Our 2026 Fantasy Gaming league continues with shocks and surprises as we hit the mid-year stretch! This lean-but-mean episode includes a league check-in, score updates, and the first of two waiver wire drafts. Listen for sass, “friendly” competition, and a side rant about a popular game that makes Kei irrationally angry.
MP3 Download | Spotify | Apple Podcasts
Timestamps
- 0:00 – Intros: Best Remakes
- 5:04 – Mid-Year League Standings
- 30:05 – Waiver Wire Picks
- 47:11 – Outros: What We’re Playing, Watching, and Reading
- 57:08 – Dedication: In Memory of Bailey, a Very Good Dog
Credits and Notes
- Podcast Co-Hosts: David Silbert, Sam Martinelli, Amanda Tien
- Podcast Audio & Graphics Editor: Amanda Tien
- Note: David Silbert does all of the Fantasy Gaming team graphics!
- Podcast Distributor: David Silbert
- Theme Song Composer: Jason Hulse
2026 Fantasy Gaming – Waiver Wire Rules
For a full recap of our league rules, check out our 2026 Fantasy Gaming Draft from the top of the year. If you don’t have the time, here are the most pertinent details for today’s episode:
Waiver Wire: We do two (2) waiver wire sessions each year: one (1) in June or July following Summer Game Fest, and one (1) in August or September, right before the fall gaming rush. During each waiver wire, players can choose to drop one (1) game of their choosing and redraft a replacement game to fill their lineup. Similar to the draft at the top of the year, we draft in inverse order of standings. If a team has zero (0) scored games at the time of the waiver wire, they’re considered “N/A” in the standings and given the lowest draft priority.
Waiver Wire “Deferral”: During the first waiver wire, a player can opt not to drop a game, in which case they “defer” their initial waiver pick to the second waiver wire. At that time, they’re able to drop/redraft up to two (2) games instead of just one (1).
Team Scores and Standings (Pre-Waiver #1)
Click to reveal (spoilers!)
In Sixth Place…
In Fifth Place…
In Fourth Place…
In Third Place…
In Second Place…
In First Place…
2026 Fantasy Waiver Wire #1 — Full Results
Click to reveal (spoilers!)
- Team Gary (81.0) — Drops Romeo is a Dead Man, picks up Final Fantasy VII Revelation
- Team Amanda (82.2) — Drops Yakuza Kiwami 3 + Dark Ties, picks up The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (2026)
- Team Zack (83.0) — Drops Super Meat Boy 3D, picks up Splatoon Raiders
- Team Sam (83.3) — Drops Vampire Crawlers, picks up The Blood of Dawnwalker
- Team Kei (84.8) — Drops Crimson Desert, picks up No Rest for the Wicked
- Team David (86.5) — Drops Slay the Spire 2, picks up Orbitals
Team Scores and Standings (Post-Waiver #1)
Click to reveal (spoilers!)
In Sixth Place…
- Dropped: Romeo Is a Dead Man (72, was on bench)
- Picked up: Final Fantasy VII Revelation
- Score change: No change (81.0)
- Ranking change: No change (6th)
In Fifth Place…
- Dropped: Super Meat Boy 3D (71, was on bench)
- Picked up: Splatoon Raiders (which released a few weeks later to an 81)
- Score change: -1.3 (from 83.0)
- Ranking change: 4th → 5th
Tied for Third Place…
- Dropped: Vampire Crawlers (82)
- Picked up: The Blood of Dawnwalker
- Score change: +0.7 (from 83.3)
- Ranking change: 3rd → 3rd (tied)
Tied for Third Place…
- Dropped: Yakuza 3 Kiwami + Dark Ties (74)
- Picked up: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (2026)
- Score change: +1.8 (from 82.2)
- Ranking change: 5th → 3rd (tied)
In Second Place…
- Dropped: Slay the Spire 2
- Picked up: Orbitals
- Score change: No change (86.5)
- Ranking change: 1st → 2nd
In First Place…
- Dropped: Crimson Desert (77)
- Picked up: No Rest for the Wicked
- Score change: +2.5 (from 84.8)
- Ranking change: 2nd → 1st
As always, thanks for listening and reading!
A video game outlet that blends quality words with inclusive voices. For business inquiries and review requests, reach us at press [at] punishedbacklog [dot] com.
David is the founder of The Punished Backlog. He has a problem finishing games he starts.
Just beat: Yakuza 0, Sleeping Dogs.
Working on: Ys VIII.
Can't wait for: GTA VI.
Follow David on Twitter at @David_Silbert to keep up to date with all things The Punished Backlog.
Sam has been playing video games since his earliest years and has been writing about them since 2016. He’s a big fan of Nintendo games and complaining about The Last of Us Part II. You either agree wholeheartedly with his opinions or despise them. There is no in between.
A lifelong New Yorker, Sam views gaming as far more than a silly little pastime, and hopes through critical analysis and in-depth reviews to better understand the medium's artistic merit.
Twitter: @sam_martinelli.
Amanda Tien (she/her or they) loves video games where she can pet dogs, solve mysteries, punch bad guys, play as a cool lady, and/or have a good cry. She started writing with The Punished Backlog in 2020 and became an Editor in 2022. Amanda also does a lot of the site's graphic designs and podcast editing. Amanda's work has been published in Mothership, Unwinnable Monthly, Poets.org, Salt Hill Journal, and more. She holds an MFA in Fiction from the University of Pittsburgh. Learn more about her writing, visual art, graphic design, and marketing work at www.amandatien.com.
Gary is a jack-of-all-trades video game enthusiast based in Boston, MA. A semi-professional fighting game player, even less professional Apex Legends player, and even less professional adult, he spends most of his time poking at strange indie gems and reading about the need for more diverse voices in gaming criticism. He invites anyone to recommend anything he's missed in the gaming world via Twitter or BlueSky, where he can found under the username @grtnpwrfl. When he isn't spending his time playing games, Gary is an avid New England Patriots fan and frequent hiker.
Zack has been hooked on games ever since his older brother taught him where to find the secret warp whistles in Mario Bros. 3. He has never felt more joy than when Yoshi congratulated him on getting 120 stars in Mario 64 or more sadness than when he played Kingdom Hearts 3 after waiting 14 years for it. Zack mails a letter to Nintendo every day asking them to bring back Chibi Robo and will gladly tell you all about why it’s one of the greatest games of all time. He was hoping that writing for the site would help him get through his backlog, but it actually just made it worse now that he’s hearing about so many more great hidden gems. Oops…
Huge video game, comic book, and anime fan. Spends way too much time watching things he doesn’t like. Hates Zack Snyder. Mains Falco.
