Frank Karsten (Magic: The Gathering player)

Frank Karsten
Born	(1984-06-19) June 19, 1984 (age 41)
Residence	Eindhoven, Netherlands [1]
Nationality	Dutch
Pro Tour debut	Worlds 2000 [2]
Winnings	US$204,853 [3]
Pro Tour wins (Top 8)	0 (3) [4]
Grand Prix wins (Top 8)	0 (7) [5]
Lifetime Pro Points	442 [6]
Planeswalker Level	50 (Archmage)

Frank Karsten (born 19 June 1984 ^[1] ) is a Dutch Magic: The Gathering player. His achievements include three Pro Tour Top 8 appearances, including a second-place finish at the 2005 World Championships, and seven Grand Prix Top 8s. He is a member of the Magic: The Gathering Hall of Fame. ^[7] Karsten is considered one of the game's foremost analytical minds and writers. ^[8] He has since been considered mostly retired from Magic pro play, and has become a writer for Wizards' Magic event coverage.

Career

Frank Karsten's professional Magic career began in 2000. He made the top eight of the Dutch National Championship, and finished fifth, one spot short of making the national team. However, this qualified him for the European Championship, where he finished ninth, one spot short of the elimination rounds. These finishes ensured that despite the near misses, Karsten qualified for the World Championships on Elo rating.

The following season, Karsten played four of six Pro Tours. Off tour, he made the top eight of Grand Prix Cologne, and the Dutch National Championship, this time earning a spot on the national team. Karsten's breakout performance came in In 2001–02. Alongside Victor van den Broek, and Jelger Wiegersma, he finished third at the Masters Series held at Pro Tour Osaka. ^[9] In spite of this performance, his other finishes on the Pro Tour were unremarkable, with a 42nd-place finish in the main event at Osaka being his best finish of that season. Over the next two years, Karsten put up solid finishes, including a fifth place at Pro Tour Boston 2002, once again with Victor van der Broek and Jelger Wiegersma, and a tenth-place finish at Pro Tour San Diego 2004. In addition, he reached the top eight of Grand Prix Zürich, Birmingham, and London in 2003–04.

In 2005, Karsten finally made the top eight of a Pro Tour, finishing sixth at Pro Tour Nagoya. ^[10] When the Pro Tour returned to Japan for the World Championships that year, Karsten made the top eight yet again. His quarterfinal match against Ding Leong is remembered as having one of the longest single games in Pro Tour history at 90 minutes. ^[11] In the end, Karsten made it as far as the final match, before losing to Katsuhiro Mori. ^[12] After 2005, Karsten returned to performing well without standing out. His best result in the next couple of seasons was 10th place at Pro Tour Yokohama 2007, which received some attention as Karsten was so ill that he had to play with a bucket at his feet throughout the event. ^[13]

In 2008, Karsten made his third Pro Tour top eight at the World Championship in Memphis, advancing to the semifinals in which he lost to Tsuyoshi Ikeda. ^[14] This Top 8 appearance was largely known for the way Karsten made the card choices for his Standard, which he did entirely by mathematical formula, based on previous Top 8 deck lists, rather than thorough playtesting. ^[15] In 2009, Karsten was inducted into the Pro Tour Hall of Fame alongside Kamiel Cornelissen and Antoine Ruel, receiving 44.79% of the votes. ^[7] Despite attending most PTs Karsten has since been considered mostly retired from Magic pro play as he focused more on his work as a Magic writer and data scientist.

In May 2024, Karsten won the first Disney Lorcana European Challenge in Lille, France. ^[16]

Accomplishments

Season	Event type	Location	Format	Date	Rank
1999–00	Nationals	Netherlands	Standard and Booster Draft	2000	5
2000–01	Grand Prix	Cologne	Limited	24–25 February 2001	6
2000–01	Nationals	Netherlands	Standard and Booster Draft	2001	3
2001–02	Masters	Osaka	Team Limited	14–17 March 2002	3
2003–04	Grand Prix	London	Block Constructed	22–24 August 2003	8
2003–04	Grand Prix	Birmingham	Booster Draft	27–28 March 2004	3
2003–04	Grand Prix	Zürich	Booster Draft	26–27 June 2004	4
2005	Pro Tour	Nagoya	Rochester Draft	28–30 January 2005	6
2005	Grand Prix	Salt Lake City	Block Constructed	27–28 August 2005	5
2005	Grand Prix	Mexico City	Block Constructed	3–4 September 2005	3
2005	Worlds	Yokohama	Standard and Booster Draft	30 November–4 December 2005	2
2006	Nationals	Netherlands	Standard and Booster Draft	8–10 September 2006	5
2008	Nationals	Netherlands	Standard and Booster Draft	15–17 August 2008	4
2008	Worlds	Memphis, Tennessee	Standard and Booster Draft	11–14 December 2008	7
2016-17	Grand Prix	Rotterdam	Team Limited	12–13 November 2016	2

Last updated: 3 December 2016
Source: Wizards.com

Other accomplishments

• Magic: The Gathering Hall of Fame class of 2009 ^[7]

References

1. Frank Karsten 2007 Pro Player card (from the Magic: The Gathering Lorwyn expansion)
2. "Frank Karsten". MTGPTResults.com. 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2018.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
3. "Top 200 All-Time Money Leaders". Wizards of the Coast. 9 January 2018. Archived from the original on 2 December 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
4. "Lifetime Pro Tour Top 8s". Wizards of the Coast. 14 February 2018. Archived from the original on 16 April 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
5. "Lifetime Grand Prix Top 8s". Wizards of the Coast. 14 March 2018. Archived from the original on 16 April 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
6. "Planeswalker Points (requires login)". Wizards of the Coast. 26 March 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2018.^{[ dead link ]}
7. "Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour Hall of Fame 2009 Voting Results". Wizards of the Coast. 2009. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
8. "Frank Karsten Profile". Wizards of the Coast. 2009. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
9. "Pro Tour Osaka Masters Coverage". Wizards of the Coast. 14 March 2002. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
10. "Komuro Finishes the Rochester". Wizards of the Coast. 30 January 2005. Archived from the original on 21 July 2017. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
11. Knutson, Ted (3 December 2005). "Quarterfinal: The long road to victory". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
12. "Worlds 2005: Japan's Crowning Achievement". Wizards of the Coast. 4 December 2005. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
13. Knutson, Ted (21 April 2007). "Iron Man Magic". Wizards of the Coast . Retrieved 26 March 2018.
14. "Malin, Team USA Crowned Kings of Magic". Wizards of the Coast. 14 December 2008. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
15. "Worlds 2008 Feature: Top 8 Profiles — Frank Karsten". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
16. Hall, John (2024-05-28). "Karsten, Paultre Win First Disney Lorcana Challenge Events". Star City Games. Retrieved 2024-07-13.

Preceded by Raymond Veenis	Dutch National Champion 2014	Succeeded by Jelger Wiegersma