Poker Writer
Team BTG still leads the 25K WSOP Fantasy race and will look to seal the deal with two players still alive in the Main Event. With the money bubble now burst, Isaac Haxton and Stephen Chidwick both have top-100 stacks and, if they stay there, will all but guarantee Team BTG the win.
With only a few events still remaining, the Main Event takes center stage as the focus for points, as there are still a few players left who can make very deep runs to give their team a massive chunk of points. The standings remain relatively unchanged from the last update a week ago.
Fourteen drafted players remain in the Main Event, out of the 522 who have made it through to Day 5. There were 9,735 players in the field when the event began.
Each of the surviving fantasy players has already locked up at least three more fantasy points for their team. Because of the $10K buy-in and the 9,735-player field, a Main Event win would be worth 272 points, while making the final table would be worth at least 127 points.
An additional 16 drafted players made the money but busted out later on Day 4, contributing three points to their teams but nothing more.
Ninety-Nine is the Magic Number for Fantasy Teams
Although a Main Event final table is good, the most significant moment as far as fantasy points are concerned will come much earlier. The biggest points jump will come when the 100th-place player busts. At that point, every player left in the event will collect an additional 97 points thanks to the field-size bonus in the league’s scoring rules. That alone could be enough for second-place Team Lady Gaga to overtake BTG.
The points don’t go up again after that until 18th place. Even that’s only worth an additional 12 points. From there, the points go up with every elimination, but it isn’t until 4th place that a player will have accumulated as many points that way as they did for surviving the 100-player bubble.
This year’s Fantasy winner could easily come down to the team with the most players surviving in the Main Event’s final 99.
Fantasy Players Still in the Main Event
Here are the fantasy-drafted players who are left, their teams, and their position in the tournament going into Day 5.
| Player | Player Position in ME | Team | Team Position | Team Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nick Pupillo | 11 | Girl Dads | 15 | 569 |
| Josh Reichard | 16 | Lang | 18 | 514 |
| Adam Hendrix | 29 | Lady Gaga | 2 | 945 |
| Stephen Chidwick | 67 | BTG | 1 | 1,019 |
| Isaac Haxton | 69 | BTG | 1 | 1,019 |
| Maksim Pisarenko | 101 | Noori | 23 | 364 |
| Brian Hastings | 129 | AJ's Eagles | 9 | 700 |
| Viktor Blom | 137 | Dinkers | 4 | 815 |
| Esther Taylor | 142 | Survivor Sweat | 6 | 745 |
| Dong Chen | 225 | Lady Gaga | 2 | 945 |
| Klemens Roiter | 274 | Liaison | 10 | 675 |
| Jon Kyte | 362 | Glue Factory | 19 | 490 |
| Brad Owen | 394 | Lang | 18 | 514 |
| Justin Liberto | 414 | AJ's Eagles | 9 | 700 |
Only ten of 24 teams have players left alive in the tournament, but seven of those are teams in the top 10 of the Fantasy race. It might almost be time to count Handsome Horses and Phenom out, as despite being the top five, they won’t be scoring any more points from the Main Event.
Four teams have two horses in the running, and among those are Team BTG and Team Lady Gaga. If Hendix, Chidwick, Haxton, and Chen can all make the final 99, the ultimate victor will almost certainly be one of those two teams.
Current Standings
With the Main Event situation in mind, here’s how the 25K Fantasy looks at the moment.
Team BTG – 1,019 points
- Stephen Chidwick (97 BB, 67th)
- Isaac Haxton (96 BB, 69th)
Team BTG is in a very advantageous spot. It enjoys a 74-point lead in the current standings and is the only team with two players among the 100 deepest chip stacks heading into Day 5 of the Main Event. Haxton and Chidwick have near-identical stacks, just under 100 BB. Both have been pulling their weight for the team this year, with 176 and 95 points respectively.
If both can make the final 99, then Team Lady Gaga can only hope to make up any ground at the final table or in other events.
Team Lady Gaga – 945 points
- Adam Hendrix (128 BB, 29th)
- Dong Chen (52 BB, 225th)
Lady Gaga is the only team close enough to BTG to overtake it with one deep run in the Main Event, and it’s got two chances to do that. Adam Hendrix holds one of the deepest stacks entering Day 5. He’s in a great position to make the final 99, but would likely need to go all the way to the final table to put his team ahead single-handedly.
Dong Chen is also still alive, however. If he and Hendrix both make the final 99, and Haxton or Chidwick busts, then that provides another route to the top for Lady Gaga.
Team Handsome Horses – 827 points
Handsome Horses have been in the race throughout the series thanks to Philip Sterheimer and Chino Rheem. However, with only three points coming from the Main (thanks to a Chris Hunichen min-cash), they’re now out of it, barring a miracle run in other final-week events.
Team Dinkers – 815 points
- Viktor Blom (73 BB, 137th)
Viktor Blom gives Team Dinkers a longshot chance to snag victory, but he might have to win the Main Event to do it. He has been the one to carry his team so far this WSOP, contributing 306 of Dinkers’ 815 points.
An outright win by Blom would put Dinkers at 1,087 points. That would be enough to beat Team BTG if only one of Haxton or Chidwick makes the final 99. If both do, then even a win would mean Dinkers needs help from the rest of its stable.
