25K Fantasy 2026

Day 29 of the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) will see 62 players from an 11,769-entry field return for Day 4 of Event #50: $1,500 Millionaire Maker, though none of them are 25K Fantasy nor ODB Bonus players. Likewise, Day 3 of Event #59: $500 Salute to Warriors will see 35 players from a 4,478-entry field return to action, but no fantasy sweats remain.

That’s definitely not the case heading into Day 3 of the $50,000 Poker Players Championship, which will have 39 players from a 108-entry field return to action. Nearly the whole field has some sort of fantasy implications, including Benny Glaser, Maxx Coleman, Chris Hunichen, Matt Glantz, Chris Brewer, Maksim Pisarenko, and Alex Livingston, who all sit in the top 10 counts.

Similarly, ODB Bonus players still alive include Ryan Miller, David Lin, and James Tilton.

Finally, after Day 1 of Event #62: $2,500 NLH, 312 players from a 1,736-entry field remain, including 26 players with fantasy implications. That includes chip leader Blaz Zerjav, as well as Piotr Krupa, Josh Reichard, Artur Martirosian, and Ryuta Nakai.

How to Follow the Action

Remember, PokerNews has been tracking $25K Fantasy players in our live updates and has even made it simple to follow the action by tagging all players with either a 25K Fantasy or ODB badge. That allows you to utilize our chip count filter option to follow only those players (just tick the 25K Fantasy or ODB 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.

Tags: Alex LivingstonArtur MartirosianBenny GlaserBlaz ZerjavChris BrewerChris HunichenDavid LinJames TiltonJosh ReichardMaksim PisarenkoMatt GlantzMaxx ColemanPiotr KrupaRyan MillerRyuta Nakai

There’s no denying that the World Series of Poker (WSOP) experience has been amplified thanks to the advent of fantasy poker. The Daniel Negreanu 25K Fantasy League, which debuted back in 2011, is in its 14th year, while the complimentary $500 ODB League, run by David “ODB” Baker and his wife, Nicole, is in its 11th year.

“The creation of 25K Fantasy is easily one of the best additions to poker I can remember. It brings a real team element to the WSOP and turns those long, grueling hours into something special,” poker pro Matt Vengrin recently shared on social media. “Getting to build camaraderie with people you’d normally never cross paths with adds a whole new layer of fun competition. And [ODB] pulling off the draft at a price point where the public can actually jump in and enjoy a summer-long sweat is absolutely brilliant.”

Indeed, this year’s ODB League is the biggest and best, with a massive 1,202 teams that each ponied up $500 to create a $601,000 prize pool. The top 100 teams will get pair a minimum of $1,000, while the winning team will earn a $100,000 top prize.

Earlier this month, ODB sat down with Donnie Peters on the PokerGO Podcast in which he opened up about his passion for poker, playing against the best players in the world inside the PokerGO Studio, and the history of the ODB Fantasy League.

You can listen to that episode in full here, but in the meantime, here are some highlights.

The Growth of the ODB League

“When I started this thing, I obviously never envisioned this, but as it's become such a part of the World Series, I feel an obligation to continue it,” ODB shared when the $500 league became a point of conversation. “It's kind of my giving back a little bit to the community.
They love it, and I love it.”

So, when and how did the ODB league start in the first place? According to Baker, 11 years ago, he was driving to Las Vegas from Houston with his good friend, Ray Henson, when an idea became reality.

“We would drive 24 hours, and we would always drive on the day that they were doing the draft. We would listen to the live coverage and always hoping that we would be drafted and how much and all that,” ODB explained. “We were driving one year, it was 11 years ago, and I said, ‘Man, these people are terrible at this.’”

That led to ODB posting on Twitter asking if anyone wanted to make teams and do some side bets. There was a lot of interest, so instead of betting one-on-one, he made the decision to start a league. For that first year, his wife, Nicole, built and managed an Excel spreadsheet and manually entered every team.

“It was like literally an idea that I had, and 24 hours later, we had 94 entries,” ODB reflected. “I had built like a new e-mail account to take the emails and the whole thing, and she manually scored it in an Excel spreadsheet for 94 people. And then it's built up through the years. Last year, we had 870 people, and this year, 1,200 entries.”

It has also graduated from a spreadsheet to being a part of 25KFantasy.com, which allows players to easily see where they stack up and how their roster is doing. Similarly, PokerNews even created an “ODB Bonus Player” badge for those undrafted players who are eligible to be bonus players.

ODB on Wanting to Be Among the Best

ODB and Peters also discussed their shared love of the game, and the former’s desire to be considered among the best players in the world. While some would say he already is with four WSOP gold bracelets to his name and more than $9.3 million in lifetime tournament earnings according to the Hendon Mob, ODB doesn’t consider himself there yet.

“I have this complex that like, I want to be considered one of the elite players and [my wife is] just like, ‘Well, you are.’ I'm like, no, I’m not,” said ODB, who also has a World Poker Tour (WPT) title. “People don't think about me the way that they think about some of the other guys, and rightfully so. They're better, they're more accomplished. But I want to fit into that. I want to be in the discussion when, you know, Hall of Fame comes up, legacy, and those kinds of things.”

It's that desire that’s inspired ODB to start playing more inside the PokerGO Studio against the best players in the world.

“It's what drives me, and so that's what I need. I'm just going to harness that as my motivation,” said ODB, who also revealed that he learns best by watching. “I'm really good at reverse engineering hands. A lot of people learn, you know, from front to back. I kind of learn back to front … What I do, my approach to poker is more like I watch good players play and I see the things that they do and I try to figure out why they did that. How would I combat that? And also, how do I bring that into my own game? … That's kind of been my approach to poker. That's kind of why I really like playing with some of these best players.”

While Baker might be a little hard on himself, as many would say he's already among poker's elite, there's no denying that, when it comes to poker, few have more heart than ODB.

Day 28 of the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) will see several hundred players from an 11,769-entry field return for Day 3 of Event #50: $1,500 Millionaire Maker. Among the 25K Fantasy players returning are Josh McCully (Team Chocolate Factory), Malcolm Trayner (Team Trump Power), Michael Gathy (Team Chocolate Factory), TJ Reid (Team Torching with TJ), Dan Sepiol (Team Glue Factory), Zdenek Zizka (Team Lucky), Chris Hunichen (Team Blades & Shades), Jim Collopy (Team Lang Gang), and Frederic Normand (Team Chocolate Factory).

Likewise, there are a handful of ODB Bonus players still in contention, including Matt Affleck, Victor Paredes, Ryan Laplante, Ian Steinman, and Matthew McEwan.

Event #58: $1,500 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw is down to the final 12 players from a 657-entry field. The only 25K Fantasy player remaining is Nick Pupillo (Team DNegs), who sits third in chips, while a pair of ODB Bonus players are still alive in Evan Sandberg and Daniel Strelitz.

Day 2 of Event #59: $500 Salute to Warriors will see 672 players from a 4,478-entry field return to action. ODB Bonus player Nick Rigby sits second in chips, while fellow bonus players Michael Wilklow, Francis Anderson, Angela Jordison, Sean Yu, Christina Gollins, and Sandy Sanchez all remain.

For the 25K Fantasy contingent, Andreas Frohli (Team Lucky), Brandon Sheils (Team Stake Kings), Ari Engel (Team Lang Gang), and Craig Chait (Team Glaser) remain.

How to Follow the Action

Remember, PokerNews has been tracking $25K Fantasy players in our live updates and has even made it simple to follow the action by tagging all players with either a 25K Fantasy or ODB badge. That allows you to utilize our chip count filter option to follow only those players (just tick the 25K Fantasy or ODB 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.

Tags: Andreas FrohliAngela JordisonAri EngelBrandon SheilsChris HunichenChristina GollinsCraig ChaitDan SepiolDaniel StrelitzEvan SandbergFrancis AndersonFrederic NormandIan SteinmanJim CollopyJosh McCullyLang GangMalcolm TraynerMatt AffleckMatthew McEwanMichael GathyMichael WilklowNick PupilloNick RigbyRyan LaplanteSandy SanchezSean YuTJ ReidTeam BladesTeam Chocolate FactoryTeam DNegsTeam GlaserTeam Glue FactoryTeam Lang GangTeam LuckyTeam Stake KingsTeam TorchingTeam Trump PowerVictor ParedesZdenek Zizka