Chris Pikula

Christopher Pikula is an American former professional player. He was one of the game's early stars, debuting at the very first Pro Tour in New York; he reached the top eight of two Pro Tours in 1996, and a third at the 1998 World Championships.

History
Pikula was known for his anti-cheating stance, and has been given some of the credit for cleaning up the Pro Tour. He retired from professional play in the early 2000s, but continued showing up for the occasional Pro Tour and Grand Prix. He won the 2000 Magic Invitational in Kuala Lumpur, resulting in the creation of Meddling Mage.

Since the introduction of the Hall of Fame, Pikula has been close to being voted in. In 2006, he received the sixth most votes, where the top five made it to the Hall of Fame. In 2013, he received 38.4% of the votes, where 40% was the necessary threshold for Hall of Fame induction. After 2013, the required Pro Points to be on the Hall of Fame ballot was increased to 150, meaning Pikula, with 135 points at the time, was no longer eligible. Since then, Pikula has attended multiple Grand Prix events in order to reach 150 points and get back on the ballot; this was featured on the 2016 documentary "Enter the Battlefield". He reached the 150 point threshold during the 2016–17 season, and posted his first Premier Event top eight in 12 years when he finished fourth at Grand Prix Orlando 2017. Back on the Hall of Fame ballot for the 2017 voting, Pikula reached the previous threshold for induction, earning 41.1% of the votes; however, the threshold for induction into the hall had been raised prior to the 2017 voting, and so he did not make it.