Williams beat out more than 16,000 competitors in 32 cities who competed for more than four months nationwide. Winners from each of the Madden Challenge and NCAA Challenge regional tournaments were flown to Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas for the respective 'Finals' competitions. Williams received a $50,000 VISA card and will attend the famed 11th Annual EA SPORTS(tm) Madden Bowl(tm) presented by Xbox Live on February 3, 2005, held every year during Super Bowl week, in Jacksonville, Florida. Hanninen received a $10,000 check for winning the EA SPORTS NCAA Challenge.
The 2004 EA SPORTS Madden Challenge ran every weekend from August 14-November 28, 2004 and is the only Electronic Arts sanctioned public tournament competition in the celebrated 15-year history of the EA SPORTS Madden NFL football video game franchise. Williams defeated Antoin "Pretty Boy" Williams, New Orleans regional winner, 37-27. More than 1000 students at 16 campuses nationwide competed in the 2004 NCAA Challenge. Hanninen defeated Michael Hawkins of Clemson University, 26-5.
The 2004 EA SPORTS Madden Challenge Regional Tournament Winners included:
CITY CHAMP AGE Hometown
Kyle Cooper Minneapolis 24 Milford, OH
Tim Thomas Green Bay 18 Menomaonhee Falls, WI
Johnta Nelson Chicago 16 Chicago, IL
Greg James Indianapolis 24 Shreveport, LA
David Seitchick Detroit 20 Margate, NJ
Mike McAnany Cleveland 19 New York, NY
Robert Wright Cincinnati 28 Euclid, OH
Toby Merchant Pittsburgh 28 Oakland, CA
Toshiba Sharon Buffalo 25 Bear, Delaware
Nathan Stanton Boston 20 New York, NY
Anthony Brinson New York 15 Clementon, NJ
Robert Warren Philadelphia 16 Washington, DC
Eugene Williams Washington DC 20 Philadelphia, PA
Curtis Knight Charlotte 23 Atlanta, GA
Anthony Mims Atlanta 22 Norman, OK
William "Billy" Wolf Jacksonville 17 Tampa, FL
Thomas Tsanadis Miami 23 Wellington, FL
Terryl Samuel Tampa 15 Nashville, TN
Elmar Kuli-Zade Nashville 17 Brentwood, TN
Paul Wierzba St. Louis 17 McHenry, IL
Antoin Williams New Orleans 22 Houston, TX
Sherman Jameson Houston 19 Houston, TX
Matt Cardell Dallas 15 Colleyville, TX
Troy Brown San Antonio 21 Houston, TX
Lincoln Morris Kansas City 23 Nashville, TN
Lamar Mathews Denver 24 Rochester, MN
Allen Johnson Phoenix 23 Ontario, CA
David Grant Las Vegas 26 St. Petersburg, FL
David Stepney San Diego 21 Pomona, CA
Luis Gonzalez Los Angeles 26 Bakersfield, CA
Paul Ziegler Seattle 22 Bellevue, WA
Montello Jones San Francisco 23 Sacramento CA
Madden NFL 2005, which is jointly licensed by PLAYER INC. and the NFL, has sold more than four million copies so far this year on seven platforms and Madden NFL football is America's best-selling sports video game with over 40 million copies sold in its 15 year history. The game Madden NFL Football is the only videogame to be honored and displayed at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Reebok, Champs Sports, Best Buy and Visa were the official sponsors of the 2004 EA SPORTS Madden Challenge. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to NFL Youth Education Town (YET), an official NFL charity that provides high-tech educational and recreational centers designed to improve the academic, physical fitness, and job-related skills of at-risk youth. For additional information please check out www.maddenchallenge.com.