Jon Finkel
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| Born | May 18, 1978 Brockport, New York |
|---|---|
| Residence | New York, USA |
| Nationality | United States |
| Winnings | $332,369 |
| Pro Tour Top 8 Finishes | 12 |
| Grand Prix Top 8 Finishes | 9 |
| Lifetime Pro Points | 384 |
| Matches Played | 779 |
Jon Finkel (May 18, 1978 — ) is an American Magic: The Gathering player, currently ranked second all time in Pro Tour earnings, with $332,369 won in DCI sanctioned tournaments. He has won numerous Pro Tour tournaments and was the 2000 World Champion. Nicknamed "Jonny Magic", he has been considered a poster boy for Magic: the Gathering since his rise in the late 1990s.
Many consider him to be the best player the game has ever seen, although that title has been challenged by Kai Budde of Germany, who has surpassed Finkel's marks for lifetime earnings and Pro Tour titles.
Finkel was inducted into the first class of the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour Hall of Fame after receiving 67 out of 69 possible votes. In regards to Finkel's nomination for this position, Mark Rosewater, Magic's Head Designer, wrote, "[Finkel] is the most naturally gifted player the game has ever seen. His accomplishments are rivaled by only one other man [Budde]."
Finkel won the Magic Invitational, for which the prize is designing a card for the game, in 2000.[1] The card he designed was Shadowmage Infiltrator (originally named "Shadowmage of Leknif", "leknif" being "Finkel" spelled backwards), which appeared in the Odyssey set and later in Time Spiral. Finkel originally submitted a different card: a Wrath of God variant called "Wrath of Leknif", but it was deemed too powerful by Wizards of the Coast Research & Development.
In recent years, Finkel, like fellow Magic players David Williams and Noah Boeken, has been playing in high-level poker tournaments.
Finkel has been involved with Tenacious Games in the development of their game The Spoils as an advisor since 2002. In 2006, he also became an investor in the company.
Jon is the subject of the book Jonny Magic and the Cardshark Kids by David Kushner, published by Random House in August 2005.
After a two year hiatus from competitive play, Finkel returned to Magic at Pro Tour: Prague on May 5, 2006, where he finished 301st out of 414 entrants. [1] Along with former teammates Dan and Steve O'Mahoney-Schwartz, Finkel participated in Pro Tour Charleston on June 18, 2006. Their team, Antarctica, finished 141st out of 175 teams.[2]
More recently, he made his 12th Top 8 at Pro Tour Kuala Lumpur, finishing 1st after the Swiss rounds, losing only one round over the first two days, being the first player from the first class of the Hall of Fame to Top 8 one of Magic's highest level tournaments, before going on to win the event.
[edit] References
- Kushner, David (2005). Jonny Magic and the Card Shark Kids : how a gang of geeks beat the odds and stormed Las Vegas. Random House. ISBN 1-4000-6407-4.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Kai Budde |
Magic: The Gathering World Champion 2000 |
Succeeded by Tom van de Logt |
| Preceded by Chris Pikula |
Magic: The Gathering Magic Invitational Champion 2000 |
Succeeded by Kai Budde |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Finkel, Jon |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 18, 1978 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New York, New York |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
