The 2026 WSOP Dream Draft will take place on May 25th. Will Phil Ivey once again become an underrated "leak" pick? Daniel Negreanu shares his draft advice and names potential stars like Alex Foxen and Huck Seed.
The annual $25,000 WSOP Dream Draft will be held May 25 Held in Las Vegas, the World Series of Poker 2026 will follow immediately.
Poker fans around the world will use the bids from this draft to build their dream teams. For those who can't afford the $25,000 buy-in, there are other WSOP drafts with lower buy-ins, including the annual $500 ODBFantasy run by David "ODB" Baker.
Once the $25,000 Dream Draft bid is finalized, ODB players and other league participants begin assembling their eight-man rosters. Teams must draft wisely and maximize the value of each pick, as they can only build a roster with a $200 budget based on the $25,000 league bid. Each year, a dozen or so players offer exceptional value, some worth as little as $1, while others consume more than half of a team's bidding budget.
This year, a poker legend could be a highly valuable "early bird" candidate. His name is Phil Ivey. Yes, he remains one of the top players in the game, 26 years after the greatest player of all time (GOAT) won his first of 11 WSOP gold bracelets.
Ivey was valued at $95 in last year's 2025 Dream Draft, and his value this year is likely to be similar. Therefore, you can't expect to get him for a very low price. However, he has been a worthwhile investment for the past few years, and he's on the verge of potentially becoming a Player of the Year in the summer tournaments.
Who are the other potential top talents in the WSOP Dream Draft?
Many regulars will demand high bids and will perform well this summer. These include players such as Shaun Deeb, Daniel Negreanu, Benny Glaser, and Jeremy Ausmus.
Deeb has gotten off to a good start on his quest to defend his WSOP Player of the Year title – he finished as runner-up twice at the WSOP Europe, though these results won't count towards the $25,000 Dream Draft. He'll be playing in almost every bracelet event he can this busy summer, as he is with Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, and several other players.
However, winning a fantasy league isn't always about being the highest bidder among the world's top players; it's more about finding undervalued players. Last year's $25,000 fantasy draft champions, Team BTG, didn't have a single player on their roster bid over $38. Instead, they found value in players like Dylan Linde ($36), Isaac Haxton ($6), and Nick Guagenti ($38).
Only one player on their roster—Owais Ahmed—contributed very few points to the team. In 2024, the champion Team The Dinkers won in a similar way, avoiding the most expensive players and instead seeking out underrated talents like John Racener and Robert Mizrachi.
Many players have performed well for the 2026 WSOP and could be "sneak berths" for this year's Dream Draft, including Nicky Palma, Brock Wilson, and Chino Rheem.
Daniel Negreanu provides dream draft advice
Negreanu will again be selling a portion of his WSOP stake on PokerStake and will be recording daily video blogs during the 2026 WSOP. He recently posted a video on his YouTube channel sharing his WSOP dream draft "best bets." He categorized the players into several levels based on last year's bidding prices. Alex Foxen, who was valued at $66 last year, was selected by "DNegs" as an underrated Level 5 player.
"I don't think Alex Foxen is a Level 5 player," Negreanu said. "He plays PLO now, and he also plays No-Limit Texas Hold'em. He's very strong, a tenacious, hard-working grinder."
Negreanu advises Fantasy League players looking for value in low-priced drafts to contact the players before drafting to ensure they'll actually play enough tournaments. He drafted two players valued at $3 or less last year—David Williams and Erick Lindgren—but didn't get many points from them. As a result, the GGPoker ambassador ranked 16th out of 19 teams in the $25,000 Fantasy Draft. So, who does he think will be a strong contender this year among last year's $1-valued players?
"You know, I should keep quiet about this. But if Huck Seed were to come back to compete, he's a great razz player, a great stud player, a great stud-8 or-better player. So, if Huck were to compete, he'd be a $70 or $80 player."
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