Ben Stark


Benjamin "Ben" Stark is an American player. His career accomplishments include back to back Pro Tour |Pro Tour Top 8s in 2004 and winning Pro Tour Paris in 2011. In 2013, he was voted into the.

Magic: The Gathering

Beginning his career in 1999, Stark first came to prominence in 2004, making back to back Top 8s at and.
Despite his success, Stark chose to take a break from the game, not returning to the game until late 2009. During his hiatus, Stark dedicated time to his longtime girlfriend Michelle Cancio. Upon his return he joined the Channel Fireball team, writing articles in a column called 'Stark Reality' for the website. Since his return, Ben Stark has been considered a expert.
Stark would go on to have great success in the, reaching the finals of and winning his first Pro Tour at. These finishes, along with other strong finishes throughout the season, led Ben to be a front-runner in the 2011 Pro Tour #Pro Player of the Year|Pro Player of Year race. Ultimately, Ben would finish in joint 3rd place in the, alongside Martin Juza, with 56 pro points. Commentators argued that Stark hurt his chances of winning the Player of the Year title by failing to attend and certain Grand Prix |Grand Prix events.
The proved to be another very successful season for Stark. Stark made the Top 8 of four Grand Prix events, including a win at Grand Prix Indianapolis, and made his fourth Pro Tour Top 8 at Pro Tour Gatecrash. Stark's performance left him with a season total of 61 Pro Points, placing him 5th in the Player of the Year race. This also earned Stark an invite to the, an exclusive sixteen-person event featuring the top Magic players of the past season. Stark would make it into the Top 4 players after the Swiss rounds of the World Championship, being the only player to go undefeated in the two portions of the tournament. Stark would lose to Shahar Shenhar in the semifinals of the World Championship taking 3rd Place overall.

Achievements

Top 8 appearances