Mark Gardiner (born 2 September 1983) is a Scottish semi-professional video gamer. On 15 March 2008, Gardiner won the largest single prize in United Kingdom video gaming history. Playing Pro Evolution Soccer (PES), he won £50,000 inside Wembley Stadium, in the Play.com-sponsored PES Rankings tournament. He also finished second at the European Pro Evolution Soccer 6 Championships in Seville on 11 October 2007, and won the UK Championships held in London on 2 September 2007. He uses the nickname "Marko9Gardinic" during video game competitions.

Gardiner, from Hamilton in South Lanarkshire, plays football for amateur team Blue Dragon, in the Glasgow Chinese Football League.^[1] He scored 19 goals in the 06/07 season which netted him the prize of top scorer.

[edit] References

• Karen Bale (April 5 2008). "Scot scoops 50K video game prize". Daily Record. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2008/04/05/scots-scoops-50k-video-games-prize-86908-20372765/. Retrieved 2008-04-08. 
• Richard Mooney (March 27 2008). "Hamilton man wins £50,000 video game tournament". Hamilton Advertiser. http://www.hamiltonadvertiser.co.uk/2008/03/27/hamilton-man-wins-50-000-in-videogame-tournament-51525-20681504/. Retrieved 2008-04-08. 
• "Marko9Gardinic wins play.com finals". PES Rankings. 17 March 2008. http://www.pesrankings.com/news/?id=257. Retrieved 2008-04-08. 
• "UK lifts trophy at 2007 PES European Finals". Konami web site. 2007-10-15. http://uk.gs.konami-europe.com/news.do?idNews=280. Retrieved 2008-04-08. 
• Julie-Anne Barnes (April 5 2008). "Scot scores at Wembley – in gaming contest". The Scotsman. http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/scotland?articleid=3951171. Retrieved 2008-04-08.