Team Verderamo Seizes the $25K Fantasy Lead on Schulman's 178-Point Lock

At 7:08 AM Las Vegas time, Team Verderamo (Nick + Jake) jumped 21.2 points to seize the 25kfantasy.com lead from Team Lang (Mike + Josh) — and the two players responsible couldn't be more different.

Nick Schulman, the mixed-game specialist, locked 178 points in Event #37, the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E., with only two players left to pass him. Phil Ivey, still very much alive in Event #38, the $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship 7-Handed, has locked just 11 so far — but 14 players remain, and his ceiling sits at 126.

One score is nearly finished. The other is barely started. Together they flipped the entire contest.

Nick Schulman locked 178 of a possible 208 points in the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. — and his score might not even be the bigger story on Team Verderamo's roster.

The Schulman Lock: 178 of 208

Schulman's H.O.R.S.E. run is the engine behind the lead change. At 178 locked with only two players remaining who could add to his total, he's sitting at 85.6% of ceiling — the kind of return that wins fantasy weeks by itself.

For context, Verderamo's total score moved from 19.8 to 41 overnight. That 21.2-point surge is almost entirely Schulman's doing. The math is clean: a single deep run in a mixed-game event with a modest field delivered more fantasy value than most rosters accumulate all week from scattered min-cashes.

If you rostered Schulman, you're feeling pretty good about your mixed-game read right now.

The Ivey Sweat: 11 Locked, 126 Ceiling

Here's where it gets interesting for anyone chasing Team Verderamo.

Ivey has locked only 11 points in the $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship, but 14 players remain. His ceiling is 126 — meaning if he runs it deep, Team Verderamo could tack on another 100+ points before the event closes.

That's an absurd amount of upside still sitting on the board. Schulman's score is essentially baked. Ivey's is a live grenade. If he busts next, those 11 points are fine but unremarkable. If he reaches the final table of a $10K championship, Team Verderamo doesn't just hold the lead — they could blow the contest open.

The variance profile is exactly what you want in a fantasy portfolio: one locked, high-floor asset (Schulman at 178) paired with one low-floor, massive-ceiling sweat (Ivey at 11 locked, 126 ceiling). The Verderamo builders knew what they were doing.

Team Lang's Drop

Meanwhile, Team Lang (Mike + Josh) fell from 41.3 to 32.6 — an 8.7-point slide that, combined with Verderamo's surge, produced a 29.9-point swing in relative positioning.

Lang dropped from first to second. No catastrophic bust caused it. Their roster simply didn't have a locking event overnight while Verderamo's did. That's the cruelty of the format: you can lose the lead without anyone on your team doing anything wrong.

What to Watch

The $10K Limit Hold'em Championship is the only live sweat that matters for the contest lead right now. Fourteen players remain. Every elimination moves Ivey's locked score higher — or ends his run entirely.

If Ivey finishes mid-pack among the remaining 14, Verderamo probably holds first but stays catchable. If he makes the final three, the gap could become prohibitive.

Schulman's 178 is already one of the biggest single-event locks of the contest. The question is whether Ivey turns a good fantasy week into a dominant one.