Fantasy studs and duds midway through the WSOP

Posted on: June 19, 2026 17:34 PDT

We’re over halfway through the 100 events in the 2026 World Series of Poker, and the front-runners have emerged for the WSOP Player of the Year award.

But there are some other players who have established themselves as certified fantasy studs for the summer.

Some of the best in the game have found another gear to push their respective teams toward the top, while some value picks have earned themselves a bigger bid next summer thanks to a crazy fantasy return.

But with the good comes the bad, and even the best can have a rough summer, costing not only themselves, but those fantasy owners who staked their summer on the backs of these struggling superstars.

So, without further ado, here’s a look at our fantasy studs and duds midway through the 2026 World Series of Poker.

Studs:

Naoya Kihara - 259 pts / $1

To win a 25K Fantasy / ODB Fantasy / PokerOrg Fantasy Freeroll or any summer poker pool, getting the most out of your value players is a must, and hitting the jackpot with a Player of the Year contender for $1 will undeniably give you a shot at victory.

This summer’s $1 darling is double bracelet winner, Naoya Kihara.

A pair of 126-point scores for winning the $10K NL 2-7 Single Draw Championship and the $10K Seven Card Stud Championship have highlighted a summer with eight total cashes.

His point per dollar total of 259 is far and away the best of any draft pick this summer.

Naoya Kihara's two bracelets definitely earn him fantasy 'stud' status.

Martin Zamani - 254 pts / $3

A player who can grab you a big field bonus is also key to having a successful fantasy squad. Martin Zamani did that for his owners in the $1,500 Monster Stack with a 36th-place finish out of over 11,000 entries.

That earned his owners a nice 101 points, but beyond that, Zamani’s fourth-place runs in the $10K PLO 8 or Better Championship and the $10K Super Turbo Bounty earned them another 127 points.

Zamani is the fourth-highest scoring player in 25K Fantasy, and another absolute steal for $3.

Martin Zamani is a surprise fantasy leader.

Alex Foxen - 361 pts / $79

Besides successful value picks and a field bonus or two, you need your big boys to perform as well. The biggest of them all, Alex Foxen, has performed his way to the best overall fantasy score so far and a sizeable lead in the WSOP Player of the Year race.

A win in the $10K Super Turbo Bounty, along with three other final tables and a semi-final finish in the $25K Heads-Up, has led Foxen to 89 more fantasy points than his closest competition, Nick Schulman.

For his auction price of $79, he was also one of the more affordable marquee names, going for the 14th-highest price tag, which has proven to be a tremendous value for a high-end talent.

Alex Foxen leads the WSOP POY race and all fantasy players in points.

Honorable mentions:

Nick Schulman - 272 pts / $89
Chris Brewer - 212 pts / $61
Dong Chen - 131 pts / $4
Matthew Beinner - 117 pts / $1
Allen Kessler - 88 pts / $2

Duds:

Nacho Barbero - 0 pts / $43

A big fat zero on your scorecard, let alone from a big-name talent, isn’t going to lend itself to any bottle-popping fantasy celebrations at the end of summer.

Nacho Barbero’s struggles have seen him without a single trip to the payout window in the first three-plus weeks of the series.

Other draftees haven’t earned a cash this summer yet either, but Barbero came with the highest price tag of them at $43, so he headlines this dubious list of disappointment.

Nacho Barbero is Bagel Barbero so far this summer with 0 fantasy points.

Brian Rast - 19 pts / $97

It hurts to have to put a Poker Hall of Famer on the list, but with the fifth-highest auction price of $97 and just 19 fantasy points to show for it, we don’t think Brian Rast would disagree with his place on this list.

Rast does have six cashes so far in the series, but only his 14th-place finish in the $25K NLH High Roller has been worth more than a point or two.

The fact that Rast has made the money half a dozen times can be encouraging for fantasy owners, though, because with the credentials and talent that Rast has, a deeper run seems to be inevitable.

Brian Rast has six cashes, but nothing memorable so far.

Joao Vieira - 21 pts / $101

Another big talent with a big price tag and little to show for it is Portuguese star Joao Vieira.

The three-time WSOP bracelet winner hasn’t come within two tables of another bracelet so far this summer, with an 18th-place finish in the $5,000 PLO event his best result among four cashes so far.

His fantasy owners will need him to crank things up in the second half of the summer to justify his steep $101 evaluation.