We’ve breached the two-week mark at the World Series of Poker, and have already seen players enjoying huge paydays — including one with a $1M bonus — some eye-watering bounty pulls, and even the first two-time winner of the series after Benny Glaser went back-to-back in the $1,500 Dealers Choice and $1,500 Mixed Omaha events.
We’re also coming up for two weeks of action in the PokerOrg Fantasy Freeroll (reminder: the first couple of events didn’t count). Everyone taking part had to assemble a crew of players using a fictional budget of $200, with players costing different amounts as determined at Daniel Negreanu’s $25K Fantasy Draft.
So, a few weeks in, which players have already proven to be worth it, and who’s still to make their move?
To find out, let’s take a look at the only things that matter: the numbers!
Please note that all details are correct at the time of writing.
The top scoring players
With two WSOP bracelets accumulated already, it should come as no surprise that Benny Glaser (below) is top of the player leaderboard when it comes to picking up the points. The Englishman has won 167 points so far, rewarding those who splashed out on a player who, at $99, was something of a luxury addition to any squad.
Going for a fraction of that price, just $9, was Scott Bohlman, who not only picked up a win in the $2,000 NLH event last week, but has four other cashes so far including a final table in the $1,500 Dealers Choice.
Another man with a win and an FT under his belt in the first few weeks of the series is Ryan Hoenig, winner of the $10,000 Dealers Choice and third in the $1,500 Big O. Together with Artur Martirosian, Ben Lamb and Daniel Negreanu, these six players are the only ones to have crossed the 100-point mark at the time of writing.
Here are the top 10 points scorers:
| Player | Price | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Benny Glaser | $99 | 167 |
| Scott Bohlman | $9 | 133 |
| Ryan Hoenig | $52 | 128 |
| Artur Martirosian | $28 | 126 |
| Ben Lamb | $15 | 114 |
| Daniel Negreanu | $108 | 103 |
| Patrick Leonard | $30 | 98 |
| Dylan Smith | $64 | 95 |
| Philip Sternheimer | $21 | 95 |
| Adam Friedman | $18 | 92 |
Good value
With $200 to spend in building a team, and eight player slots to fill on a roster, the average cost for a player is $25. Many went for far above that — Jeremy Ausmus was the costliest at $141 — while 38 players were available for just $1.
But which have been some of the best investments for under the $25 average?
A look at the top 10 above shows four players who have been racking up major points while costing under the average, and they are Scott Bohlman, Ben Lamb, Philip Sternheimer and Adam Friedman.
Lamb’s points come from two cashes in the WSOP so far, but one was as a runner-up ($25K NLH/PLO) and the other was for a deep run to 9th in the $10K O8. Both big buy-in events, which offer a nice multiplier.
Sternheimer has also been doing well in the big ticket events, with four of his five cashes coming in tournaments with a buy-in of $10,000 or more. Friedman’s also cashed in two $10K events, and made the final table both times.
Of the remaining players in our top 10 sub-$25 list, notable mentions must go to Xixiang Luo and Jared Bleznick, who both went for under $10 but have been bringing the heat. If they keep this up, there’s no way they’ll keep their bargain price tags next year.
Here's our top 10 of players under $25:
| Player | Price | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Scott Bohlman | $9 | 133 |
| Ben Lamb | $15 | 114 |
| Philip Sternheimer | $21 | 95 |
| Adam Friedman | $18 | 92 |
| Xixiang Luo | $5 | 89 |
| Viktor Blom | $22 | 87 |
| Christian Roberts | $15 | 86 |
| Jared Bleznick | $6 | 83 |
| Paul Volpe | $14 | 71 |
| Matt Vengrin | $9 | 63 |
Great value
Now let’s turn our attention to the best value-for-money to be found in the PokerOrg Fantasy Freeroll.
As we explored prior to the series kicking off, dividing a player’s points tally by their cost is a great way of evaluating their return on investment, and below you'll find some of the best bargains.
These players go for very low prices, meaning they’re a great way to add points to your team without breaking the bank. Top of our list at the moment is Quan Zhou (above), who cost just $1 but has brought home 53 points for a ROI of 53 points per dollar (53/$). Zhou has four cashes so far, the biggest being for his run to the final table in the $2,000 NLH event, where he came fourth.
Next on the list is a familiar face in 2009 WSOP Main Event champion Joe Cada, who also went for just $1 yet has racked up 48 points for 48/$. And Cada’s not the only former world champ on the list, as 1996 Main Event winner Huck Seed is also up there with 23/$.
Here are our top 10 ROI champs:
| Player | Points per $1 |
|---|---|
| Quan Zhou | 53 |
| Joe Cada | 48 |
| Noel Rodriguez | 46 |
| Jon Turner | 32 |
| Huck Seed | 23 |
| Xixiang Luo | 17.8 |
| Scott Bohlman | 14.7 |
| Andrew Brown | 13 |
| Mike Matusow | 12 |
| Danny Wong | 9 |
Great potential
Our last stop on our tour through the field of fantasy players is one where the potential upside is huge, but for now remains just that: potential.
These are players who went for big prices, over $40, but who so far have yet to score a point.
Scott Seiver cost a whopping $125, and for good reason: last year’s WSOP Player of the Year won three bracelets in 2024, but is still waiting to make a splash this summer. Likewise Phil Ivey, a perennial fan favorite who went for $95 but hasn’t cashed as of yet.
John Racener is another player who, at $54, was expected to do big things — especially after his 2024 WSOP when he won a bracelet and made four other final tables. Like Racener, Jason Mercier is also still without a cash at this year’s WSOP, but has the reputation and ability to command a high price of $41.
It goes without saying that it remains early days in this year’s series, and any one of the above could leap up the leaderboard in a matter of days.
The tale of the teams
So, that’s how the players are doing, but what about the teams in the PokerOrg Fantasy Freeroll?
At time of writing the top spot has been claimed by Team Schutten1, the first to break 500 points with a total of 509. It’s perhaps no surprise that, of the top scoring players listed at the top of this article, team Shutten1 has three of the top 10 with Benny Glaser, Scott Bohlman and Patrick Leonard on the roster, as well as Paul Volpe from the under-$25 list and Mike Matusow from the ROI Champs.
Hot on the heels of Team Schutten1 with 495 points is Team 2CardsChards — which just happens to be owned by PokerOrg’s own Sarah Herring. Sarah’s also picked three of the top major point winners in Benny Glaser, Ben Lamb and Adam Friedman, with Jared Bleznick and Mustapha Kanit (below) adding in some vital points too.
Rounding out the top 3 is Team Pinchop73 on 470 points which is also powered by, you guessed it, top scoring player Benny Glaser, but with more of a wider distribution of points across the squad. Patrick Leonard and Viktor Blom are two of the big names chipping in the points, but a sound selection of more mid-priced players is also contributing, with Dan Sepiol, Dan Zack and Ian Matakis all doing good numbers.
At the other end of the table, there are 120 teams yet to break the 50-point mark, but no one is on zero. And with more than a month of poker yet to play, anything can happen!
To follow the ups and downs of all the players in the $25K Fantasy, ODB League and PokerOrg Fantasy Freeroll, bookmark our feature story which is being updated all day and every day throughout the 2025 WSOP.
