Ayan Tariq Crowned World’s Best Madden NFL 07 Player

Ayan Tariq (aka Fool) from Ridgefield Park, NJ defeated 31 gamers from around the world to take home $100,000 in prize money, bragging rights and be crowned the world’s best Madden NFL 07 player during the fifth annual EA SPORTS Madden Challenge Finals Tournament, presented by Best Buy, on February 8 in Honolulu.

Tariq, the winner of the Pittsburgh, PA tournament, defeated William Wolf (aka Secret), winner of the Minneapolis, MN competition, in a showdown at the Finals.

Held every year during Pro Bowl week, the EA Sports Madden Challenge Finals tournament from Electronic Arts 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 September 1 to January 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:

NAME			CITY CHAMP			AGE			HOMETOWN
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