The player who influenced me the most is most likely Vurtne. Not that I actually knew the guy, but he just ignited a spark inside me to play mage, and forever wanting to improve as a player.
Vurtne was so ahead of his time. I believe a lot of mages still look back at vurtne and think of the epicness he produced considering how new the game was and how inventive and good of a player he was.
A few other players that influenced me a lot that I actually knew was Spoon and Forever from TBC.
Twinks that influenced me so far are those who expose themselves through streaming, such as HB and Trendy etc. But that it isn't necessarily on a gameplay level, but community-wise and giving an insight in the 19 bracket.