Changes

Born into a gaming family- his whole family played videogames- Ben played many different videogames as a youngster, and was an avid reader of game magazines too; it was in 1998 that he first learned of F-Zero X, and in the much-beloved N64 Magazine (now NGC Magazine) he discovered the name of David van Moer, holder of every record at F-Zero X in the magazine at the time. Ben's appetite for X competition had started.

Born into a gaming family- his whole family played videogames- Ben played many different videogames as a youngster, and was an avid reader of game magazines too; it was in 1998 that he first learned of F-Zero X, and in the much-beloved N64 Magazine (now NGC Magazine) he discovered the name of David van Moer, holder of every record at F-Zero X in the magazine at the time. Ben's appetite for X competition had started.

Fast forward to 2003, and Ben gets internet for the first time. He types van Moer's name into Google, and he finds the now-defunct F-Zero ranking site, FZeroCentral (which was run by Dave Crawford). Ben immediately entered his times into the X ladder, and debuted in a strong 54th, out of over 100 players. Ben also discovered the DT technique himself without the site's help, and after months of competing climbed to 25th position. Ben also made his MV debut at this time, debuting inside the top 200 of over 400 players, and in one particular week made an AF cut of over 60 points, but did not take the game seriously at the time (hehe).

Fast forward to 2003, and Ben gets internet for the first time. He typed van Moer's name into Google, and he found the now-defunct F-Zero ranking site, FZeroCentral (which was run by Dave Crawford). Ben immediately entered his times into the X ladder, and debuted in a strong 54th, out of over 100 players. Ben also discovered the DT technique himself without the site's help, and after months of competing climbed to 25th position. Ben also made his MV debut at this time, debuting inside the top 200 of over 400 players, and in one particular week made an AF cut of over 60 points, but did not take the game seriously at the time (hehe).

After the tragic demise of FZC, Ben quit F-Zero competition for nearly 5 months, focussing partly on MKSC. It was after a curious email sent to old rival Wille Karhunen that Ben re-entered competition, and began his total wipeout of his X times. Ben climbed from outside the top 30 to inside the top 10 within a few months, coming oh-so-close to beating the time total of British champion Michael Hougthon. Ben then switched to F-Zero MV, and in an amazing climb rose from the outer edges of the top 200 to inside the top 40 in again just a few months. Ben then switched to F-Zero GPL and cemented his position at hovering around the top 10, before returning to MV and stunning by climbing up to 6th in the world, setting his first ever WR at Bishop 1 flap, and being voted the 2004 Most Improved Player of the year. All in all, 2004 was a ruddy good year for Ben :)

After the tragic demise of FZC, Ben quit F-Zero competition for nearly 5 months, focussing partly on MKSC. It was after a curious email sent to old rival Wille Karhunen that Ben re-entered competition, and began his total wipeout of his X times. Ben climbed from outside the top 30 to inside the top 10 within a few months, coming oh-so-close to beating the time total of British champion Michael Hougthon. Ben then switched to F-Zero MV, and in an amazing climb rose from the outer edges of the top 200 to inside the top 40 in again just a few months. Ben then switched to F-Zero GPL and cemented his position at hovering around the top 10, before returning to MV and stunning by climbing up to 6th in the world, setting his first ever WR at Bishop 1 flap, and being voted the 2004 Most Improved Player of the year. All in all, 2004 was a ruddy good year for Ben :)