25K Fantasy 2024
25K Fantasy
Day: live
In the 838th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway is joined by Kyna England and Connor Richards at Level 9 in Las Vegas and talk about latest from the 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP)!
That includes Phil Ivey winning his 11th bracelet and first in a decade, UFC announcer Bruce Buffer making a deep run in the $50,000 High Roller, and Scott Seiver claiming a second bracelet this summer, which not only gave him a nice lead in the race for Player of the Year (POY), but also extended the streak of a multiple WSOP bracelet winner to 25 years!
Also, hear about Sergio Aido's victory in the aforementioned $50K High Roller, Antonio Galiana executing a five-bet river bluff some are already saying is the hand of the year and an update on the $25K Fantasy poker league. Finally, the second-ever PokerNews Cup on Global Poker is underway (it runs June 17-July 7) and the WSOP PokerNews Deepstacks Championship is right around the corner (June 25-28).
A new PokerNews Podcast will drop twice weekly during the 2024 WSOP every Tuesday and Friday at 8a PT / 11a ET / 4p UK time. Make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you do not miss an episode!
On Day 22 of the 2024 WSOP, Event #43: $1,500 Mixed Omaha will see 22 players from an 853-entry field come back for Day 3 including a trio of $25K Fantasy players – Michael Rodrigues (Team DPMC), Phil Hellmuth (Team TheCoffeeBreakers), and Shaun Deeb (Team Lady Gaga).
Meanwhile, in Event #38: $1,500 Monster Stack, 416 players from an 8,704-entry field will return to action including 10 draftees from the $25K Fantasy league including Stephen Song (Team DPMC), Kristen Foxen (Team NGNF), Joao Simao (Team Sternheimer), Jake Schwartz (Team Oz), Shannon Shorr (Team Girl Dads), Ryan Leng (Team Sepiol), Toby Lewis (Team Chingas), Arthur Morris (Team AJ’s Eagles), Alex Foxen (Team Sepiol), and Brian Yoon (Team Chingas).
In Event #44: $2,000 NLH, a couple hundred players return for Day 2 including $25K Fantasy players James Chen (Team AJ’s Eagles), Ryan Riess (Team Girl Dads), Qiang Xu (Team Lady Gaga), Patrick Leonard (Team Lucky), Koray Aldemir (Team Kalas), Jeremy Becker (Team NGNF), and Wing Po Liu (Team Lady Gaga).
Finally, Event #45: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship attracted 152 players, but only 87 of them found a bag at the end of Day 1. They included dozens of $25K Fantasy players such as chip leader Maxx Coleman (Team AJ’s Eagles), Maria Ho (Team Noori), and Brad Ruben (Team Oz), just to name a few.
Remember, PokerNews has been tracking $25K Fantasy players in our live updates, and have even made it simple to follow the action by tagging all players with a $25K Fantasy badge. That allows you to utilize our chip count filter option to follow only those players (just tick the $25K Fantasy badge); what’s more, each blog will have a “$25K Fantasy” tab that if you click all you will see are hands played by $25K Fantasy players.
| Rank | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Team The Dinkers | 661 |
| 2. | Team Sternheimer | 522 |
| 3. | Team Baker | 442 |
| 4. | Team Lady Gaga | 426 |
| 5. | Team Sepiol | 371 |
| 6. | Team Oz | 353 |
| 7. | Team AJ's Eagles | 352 |
| 8. | Team Livingston | 324 |
| 9. | Team Girl Dads | 292 |
| 10. | Team Negreanu | 251 |
| 11. | Team Wilson | 247 |
| 12. | Team Noori | 230 |
| 13. | Team Lang | 212 |
| 14. | Team Lucky | 206 |
| 15. | Team DPMC | 199 |
| 16. | Team Kalas | 184 |
| 17. | Team TheCoffeeBreakers.com | 178 |
| 18. | Team NGNF | 164 |
| 19. | Team Chingas | 78 |
On Day 21 of the 2024 WSOP, Event #41: $1,500 Mixed NLH & PLO Double Board Bomb Pot is down to the final 16 players from a 1,312-entry field. Only a single $25K Fantasy player remains in Dario Alioto (Team DPMC), who is on the shorter side of things sitting 13th in chips.
In Event #42: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship, a tournament that started with 107 players, just 11 return for the Day 3 finale including seven $25K Fantasy players – Paul Volpe (Team Kalas), Yuri Dzivielevski (Team Lady Gaga), James Obst (Team NGNF), Yuval Bronshtein (Team Wilson), Kane Kalas (Team Kalas), Robert Mizrachi (Team The Dinkers), and Alex Livingston (Team Lang).
There are still a couple hundred players remaining in Event #43: $1,500 Mixed PLO8, O8 & Big O including James Chen (Team AJ’s Eagles), Bin Weng (Team Chingas), and Michael Rodrigues (Team DPMC), just to name a few $25K Fantasy players still in.
Remember, PokerNews has been tracking $25K Fantasy players in our live updates, and have even made it simple to follow the action by tagging all players with a $25K Fantasy badge. That allows you to utilize our chip count filter option to follow only those players (just tick the $25K Fantasy badge); what’s more, each blog will have a “$25K Fantasy” tab that if you click all you will see are hands played by $25K Fantasy players.
| Rank | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Team The Dinkers | 557 |
| 2. | Team Sternheimer | 520 |
| 3. | Team Baker | 440 |
| 4. | Team Lady Gaga | 395 |
| 5. | Team Sepiol | 370 |
| 6. | Team AJ's Eagles | 352 |
| 6. | Team Oz | 352 |
| 8. | Team Livingston | 322 |
| 9. | Team Girl Dads | 291 |
| 10. | Team Negreanu | 251 |
| 11. | Team Wilson | 236 |
| 12. | Team Noori | 228 |
| 13. | Team Lucky | 205 |
| 14. | Team Lang | 201 |
| 15. | Team DPMC | 179 |
| 16. | Team TheCoffeeBreakers.com | 178 |
| 17. | Team Kalas | 163 |
| 17. | Team NGNF | 163 |
| 19. | Team Chingas | 75 |
The 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) has been running for 19 days, and right now in Daniel Negreanu’s $25K Fantasy league Team The Dinkers (Josh Kay & the Florida crew) sit atop the leaderboard with 536 points. However, Team Sternheimer (Philip Sternheimer) is hot on their heels with 518 points, while Team Lady Gaga (Ren Lin) is in third with 378 points.
Currently sitting in fourth place and within striking distance is Team Oz (Gary Benson), who is in the thick of it thanks to having the highest-performing player thus far – Wisconsin’s Josh Reichard.
Reichard is fresh off winning the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown, which had its final table play out at the HyperX Arena at Luxor at the end of May right at the start of the WSOP. Not only did Reichard win $839,300 and etch his name on the Mike Sexton Champions Cup, but he finally got a big-time signature win for his poker resumé.
So far this summer at the WSOP, he notched three cashes including 21st in the massive Event #5: $1,000 Mystery Millions (101 points), 144th in Event #30: $600 Mixed NLH/PLO Deepstack (1 point), and most recently sixth place in Event #34: $2,500 NLH Freezeout (37 points).
Reichard was drafted for $5, which means he’s offered a valuable 27.9 points per dollar (Pts.$). A 15-time WSOP Circuit ring winner, an MSPT Hall of Famer, and now a WPT champion, Reichard is largely considered among the “Best Without a Bracelet.” He came close last summer when he finished runner-up to Bradley Gafford in Event #74: $1,000 Mini Main Event for $339,646.
Top 10 Point Earners as of 6/15/24
| Rank | Player | Team | Score | Salary | Cashes | Pts/$ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Josh Reichard | Team Oz | 139 | 5.00 | 3 | 27.8 |
| 2. | Joao Simao | Team Sternheimer | 134 | 8.00 | 5 | 16.75 |
| 3. | Nick Schulman | Team Negreanu | 130 | 66.00 | 6 | 1.97 |
| 4. | John Riordan | Team Girl Dads | 128 | 18.00 | 4 | 7.11 |
| 5. | Benny Glaser | Team Sternheimer | 124 | 76.00 | 4 | 1.63 |
| 6. | Christian Harder | Team TheCoffeeBreakers.com | 123 | 1.00 | 6 | 123 |
| 7. | Phil Ivey | Team Sepiol | 119 | 16.00 | 6 | 7.44 |
| 8. | John Racener | Team The Dinkers | 117 | 36.00 | 6 | 3.25 |
| 9. | Robert Mizrachi | Team The Dinkers | 116 | 1.00 | 5 | 116 |
| 10. | Tyler Brown | Team Livingston | 111 | 29.00 | 4 | 3.83 |
Harder & Mizrachi Best Value
While Reichard is the highest point earned in the $25K Fantasy up to this point, he isn’t the best value player. That distinction goes to Christian Harder, who was purchased by Team TheCoffeeBreakers for $1. He’s cashed six times thus far at the 2024 WSOP including a 155th-place finish in Event #5: $1,000 Mystery Millions, which was good for 101 points thanks to hitting the field bonus.
Similarly, $1 players Ash Gupta (Team Oz) and Dong Chen (Team Lady Gaga) both have 104 points for hitting the same field bonus, while Yingui Li (Team Lady Gaga), also a $1 pickup, has amassed an impressive 10 cashes so far totaling 65 point, including 43 points for finishing seventh in Event #26: $25,000 High Roller.
Finally, Robert Mizrachi was a $1 buy for Team The Dinkers, and he had a bit of a chip on his shoulder for going so low.
Mizrachi has been on firing winning his fifth gold bracelet by taking down Event #13: $10,000 Dealers Choice Championship, and he’s added four other cashes to his summer resumé.
Best Value Players as of 6/15/24
| Rank | Player | Team | Score | Salary | Cashes | Pts/$ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | Christian Harder | Team TheCoffeeBreakers.com | 123 | 1.00 | 6 | 123 |
| 9. | Robert Mizrachi | Team The Dinkers | 116 | 1.00 | 5 | 116 |
| 12. | Ash Gupta | Team Oz | 104 | 1.00 | 4 | 104 |
| 12. | Dong Chen | Team Lady Gaga | 104 | 1.00 | 2 | 104 |
| 30. | Yingui Li | Team Lady Gaga | 65 | 1.00 | 10 | 65 |
| 22. | Jason Mercier | Team Lang | 81 | 2.00 | 1 | 40.5 |
| 44. | Qiang Xu | Team Lady Gaga | 35 | 1.00 | 1 | 35 |
| 48. | Anson Tsang | Team Lady Gaga | 32 | 1.00 | 6 | 32 |
| 18. | David Coleman | Team The Dinkers | 91 | 3.00 | 3 | 30.33 |
| 20. | Calvin Anderson | Team Sepiol | 84 | 3.00 | 4 | 28 |
| 1. | Josh Reichard | Team Oz | 139 | 5.00 | 3 | 27.8 |
| Rank | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Team Toby | 537 |
| 2. | Team Joey C | 431 |
| 3. | Team AJ | 381 |
| 4. | Team Josh K | 376 |
| 5. | Team Alex L | 337 |
| 6. | Team Dan F | 273 |
| 7. | Team Ned Ryerson | 269 |
| 8. | Team YOLO | 257 |
| 9. | Team MG | 231 |
| 10. | Team Kane K | 170 |
| 11. | Team Mike N | 168 |
| 12. | Team ODB | 153 |
| 13. | Team Nick G | 149 |
| 14. | Team Oz Gary | 94 |
| Rank | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Team The Dinkers | 536 |
| 2. | Team Sternheimer | 518 |
| 3. | Team Lady Gaga | 378 |
| 4. | Team Oz | 341 |
| 5. | Team Baker | 288 |
| 6. | Team Sepiol | 277 |
| 7. | Team AJ's Eagles | 255 |
| 8. | Team Negreanu | 251 |
| 9. | Team Livingston | 220 |
| 10. | Team Girl Dads | 214 |
| 11. | Team Noori | 204 |
| 12. | Team Lang | 188 |
| 13. | Team TheCoffeeBreakers.com | 176 |
| 14. | Team Wilson | 174 |
| 15. | Team Kalas | 151 |
| 16. | Team NGNF | 150 |
| 17. | Team Lucky | 131 |
| 18. | Team DPMC | 78 |
| 19. | Team Chingas | 64 |
In the 837th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway is joined by Johnnie Vibes and PokerNews Ontario Ambassador Kyle Anderson at Level 9 in Las Vegas and talk about the 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP)!
Not only do they discuss the controversial shorted-pot hand from the Gladiators of Poker involving Men Nguyen, but Chad actually chatted briefly with "The Master" about it. That led to a conversation about Men "The Master" Nguyen's reputation and legacy within the poker world, and in turn to a discussion on fact versus fiction. Speaking of which, check out our five-part article series on Men Nguyen here.
From there, Anderson talks a bit about his ambassador duties for Ontario, and then talks about being put in the spotlight by Phil Hellmuth, which inspired Johnnie Vibes to chime in with his desire to be scolded by the "Poker Brat." Speaking of Vibes, he shared the details behind how the chip stack of Adrian Mateos went missing after a break in the $2,500 Freezeout, and then the crew dives headfirst into Nick Schulman winning the $25,000 High Roller for his fifth WSOP gold bracelet. Is he destined for the Poker Hall of Fame next year over Scott Seiver? It's a coin flip according to the panel.
The crew highlights a handful of other WSOP bracelet winners from the past few days, and preview the Phil Ivey vs. Jason Mercier vs. Danny Wong finale in the $10,000 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw event. Finally, get an update on the $25K Fantasy league and learn who won the BetMGM Poker Championship for $613,914!