Daniel Negreanu Wins $25K WSOP Fantasy League
Written by: Jonathan Rodriguez
Published: Tue Jul 21, 2026, 8:00 am ET
Read Time: 4 minutes
poker
Daniel Negreanu has finally broken the curse surrounding the $25K WSOP Fantasy League.
After 15 years of trying, the poker superstar led Team DNegs to victory in the 2026 competition. His team scored 1,337 points to finish well ahead of the 24-team field.
The victory also capped one of Negreanu's strongest summers at the World Series of Poker. He finished the Las Vegas series with a $1,693,518 profit and won his eighth career bracelet.
The result gives Negreanu a memorable double victory on and off the felt. It also gives fans of US online poker sites another reason to follow one of poker's biggest names.
Negreanu Finally Claims His First $25K Fantasy League Victory
The $25K Fantasy League has become one of the WSOP's most anticipated side competitions. Players and poker personalities draft professionals before the series begins.
Those selected players then earn points based on their tournament performances throughout the summer. The league has now run for 15 editions during WSOP events, excluding the 2020 series.
Negreanu has served as the competition's commissioner and participated as a fantasy owner. Despite his extensive WSOP knowledge, he had never finished first.
That long wait ended in 2026.
Team DNegs collected 1,337 points and won the top prize from a $600,000 prize pool. Negreanu officially earned $250,000, although his side bets reportedly increased his total winnings.
The victory became even more impressive because Ben Lamb skipped the 2026 WSOP. Lamb was part of Team DNegs but contributed zero points.
Negreanu's other selections delivered enough production to overcome that setback. Josh Arieh led the team with 356 points after an outstanding summer.
Arieh finished runner-up in both the $50,000 Poker Players Championship and the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship. Negreanu also added 294 points, including a bracelet win in the $100,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha event.
Nick Pupillo contributed 210 points, while Dong Chen added 150 points. Bryn Kenney also produced a strong 103-point total for the winning team.
Jason Koon and Eli Elezra added further value at inexpensive draft prices. Together, the roster gave Negreanu enough firepower to pull away from the competition.
This Year's $25K Fantasy League Was Packed
The 2026 league featured 24 teams, tying the record for the largest field. David Baker's Team Banana finished second with 1,069 points.
Wantman's Team Spitework finished only three points behind Baker. Sepiol's Team Glue Factory and Mike and Josh's Team Lang Gang completed the top five.
The competition also produced several standout individual performances. Naoya Kihara led every player with 510 points.
The Japanese star became the first player to surpass 500 points in the league's history. He also won two bracelets and recorded 18 cashes.
Baker drafted Kihara for just $1, making him the competition's biggest value pick. Alex Foxen and Sean Winter also delivered huge performances for their respective teams.
Top 3 Players in the 2026 $25K Fantasy League
Kihara's 510-point total stood 69 points above Foxen's score. Winter rounded out the top three after producing 404 points.
Rank
Player
Team
Score
Salary
Cashes
Pts/$
1
Naoya Kihara
Team Banana
510
$1.00
18
510
2
Alex Foxen
Team Lady Gaga
441
$79.00
14
5.58
3
Sean Winter
Team Glaser
404
$13.00
9
31.08
2026 $25K Fantasy League Results
Team DNegs won by 268 points over Team Banana. That margin highlighted the strength of Negreanu's roster across the entire WSOP schedule.
Rank
Team
Score
1
Team DNegs / Daniel Negreanu
1,337
2
Team Banana / David Baker
1,069
3
Team Spitework / Wantman
1,066
4
Team Glue Factory / Sepiol
1,013
5
Team Lang Gang / Mike + Josh
1,000
Daniel Negreanu's 2026 WSOP Campaign
Negreanu's fantasy triumph capped a remarkable personal campaign in Las Vegas.
The poker legend finished the 2026 WSOP with a profit of $1,693,518. He also captured his eighth gold bracelet during the summer.
Negreanu won the $100,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha event. His result added 125 fantasy points to his team's total.
He also recorded 15 other cashes during the series. That performance helped validate his decision to draft himself.
Negreanu had previously described himself as a dependable fantasy pick before the series began. His results ultimately backed up that confidence.
After his final bustout of the summer, Negreanu hinted that more developments could follow. He teased fans while walking away from the tournament venue.
"I got a lot going on. I can't tell you some stuff, but it's really cool," he said. "Yeah, can't tell you everything!"
The mystery adds another intriguing note to an already spectacular summer. Negreanu now heads into the offseason with a bracelet, a major profit, and his long-awaited fantasy championship.
After 15 years of waiting, the $25K Fantasy League finally belongs to Daniel Negreanu.
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Jonathan Rodriguez
Jonathan is an avid basketball fan, and is often looking forward to the next upcoming NBA season when not checking players' stats during games. He also likes to keep his ears on the ground for the latest rumblings in the online casino industry.
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