Held every year during Pro Bowl week, the EA SPORTS Madden Challenge Finals tournament from Electronic Arts (Nasdaq:ERTS) pits the winners of international, regional and online semifinal competitions against one another in an effort to nab the title and the cash prize.
“It feels great to win! I think I am going to give the money to my mom,” said Tariq upon receiving the $100,000 grand prize.
In addition to the competitors, this year’s event saw several NFL athletes in attendance: Chad Johnson, Antonio Gates, Derrick Brooks, Marshal Faulk, DeAngelo Hall, Roy Williams and Julian Peterson were there to show their support for the competitive spirit that gripped the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel, the site of the Finals.
The 2006 EA SPORTS Madden Challenge competitions ran regularly from Sept. 1 to Jan. 20 and is the only Electronic Arts sanctioned public tournament competition in the celebrated 17-year history of the EA SPORTS Madden NFL football video game franchise. In years past, the EA SPORTS Madden Challenge has been solely a U.S. event, but this year four international (London, Germany, Toronto, Mexico City) and two online tournaments were added, with those winners traveling to the Finals as well.
The 2006 EA SPORTS Madden Challenge semifinal winners included:
Eric Velarde Denver, CO 18 West Covina, CA
William Wolf Minneapolis, MN 19 Tampa Bay, FL
Paul Wierzba Indianapolis, IN 19 Crystal Lake, IL
Stephen White Chicago, IL 20 Bowie, MD
Van Berardino Green Bay, MI 19 Napa, CA
Anthony Brinson Detroit, MI 17 Clementon, NJ
Haaruwn Brown Atlanta, GA 19 Mobile, AL
Drexton Porter New Orleans, LA 23 Houston, TX
Eugene Williams Cincinnati, OH 22 Philadelphia, PA
Ayan Tariq Pittsburgh, PA 16 Ridgefield Park, NJ
Shayan Tariq New Jersey 21 Ridgefield Park, NJ
Jarvis Thomas New York, NY 19 Largo, MD
William Ruski Baltimore, MD 19 Bayonne, NJ
Robert Warren Washington, D.C. 18 District Heights, MD
Brian Armstrong Charlotte, NC 21 Charlotte, NC
Brian Delph Tampa, FL 23 Sandusky, OH
Troy Brown Houston, TX 23 Houston, TX
Antoin Williams Dallas, TX 24 Houston, TX
Ryan Robinson Phoenix, AZ 16 Sacramento, CA
Derek Kinder San Diego, CA 19 Napa, CA
Marcus Carr Philadelphia, PA 19 Bowie, MD
Jerry Ogans San Francisco, CA 17 San Francisco, CA
Donald Mazzola Seattle, WA 21 Bellvue, WA
Justin Chow Oakland, CA 21 Washington DC
George Movesian Los Angeles, CA 21 Van Nuys, CA
David Seithchik Boston, MA 22 Atlantic City, NJ
Kris Newman Toronto, Canada 21 Toronto, Canada
Rodrigo Cardoso Mexico City, MX 18 Mexico City, MX
Jan Pressler Frankfurt, Germany 18 Munich, Germany
Michael Turner London, England 21 London, England
Marc Taylor Online 37 Seattle, WA
LaDarren Banks Online 18 Tuscaloosa, AL