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It’s that time of the year again, as the WSOP is less than two weeks away, and the best poker players in the world are getting ready for what they love to call their “Summer Camp.”
This year’s World Series of Poker will give away 100 gold bracelets along with a number of online poker bracelets, as thousands of players descend on Las Vegas in pursuit of silverware, cash prizes, and legacy.
The traditional $25k WSOP fantasy draft is back this year, and poker legend Daniel Negreanu is set to host it on May 25. This draft will determine the prices used in dozens of other fantasy WSOP leagues, and all fans who intend to participate in such leagues should be paying attention.
DNegs recently came out with a video to help all prospective WSOP fantasy players make their picks for this year, and we had a deeper dive into the topic as well.
Whether you are considering putting up the $25k for the ultimate fantasy draft, playing in the $500 ODB Fantasy league, or creating a mini-league with your friends, keep reading to learn more.
How Does the $25k Fantasy Work?
If you are unfamiliar with the $25k Fantasy WSOP league, understanding the rules is pretty simple. On May 25, all team owners who pony up the $25k buy-in will be invited to a special event, where the teams will be drafted.
Each team gets $200 to spend on players, and each team gets to nominate players. Once a player is nominated, the bidding starts at a starting price, which must be at least $1. All teams get to bid, and the highest bidder gets the player on their team.
Each team must be made up of eight players, and since each player must be worth at least $1, the maximum anyone can bid for a player is $193.
In previous years, fantasy teams used different strategies, from spending in excess of $100 (half their budget) on single players like Shaun Deeb or Daniel Negreanu, to diversifying their portfolios with mid-value players.
Once the prices are set in the $25k Fantasy draft, these prices are used by other fantasy leagues, which don’t use a draft system, but rather allow teams to pick any players they want from the list at set prices.
For all fantasy buffs looking to play in such smaller leagues, the $25k Fantasy results are very important, as it’s the event that sets the price for the players they want on their teams.
Daniel Negreanu Shares Insider Tips
A video posted on Kid Poker’s YouTube channel a few days ago revealed some insider wisdom from the man who’s been an integral part of the draft since its inception.
In the video, which you can watch in its entirety below, Daniel broke down the numbers behind last year’s draft and revealed how some of the players with top prices did, as well as the names of some high earners with low prices.
The video revealed that many of the players priced at over $100 ended up posting under $1 per point, while numerous low-price players outperformed their expectations by quite a bit.
Negreanu also revealed his picks from each group of players, sorted by price, but these picks won’t necessarily be his actual picks during the draft.
The full $25k Fantasy draft will be streamed in real time on YouTube as well, and you will get a chance to watch the bidding and work on your own fantasy strategy in real time on May 25.
What Is the Best Strategy for WSOP Fantasy?
The popularity of WSOP fantasy has grown in recent years, with many leagues beyond the $25k one being formed to engage the wider fan base.
The most popular one of those, which many players can afford to jump into is the $500 ODBFantasy league, which is hosted by David Baker, and allows players to play for significant money in a competition backed by a prominent figure in the poker world.
If you decide to play in the ODBFantasy league or join one of the many other fan-hosted leagues, you will want to work out a strategy that works well based on the results of previous years.
One thing that’s become clear is that buying the most expensive players from the draft is usually not the best strategy, as they spend over half of your budget and rarely return more than $3 per point.
Instead, a balanced team with a number of players in the $30 – $80 range is usually the winning combination, as such players tend to bring lots of value.
For example, last year’s ODBFantasy winner had Viktor Blom (310 points for $22), Joao Vieira (284 points for $85), and Adam Hendrix (279 points for $33) as its top performers.
The value of $1 players and other players priced at under $10 cannot be overstated either, as these players typically offer the highest points per dollar spent.
Players like Andrew Ostapcheko (234 points), Quan Zhou (194 points), and Huck Seed (185 points) all went for just $1 last year, and ended up being highly valuable additions to all teams that bought them.
Having a strong WSOP fantasy team is all about finding balance, picking players who are likely to play a lot of events, and avoiding putting all your eggs in one basket.
Daniel Negreanu’s WSOP Vlogs Are Back
With his $25k Fantasy preview, Daniel Negreanu also teased his 2026 WSOP Vlogs, as he continues a tradition that’s been going on for years.
Once again, poker fans will get to enjoy the entire Series from Negreanu’s perspective through a series of daily Vlogs (some days may be skipped), which go into his preparation for events, hand breakdowns, and a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff.
Daniel’s Vlogs have become the favorite way to engage with the WSOP for thousands of poker fans, and we now know that the tradition will continue this year, as DNegs pursues another successful summer in Vegas.
My WSOP Summer Package officially SOLD OUT! 🙏
If you missed out, don’t worry…
I’ll be giving viewers chances to win pieces of my action in the first couple WSOP vlogs 👀
I’ll also be selling pieces of select individual events on @pokerstakecom
The Grind begins soon… pic.twitter.com/A5Ft5EW4TC
— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) May 16, 2026
As he’s done in recent years, Negreanu has also sold 20% of his $2,000,000 WSOP package via PokerStake.com, giving his fans a chance to have a small piece of the action.
If you wanted to buy a piece but missed out on your chance, make sure to watch Daniel’s Vlogs this summer, as he will offer opportunities to win a piece of the action completely free of charge in the early episodes.