Editor
Competition is heating up in the WSOP 25K Fantasy League as the series approaches its midway point, with Viktor Blom moving to the top of the individual leaderboard and lifting his team along with him. That’s just one of several results that have shaken up the rankings since our last update.
Less than 100 points separates the top four teams, so it’s still anyone’s game. If the current standings are any indication, a single pay jump could be all that separates the ultimate winner from second-best.
Current Standings
Team Dinkers – In the span of a week, Team Dinkers has risen from third place to the top of the leaderboard, with 578 total team points accumulated according to the 25K Fantasty official scoring rules. They owe that success to Viktor Blom, currently the highest-yielding player in the draft. The Swedish online poker legend has three final tables already, most recently finishing second in the $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship this weekend. Although the bracelet went to Ian Johns, the runner-up spot was good for $188,295 for Blom. It also earned 91 points for Team Dinkers, which now has the two best players, as Blom passed team mate and former front-runner Benny Glaser.
Team Handsome Horses – The rise of this team has been led by Philip Sternheimer who got a huge 128 points when he won Event #36: $10,000 PLO 8 or Better to break his personal 13-year WSOP bracelet drought. The Brit also had a third place finish in the $10K Dealer’s Choice 6-Handed Championship earlier in the series. Chino Rheem and Chad Eveslage have also chipped in to this team with 97 and 84 points as they nip on the heels of first with 537 points.
Team BTG – A consistent presence in the top five so far, second place last week and third place this week with 487 points. This team can play all the types of poker games as mixed game masters Nick Guagenti and Adam Friedman anchor it while Isaac Haxton and Punnat Punsri bring the no-limit hold’em power to this team.
Team Negreanu – Daniel Negreanu’s team, which was selected under much fanfare in the $25K Fantasy Draft continues to do well with 479 points in fourth place. Kid Poker himself leads the team with 178 points thanks to three final tables. Tyler Brown has been an unsung hero with 104 points to pitch in to a team full of names such as Anthony Zinno and Mike Matusow.
The full standings have a logjam in the middle. At this juncture, no one is entirely out of it, including Team Noori, bringing up the rear with just 120 points so far.
Near Misses
The margins run very thin in this fantasy competition with the difference of one spot here and there could determine positioning and maybe even the ultimate winner.
The most obvious example of that so far was in the $10,000 Stud Championship. Guagenti won the bracelet and 126 points, defeating Rheem, who earned 91 points for second. Flip that around and you’d have a 35-point swing for each time. Under that hypothetical, Team Handsome Horses would now be in second with 572 and almost tied for the lead with Team Dinkers. Conversely, Team BTG would be sitting in fifth, rather than third.
While Team Dinkers is surely happy with their first place spot right now, their lead would be more comfortable had Blom been able to get through Johns for the Limit Hold’em Championship bracelet. If he had, their margin over the Handsome Horses would be nearly twice as wide, at 76 points.
