Group Maria Ho to the title in 2022, one 12 months after changing into world champion.
Group DPMC took down the most important discipline ever — 20 groups — final 12 months, thanks largely to the efficiency of Shaun Deeb, who had his ordinary spectacular summer season. However Deeb was a little bit of an outlier a 12 months in the past in that he was the primary of 18 gamers in league historical past to go for $100 or extra within the draft and find yourself on a successful group.
Negreanu’s Fantasy League Struggles
There is a cause we have not touched a lot on Negreanu, and that’s as a result of the pinnacle of the league hasn’t had a lot success drafting groups. The GGPoker ambassador has drafted a group yearly, together with his finest end — second place — coming in 2022.
Previous to that 12 months, Negreanu’s highest end was fourth place in 2017, however solely a fantasy draft low eight groups competed. Exterior of these two years, he hasn’t outperformed sixth place, and his group hit all-time low in 2018 with a fifteenth place end … out of 15 groups.
Negreanu as a participant has supplied loads of worth to the group’s which have drafted him. He received WSOP Participant of the 12 months in 2013 and briefly received it in 2019 earlier than a recalculation gave the award to Robert Campbell. However his fantasy group drafting abilities have not appeared to catch as much as his poker abilities.
The 2024 $25k Fantasy Draft takes place Might 27 on the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas. PokerNews will likely be on-site dwell reporting the occasion.
How Will Daniel Negreanu’s 2024 Poker Heater Impression His WSOP $25k Fantasy Draft Bid?
$25k Fantasy Draft Yearly Outcomes
*Denotes received WSOP Participant of the 12 months.
