WSOP Fantasy Draft | Daniel Negreanu wins the championship, leading his team to victory in the 2026 $25K Fantasy Draft tournament.

One of the most anticipated off-course competitions during the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) – the $25,000 Fantasy Draft – has officially concluded, with poker legend Daniel Negreanu leading Team DNegs to victory, defeating several star teams composed of world-class players.

This year's Fantasy Draft featured many top professional players, including poker stars such as Phil Hellmuth, Faraz Jaka, Fedor Holz, and Doug Polk. Teams accumulated points based on their players' performance during the WSOP, with Team DNegs ultimately topping the leaderboard based on their overall performance.

Team DNegs secured the victory thanks to their main event depth.

The core rule of Fantasy Draft is that a team's performance in the WSOP bracelet events will be converted into points.

Daniel Negreanu's Team DNegs remained competitive throughout the series, with the ultimate key coming from Mikita Badziakouski's deep breakthrough in the WSOP Main Event.

Badziakouski advanced all the way to 16th place in the 2026 WSOP Main Event (Event #82), bringing a lot of points to Team DNegs and becoming one of the team's most important sources of points.

In addition to their main event results, other team members also achieved prize money results in multiple bracelet events and major tournaments, helping Negreanu overtake their competitors in the final stages.

Daniel Negreanu wins Fantasy Draft.

Negreanu has been a key participant in the WSOP Fantasy Draft for many years.

As a six-time WSOP bracelet winner and a member of the Poker Hall of Fame, Negreanu is not only a participant but also a key promoter of the Fantasy Draft culture.

This $25,000 buy-in private competition, which combines draft strategy, team management, and live tournament performance analysis, has become a popular feature of the WSOP.

This victory proves that Negreanu is not only competitive at the poker table, but also has top-notch judgment in player evaluation and team configuration.

Multiple star teams compete for the championship

This year's Fantasy Draft has attracted many heavyweight figures in the poker world to form teams and participate.

These include:

• Daniel Negreanu (Team DNegs)

• Phil Hellmuth

• Faraz Jaka

• Fedor Holz

• Doug Polk

Each team selects its players to form a roster and earns points based on their actual performance during the WSOP.

Since a deep main event record can yield a large number of points, many teams are focusing on top professional players with the ability to compete in long tournaments.

Mikita Badziakouski's 16th place finish in the main event proved crucial.

The 2026 WSOP Main Event is a key battleground for this year's Fantasy Draft.

Mikita Badziakouski represented Team DNegs in the main event and ultimately finished 16th out of more than 8,000 participants.

This impressive performance not only brought Badziakouski a large prize but also became a crucial source of points for Team DNegs' eventual championship victory.

As the biggest event of the year in the WSOP, the main event's long duration and massive number of participants mean that any deep advancement can potentially change the Fantasy Draft rankings.

WSOP Fantasy Draft becomes an alternative competition for star players.

In recent years, WSOP Fantasy Draft has gradually become an important form of entertainment during the series.

Unlike regular poker tournaments, Fantasy Draft tests a player's understanding of the overall tournament environment:

• Which players are suited for long tournaments?

• Which players have the potential to perform exceptionally well in high-stakes tournaments?

• Which newcomers might become dark horses?

This makes Fantasy Draft not only a fun competition among friends, but also a platform for top professional players to showcase their analytical skills.

The 2026 WSOP Main Event Championship Match is about to begin.

With the WSOP Summer Bracelet event drawing to a close, the focus of the year has officially shifted to the final nine-player table of the Main Event.

The 2026 WSOP Main Event Final Table will return to Las Vegas on August 3, where nine players will compete for:

• WSOP Main Event Champion Title

• The world's highest honor in poker: a gold bracelet

• $10,000,000 champion prize

In addition to the main event, Daniel Negreanu added another honor to his 2026 WSOP journey by winning the Fantasy Draft title.

From table competition to player management, this "off-table war" among top poker players ultimately ended with Team DNegs emerging victorious.

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