No, you don't need 6,000 points to become an expert. 6,000 points is the traditional prerequisite for becoming an expert, but in recent years, we've also promoted users on their merits regardless of their points. Gekky is one of several who were promoted without having reached 6,000 points.
You can still earn editing powers automatically after reaching 6,000 points on the main section, at which point we'll honour the tradition and give you the expert title, too. I didn't expect anyone to reach expert using points after we started promoting sooner, but the site has seen a massive upswing of activity this year which has ended up making points the quicker method once again.
I recommend reading this for more info.
