Teams Selected for Negreanu $25K WSOP Fantasy Draft
Among the 88 players eventually selected, Phil Ivey proved the most expensive player with Brian Hastings spending nearly half of his allotted units -- 99 -- on the eight-time bracelet winner. Recall that last year Barry Greenstein spent 108 of his 200 units on Ivey only to discover a couple of days later Ivey would not be playing in any events at last year's WSOP.
The 2012 World Series of Poker is officially underway, with the first event (the $500 Casino Employees NLHE event) kicking off yesterday, and the first open event (a $1,500 NLHE event) starting today. On Saturday, Daniel Negreanu helped add to the excitement of the WSOP starting by hosting the draft for his second annual $25,000 WSOP Fantasy League.
This year's draft attracted 11 different teams, creating a total prize pool of $275,000. According to the payout schedule, the winning team will earn 65% of the loot ($178,750), the runner-up 25% ($68,750), and the third-place finisher 15% ($41,250). Last year the team drafted by Jason Somerville and Jason Mercier proved victorious, thanks in large part to their having selected Ben Lamb and Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier.
This year's draft was held at the Aria Hotel and Casino. Each of the 11 teams picked eight players following an auction format, bidding on players with the 200 betting units allotted to each team. Here's a sheet detailing all of the rules of the draft and payouts.
Teams this year included (1) Josh Arieh/David Bach, (2) Todd Brunson/Frank Kassela, (3) Brian Hastings, (4) Eugene Katchalov, (5) Cary Katz, (6) Bryn Kenney, (7) Jason Mercier, (8) Robert Mizrachi, (9) Sorel Mizzi, (10) Daniel Negreanu, and (11) Dan Shak/Justin Smith.
Among the 88 players eventually selected, Phil Ivey proved the most expensive player with Hastings spending nearly half of his allotted units -- 99 -- on the eight-time bracelet winner. Recall that last year Barry Greenstein spent 108 of his 200 units on Ivey only to discover a couple of days later Ivey would not be playing in any events at last year's WSOP.
Other players costing owners a lot of units included Katchalov, Negreanu, and Mercier, each of whom cost 83 betting units. Negreanu drafted himself and Katchalov, while Mercier also picked himself for his team. Meanwhile, 2011 WSOP Player of the Year Lamb went for a comparatively bargain price of 35 betting units (drafted by Brunson).
Among the players going for the minimum price of a single betting unit were WSOP bracelet holders Dario Alioto (taken by Brunson/Kassela), Gavin Smith (taken by Katz), and Brock Parker (taken by Mizrachi). Viktor "Isildur1" Blom", who will be playing in his first WSOP this summer, also went for the minimum, grabbed by Negreanu.
Here's a full listing of the rosters for all 11 teams, compiled by the crew at QuadJacks. For more about fantasy leagues in general and Negreanu's $25K WSOP league, see "WSOP Fantasy Leagues Add Interest, Excitement."
Prices quoted in copy are correct at time of publication but liable to change.
