One hundred fifty-two players were auctioned off into 19 teams of eight during the 25KFantasy Draft for the 2024 World Series of Poker, held at the illustrious PokerGO Studio.

With a total prize pool of $475,000, the stakes are incredibly high for the participants. The payouts are structured to reward the top four teams substantially, with the first-place team taking home $225,000, followed by $125,000 for second place, $75,000 for third, and $50,000 for fourth.

The draft followed an auction format, where teams with a $200 allowance bid on players to form their ultimate rosters. The event was marked by intense bidding wars, with several players commanding high prices.

Negreanu, Deeb and Livingston Most Expensive Picks

Daniel Negreanu was the highest-priced player of the night. Reigning champions Team DPMC, made up of Donnie Peters & Matthew Clark, secured Negreanu for a staggering $132, making him the most expensive player in 25KFantasy Draft history.

"I swear to God, I was picking myself this year," said a stunned Negreanu, who's the second-highest point earner in the history of the league.

"My whole strategy was to get myself, Josh Arieh (TheCoffeeBreakers.com - $73), and Jeremy Becker (Team NGNF - $3) to fill it out." Negreanu told PokerNews after the Draft. "I had to go back to old school, Nick Schulman ($66), Chino Rheem ($40), Nacho Barbero ($53). We bought Erick Lindgren ($1) and David Williams ($3)."

Alex Livingston claimed the second-highest bid, joining Team Lang for $110. Shaun Deeb followed as the third-most expensive player, falling one place from last year. Ren Lin's Team Lady Gaga paid $104, more than half their budget, for the perennial WSOP Player of the Year (POY) contender on the very first sale of the night.

2024 $25K Fantasy Draft Ten Most Expensive Picks

All-Time Bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth also came with a hefty fee, costing $72, while poker icon Phil Ivey went to Dan Sepiol's Team for just $16.

2023 WSOP PoY Ian Matakis' price rallied to $22 and was Team Lang's second pick of the night. Last summer's Main Event winner and Team Lucky member Daniel Weinman nearly went for $2, but the bids eventually came flying in. Weinman remained in home colors after partners Deeb and Arieh spent $31 to keep his services.

Tice Gets Bragging Rights Over Becker

Alongside sweating the draft, many members of the poker community have a vested interest in a looming poker match-up between Landon Tice and the aforementioned Becker.

The duo have agreed to a 100% crossbook bet in at least 25 mutually played events over the summer where players such as Negreanu have action on the side.

A crossbook is a bet between players in the same tournament or cash game where "the player who loses owes the winner a percentage of that player��s net winnings (vs. the losing player��s net winnings) in the event," according to Upswing Poker.

If the Draft indicated how the duel would play out, it would see Tice enter the ring as the favorite. Tice was nominated by Team Wilson for $10, which got the job done. A few picks later, Becker's name was put forward for $1. Only two more bids followed, as Team NGNF (Jeff Platt, Brent Hanks, Ben Ludlow) snagged the budget buy for $3.

All 25KFantasy Draft Picks

That's a wrap for PokerNews' time at the 25KFantasy Draft, but it doesn't mark the end of our 25KFantasy Draft coverage.

We'll be on hand throughout all of the 2024 WSOP, keeping tabs on all the drafted players. Each player is highlighted with a unique 25KFantasy badge in our live updates and there are special filters which allow you to only see hands that feature 25KFantasy players.

In the meantime familiarise yourself with the rosters from the 19 participating teams.