UPDATE: The 2026 PokerOrg Fantasy Freeroll draft is live... Pick your 8-player team now!
David ‘ODB’ Baker knows his way around the WSOP.
He’s already won four bracelets – the latest in 2025, when he won the $5K Seniors High Roller for $646,845.
He’s after more this summer and looking to join elite company. Only 21 players have won exactly five bracelets. Only 26 others have more than that.
Baker is the very definition of a WSOP player. 13 of his top 20 cashes have come at the WSOP in Las Vegas, including four of his top five scores.
But, even though he’s closing in on $10 million in career earnings, Baker has put a lot more into the WSOP than he’s taken out.
Where the real summer sweat begins
For the past 11 years, he’s been running his ODB Fantasy league as a labor of love – and it’s been growing in popularity every year, with many people telling him it's their favorite part of the summer.
He got 873 entries last year. Is this the year it tops 1,000?
“Every year I try to temper expectations because eventually it has to drop,” Baker tells us. “But we haven't come close to a down year yet, and it feels like more and more people are excited about fantasy and sweating a team.”
Baker thinks the new Player of the Year format, with a $1 million total prize pool, will push more players to grind even harder this summer – creating new team-building dynamics for fantasy players and even more of a sweat through the series.
“I think fantasy goes hand in hand with building excitement around the whole festival,” he says.
Why fantasy makes the WSOP more fun
Baker says the whole thing grew out of his own love for the game.
“I'm a fanboy. The ODB Fantasy league came about because I am a fanboy. This all started because a bunch of us actually love the game and the sweat.”
If you already play fantasy, you won’t need convincing.
If you’re not playing this summer, it gives you a reason to follow every tournament. If you are, it adds extra sweats – even in events your bankroll might not stretch to, like the $250K Super High Roller.
And with free daily streams throughout the 2026 WSOP, there’s never been a better time to sweat the action.
It all starts where the big boys play – the $25K Fantasy Draft on Monday. That’s where all the player prices get set and the gambling starts.
“The $25K is basically a bunch of degenerates who have big egos,” Baker says. And he includes himself in this group – his team finished seventh last year, with just five places paying. But, he tells us, he managed to turn a profit with side bets.
“A bunch of degenerates with big egos makes for fun prop sweats,” he says.
Where poker egos meet fantasy value
It also makes for fascinating viewing as players discover what their peers think their game is worth – if anything. Every year there are plenty of players who would kill to be drafted for $1.
At the other end, it’s the hallowed ground above $100, which marks out the real elite – but there’s only so much budget to go around.
Just six players went for a three-figure sum in 2025, including Daniel Negreanu and Nick Schulman. Shaun Deeb was the highest points scorer and ‘only’ went for $99.
Baker is certain that Deeb is going to be the most sought-after player in 2026. And the most expensive pick? “I don't even think it'll be close,” Baker says. “I think he’ll be $20 clear of the next person.”
Jeremy Ausmus was the most expensive draft pick last year. Will Deeb go for more than that?
“Yeah, I'll take over that," Baker says, "although one of the teams that believes in getting the number one player and building around that won’t be playing this year, so he might go for less. But, with so many $1 to $5 players playing full schedules, I think the high-end players should hold more value just because you can still easily fill out a nice complete roster.”
Full schedule, full confidence
Michael Moncek was the most expensive player on Baker’s team last year at $89, but despite a number of near misses, he didn’t deliver the points.
“He's a great pick,” Baker says. “It's definitely advantageous to have people that are more worried about their win percentage rather than their actual ROI. He’s willing to put in five or 10 bullets in a no-limit tournament, so his win equity is going to be higher, even though his ROI might be worse.”
Baker himself is set for a full schedule.
“This is what gets the juices flowing," he says, "and I'm a highly competitive person.”
That competitiveness extends to his draft price, too.
“I'm not going to let myself go cheaper than I think I deserve," he says. "I'm not going to let anybody steal me, but I don't set out every year with a mission to draft myself.
“I know my worth.”
Want to play WSOP Fantasy this summer? Here’s what you need to know:
- It all starts with the 25K Fantasy, where Daniel Negreanu and friends bid on players in a live draft. The auction sets player prices for the summer, with each team working with a $200 budget. The draft airs live on PokerGO on Monday, May 25, at 4:30pm PT.
- Shortly after the auction ends, the ODB Fantasy draft opens. You get the same $200 budget and can draft from the same player pool. To enter a team, contact David Baker at ODBFantasyDraft@gmail.com or through his X account. Entry costs $500, with the option to add a bonus ninth player for $25. The deadline to submit your team is 1pm PT on May 27.
- If that’s too rich for your blood, the PokerOrg Fantasy Freeroll is completely free to play. It uses the same format as the ODB league – minus the bonus player – and the draft opens at 4am PT on May 26. The deadline for entries is 1pm PT on May 28. If you’re already playing ODB Fantasy, you can enter the same eight-player roster in our Fantasy Freeroll for an extra shot at some big prizes.
