Gary Campbell
| Gary Campbell | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Demographics | |
| Nickname | The Scottish Godfather |
| Born | ca. 1966 |
| Residence | Dundee, Scotland |
| Nationality |
 Scottish British |
| Professional Career | |
| Pro Tour debut | 1996 Pro Tour Columbus |
| GP top 8s | 1 (1 win) |
Gary Campbell is an Scottish former professional player, National Team member and Grand Prix Champion. He was an early adopter of Magic with his first significant result being a Top 16 finish at the 1996 United Kingdom and Eire National Championships, making his Pro Tour debut the following month at 1996 Pro Tour Columbus. Eighteen years later he would play in Pro Tour Guilds of Ravnica.
Grand Prix victory
At 52 years of age Gary became the oldest player to have won a Grand Prix event at the Legacy half of the dual-format 2018 GP Birmingham.[1] (He jokes in his Twitter biography that he is also "Scotland's youngest GP winner."[2])
| “ | To say Campbell is a legend of the Scottish Magic community would be an understatement. Campbell is the beating heart of Scottish Magic. He's been playing since the game first came out 25 years ago, is a regular sight on the European Grand Prix circuit and one of the nicest players you could ever come across.[1] | ” |
In the Top 8 Gary, who was 6th seed, defeated German player Alexander Mertins playing Dredge in the quarter-finals, and then Belgian Johan De Gruyter's Steel Stompy deck in the semis. His opponent in the Grand Final was Polish Pro Grzegorz Kowalski, who had won the Modern Grand Prix Lyon just a few months earlier. Grzegorz was playing the popular Grixis Delver deck which Gary's Mono-Red Prison had been a metagame choice against. In the first game Gary lands an early Blood Moon that Grzegorz isn't able to answer. In the second game Gary built a defence behind three copies of Ensnaring Bridge and chipped away with Pia and Kiran Nalaar to win the game and the match.[3]
Accomplishments
| Season | Event type | Location | Format | Date | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999-00 | Nationals | Edinburgh, Scotland | Standard and Booster Draft | May 20-21, 2000 | 5 |
| 2001-02 | Nationals | Edinburgh, Scotland | Standard and Booster Draft | May 10-11, 2002 | 5 |
| 2001-02 | Worlds (Team) | Sydney, Australia | Team Rochester Draft | August 14-18, 2002 | 10 |
| 2005-06 | Nationals | Perth, Scotland | Standard and Booster Draft | September 9-10, 2006 | 5-8 |
| 2017-18 | Grand Prix | Birmingham, England | Legacy | May 11-12, 2018 | 1 |
→ Source: Wizards.com
Notable Decks
Gary played a mono-red Prison deck to his Legacy Grand Prix victory.[4]
External links
References
- ↑ a b Craig Jones and Tobi Henke (November 11, 2018). "Saturday Highlights of Grand Prix Birmingham 2018 (website)". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on November 11, 2018. Retrieved on November 11, 2025.
- ↑ Gary Campbell (2025). "Gary Campbell @GaryCampbellMTG (Social Media profile)". Twitter. Retrieved on November 12, 2025.
- ↑ Magic the Gathering GP Birmingham 2018 Finals Legacy (Video). ggslive. YouTube (May 17, 2018).
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (May 12, 2018). "Campbell Wins. Scotland Wins. Magic Wins. (website)". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on May 26, 2022. Retrieved on November 12, 2025.