Jon Finkel

Last updated

Jon Finkel
Nickname(s)Jonny Magic [1]
The Machine [2]
Born (1978-05-18) May 18, 1978 (age 47)
Brockport, New York
Residence New York, USA
NationalityAmerican
Pro Tour debut
Winnings$431,884 [3]
Pro Tour wins (Top 8)3 (16) [4]
Grand Prix wins (Top 8)3 (10) [5]
Median Pro Tour Finish61
Lifetime Pro Points628 [6]
Planeswalker Level 48 (Archmage)

Jon Finkel (born May 18, 1978) [7] is an American Magic: The Gathering and poker player. [1] Finkel is one of the most decorated players in the history of professional Magic: The Gathering play and is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all-time. [8] [9] During his career he has won three Grand Prix events and made the Top 8 of a record 16 Pro Tour events, winning three. In the year 2000, he became the Magic: The Gathering World Champion, as well as playing for the United States National Team, which won the team portion of the competition.

Contents

Career

Finkel was born in Brockport, New York, but moved with his family to Woking, UK, in the summer of 1992 and learned about Magic: The Gathering shortly thereafter at a local game shop named Fun and Games. After he returned to the New York area in 1995 Finkel quickly made friends with the "OMS brothers", Steven and Daniel O'Mahoney-Schwartz. [1]

In 1996 the first Pro Tour was held in New York. Finkel competed in the Junior Division of the tournament, made it to the Top 8, and won a $1,000 scholarship. After reaching another Top 8 in the Junior Division of Pro Tour Columbus Finkel had his first appearance in the senior competition of the Pro Tour at the 1996 World Championship in Seattle. A ninth-place finish earned him $3,200.

Finkel had three Top 16 finishes in the 1996–97 season, but never made it to the finals. His first Top 8 appearance was at Pro Tour Chicago 1997. In the same season Finkel won his first Grand Prix title in Rio de Janeiro, his first Pro Tour title in New York; finished third at US Nationals and the World Championship, [10] and eventually claimed the Pro Player of the Year title.

The 199899 season opened with Finkel winning another Grand Prix in Boston and making his third consecutive Top 8 appearance, a feat only once before achieved by Scott Johns. Finkel finished the season second to Kai Budde in the Pro Player of the Year race. At the first Team Pro Tour in Washington the following season Finkel finished third with his friends and teammates Daniel and Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz. After some mediocre finishes in the middle of the season Finkel won the US Nationals as well as the team and the individual portion of the World Championship. Eventually Finkel finished third in the Pro Player of the Year race. Later in 2000 Finkel also won the Magic Invitational, giving him the chance to design his own Magic card. His creation, Shadowmage Infiltrator, debuted in the Odyssey set and was later reprinted in Time Spiral and Modern Masters 2015 edition. [11]

After two additional Top 8 appearances in the 200001 season Finkel's performances dropped in the 2001–02 season. Two Top 8s in 200203 were followed by another drop in 200304 and eventually by Finkel retiring from professional play. In 2005 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame as the vote leader of the inaugural class. This allowed him to attend further Pro Tours without having to qualify. In 2008 Finkel thus attended and won Pro Tour Kuala Lumpur, becoming the first player to win a Pro Tour after his induction into the Hall of Fame. Magic head designer Mark Rosewater commented on the occasion, "[Finkel] is the most naturally gifted player the game has ever seen. His accomplishments are rivaled by only one other man [Budde]".

In recent years, Finkel, like fellow Magic players David Williams and Noah Boeken, has been playing in high-level poker tournaments. He currently works as a managing partner at the hedge fund Landscape Capital Management. [12]

As of 2021, Finkel was the Treasurer of the board of directors of Gamers Helping Gamers, a nonprofit organization that assists aspiring college students who play Magic: The Gathering by awarding them tuition scholarships. [13]

Accomplishments

SeasonEvent typeLocation Format Date Rank
199798 Pro Tour ChicagoExtendedOctober 1012, 19973
199798 Grand Prix Rio de JaneiroExtendedJanuary 31 February 1, 19981
199798 Pro Tour New YorkLimitedApril 1719, 19981
199798 Grand Prix ZurichLimitedMay 3031, 19986
199798 Nationals ColumbusSpecialJuly 35, 19983
199798 Worlds SeattleSpecialAugust 1216, 19983
199798 Worlds SeattleNational teamAugust 1216, 19981
199899 Grand Prix BostonStandardSeptember 56, 19981
199899 Pro Tour ChicagoLimitedSeptember 2527, 19985
199899 Invitational BarcelonaSpecialFebruary 47, 19994
199899 Pro Tour Los AngelesLimitedFebruary 2628, 19992
199899 Grand Prix ViennaExtendedMarch 1314, 19993
199899 Grand Prix Kansas CityExtendedMarch 2728, 19995
199900 Pro Tour Washington D.C.Team LimitedSeptember 35, 19993
199900 Invitational Kuala LumpurSpecialMarch 25, 20002
199900 Grand Prix St. LouisTeam LimitedMay 1314, 20001
199900 Nationals OrlandoSpecialJune 811 20001
199900 Grand Prix PittsburghTeam LimitedJune 2425, 20003
199900 Worlds BrusselsSpecialAugust 26, 20001
199900 Worlds BrusselsNational teamAugust 26, 20001
200001 Invitational SydneySpecialNovember 1619, 20001
200001 Masters ChicagoLimitedNovember 30 December 1, 20002
200001 Pro Tour ChicagoStandardDecember 13, 20005
200001 Pro Tour Los AngelesLimitedFebruary 24, 20014
200001 Masters BarcelonaBlock ConstructedMay 46, 20013
200203 Invitational SeattleSpecialOctober 1820, 20023
200203 Pro Tour ChicagoLimitedJanuary 1719, 20033
200203 Pro Tour YokohamaLimitedMay 911, 20034
200203 Grand Prix AmsterdamTeam LimitedJune 78, 20032
200203 Nationals San DiegoSpecialJune 2729, 20037
200304 Grand Prix Washington D.C.Team LimitedApril 1718, 20044
2008 Pro Tour Kuala LumpurLimitedFebruary 1517, 20081
2012 Pro Tour HonoluluStandard and Booster DraftFebruary 1012, 20123
2012 Pro Tour BarcelonaBlock Constructed and Booster DraftMay 1113, 20125
201213 Players Championship IndianapolisSpecialAugust 2931, 20124
201516 Pro Tour MilwaukeeStandard and Booster DraftOctober 1618, 20153
201516 Pro Tour MadridStandard and Booster DraftApril 2224, 20165
201617 Grand Prix KyotoLimitedJuly 2223, 20174
201718 Pro Tour Las Vegas Team LimitedSeptember 23, 20181

Last updated: October 25, 2023
Source: Wizards.com

In addition, Finkel was inducted into the Hall of Fame as the class of 2005 vote leader. Finkel holds the highest vote percentage of any inductee.

Finkel is the subject of a 2005 biography by author David Kushner, entitled Jonny Magic & the Card Shark Kids—How a Gang of Geeks Beat the Odds and Stormed Las Vegas. The book recounts Finkel's rise to Magic stardom and his subsequent exploits as a poker player and Blackjack card counter.

In 2011, Alyssa Bereznak, an intern for tech website Gizmodo wrote an article about two dates she had with Finkel, [14] which was picked up by Forbes , The Washington Post and CBS. The article was critical of Finkel for not revealing he played Magic on his OkCupid dating profile, eliciting negative comments against the writer from a number of people involved in tech and geek culture, notably actress Felicia Day and Playboy Playmate of the Year Sara Jean Underwood. [15] [16] [17]

References

  1. 1 2 3 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.
  2. Bennett, Josh (March 2003). "Kai Leads Star-Studded Top 8". The Sideboard . 8 (45): 4–5.
  3. "Top 200 All-Time Money Leaders". Wizards of the Coast. August 27, 2017. Archived from the original on December 2, 2021. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  4. "Lifetime Pro Tour Top 8s". Wizards of the Coast. August 7, 2014. Archived from the original on April 16, 2016. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
  5. "Lifetime Grand Prix Top 8s". Wizards of the Coast. July 28, 2014. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
  6. "Planeswalker Points". Wizards of the Coast. September 4, 2014. Retrieved September 4, 2014.[ dead link ]
  7. Jon Finkel 2006 Pro Player card (from the Magic: The Gathering Time Spiral expansion)
  8. "Jon Finkel: Magic Pro Tour Hall of Fame". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on January 29, 2013. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
  9. David-Marshall, Brian (June 22, 2012). "Hall of Fame Calisthenics". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on June 24, 2012. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  10. Justice, Mark (June 1, 2009). "Musings on the Pro Tour". Archived from the original on June 1, 2009. Retrieved July 20, 2009.
  11. "Magic Invitational 2002". Wizards of the Coast. October 17, 2002. Archived from the original on October 27, 2002. Retrieved January 14, 2007.
  12. "Landscape".
  13. "Meet the 2017 Gamers Helping Gamers Scholarship Winners". Fetchland. June 21, 2017. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  14. "My Brief OkCupid Affair with a World Champion Magic: The Gathering Player". August 29, 2011.
  15. Ngak, Chenda (September 1, 2011). "Jon Finkel talks to us about Gizmodo's Alyssa Bereznak (a.ka. mean girl) – Tech Talk". CBS . Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  16. Tassi, Paul (August 30, 2011). "The Science of Gawker's Nerd Baiting". Forbes. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
  17. Underwood, Sarah (August 31, 2011). "Sarah Underwood on Jon Finkel". Attack of the Show . Retrieved November 10, 2021.
Preceded by
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada
Gary Krakower
Michael Donais
Ed Ito
Gabriel Tsang
Magic: The Gathering Team World Champion
With:
Matt Linde
Mike Long
Bryce Currence

1998
Succeeded by
Flag of the United States.svg United States
Kyle Rose
John Hunka
Zvi Mowshowitz
Charles Kornblith
Preceded by Pro Player of the Year
199798
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Kyle Rose
Magic US National Champion
2000
Succeeded by
Trevor Blackwell
Preceded by Magic World Champion
2000
Succeeded by
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Tom van de Logt
Preceded by
Flag of the United States.svg United States
Kyle Rose
John Hunka
Zvi Mowshowitz
Charles Kornblith
Magic: The Gathering Team World Champion
With:
Chris Benafel
Frank Hernandez
Aaron Forsythe

2000
Succeeded by
Flag of the United States.svg United States
Eugene Harvey
Trevor Blackwell
Brian Hegstad
Preceded by Magic Invitational Champion
2000
Succeeded by