Redwood City, CA - January 29, 2009 - After months of competition amongst gamers from across the world, Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) announced today that Len Green emerged as the winner of the 2008 EA SPORTS™ Madden Challenge presented by Best Buy®. Green, who defeated John Lacapitaine in the Finals, claimed $50,000 in total prize earnings, bragging rights and the distinction as the best Madden NFL 09 player in the world.
Television viewers can tune in to watch a broadcast of the 2008 EA SPORTS Madden Challenge finals on ESPN2 at 7pm PST/10pm EST on Saturday, January 31, 2009.
“It’s great to bring the Madden crown back to the East Coast, and to my hometown of Philadelphia,” Len Green said. “It was a long, tough road to this year's Madden Challenge finals with fierce competition, and I'm thankful to EA SPORTS and Best Buy for the opportunity to showcase my Madden skills to the world. Philly came out on top this year, and I'm already starting to prepare my title defense for 2010."
The EA SPORTS Madden Challenge finals, an annual competition hosted by Electronic Arts Inc., pitted winners from 21 regional tournaments and two online competitions against each other in a high-stakes challenge. A group of 23 competitors took part in the two-day finals competition from January 12-13 at Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort Villages & Spa to determine the winner of the tournament, which celebrated its seventh year in existence. Green took home $50,000 in total prizes as winner of this year’s Madden Challenge, including $25,000 in cash and a $25,000 Best Buy gift card.
NFL stars including Matt Cassel, Kirk Morrison, Marshawn Lynch, Bernard Berrian and Brad Smith supported the contestants as they battled through the competition at Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort Villages & Spa, the official resort sponsor of the tournament.
The 2008 EA SPORTS Madden Challenge is the only Electronic Arts sanctioned tournament open to all participants during the 20-year history of the Madden NFL videogame franchise. Over 10,000 gamers competed in the 21 regional tournaments from September to December that included 18 NFL cities and international markets such as Mexico City, Toronto and London. Two champions also emerged from a wide-ranging online tournament brought together through a partnership between EA SPORTS and Microsoft that saw more than 180,000 gamers participate between August and November.
The 2008 EA SPORTS Madden Challenge U.S. regional winners and online winners included:
|
Name
|
|
City Champ
|
|
Age
|
|
Hometown
|
|
Anthony Brinson
|
|
Los Angeles
|
|
19
|
|
Clementon, NJ
|
|
DJ Mazzolla
|
|
Los Angeles
|
|
23
|
|
Seattle, WA
|
|
Eric Wright
|
|
San Diego
|
|
20
|
|
West Covina, CA
|
|
Corey Chapman
|
|
Dallas
|
|
21
|
|
Gastonia, NC
|
|
Kyle Kennedy
|
|
Dallas
|
|
18
|
|
Conway, AK
|
|
Len Green
|
|
Minneapolis
|
|
20
|
|
Philadelphia, PA
|
|
Ronald Casey
|
|
Chicago
|
|
20
|
|
Louisville, KY
|
|
Chasen Drexel
|
|
Indianapolis
|
|
18
|
|
Davis, CA
|
|
Joseph Kehler
|
|
Philadelphia
|
|
21
|
|
Exeter, PA
|
|
Ryan Glick
|
|
Philadelphia
|
|
21
|
|
Somerville, MA
|
|
James Hendricks
|
|
Baltimore
|
|
19
|
|
Tampa, FL
|
|
Van Berardino
|
|
New York
|
|
21
|
|
Napa, CA
|
|
Marcus Carr
|
|
New York
|
|
21
|
|
Bowie, MD
|
|
Michael Kamm
|
|
Boston
|
|
21
|
|
Rochester, NY
|
|
Jet Steele
|
|
Atlanta
|
|
21
|
|
Tampa, FL
|
|
Carlos Yancy
|
|
Atlanta
|
|
20
|
|
Tampa, FL
|
|
Sean Alshulter
|
|
Orlando
|
|
22
|
|
Pantation, FL
|
|
Harruwn Brown
|
|
Houston
|
|
21
|
|
Mobile, AL
|
|
Ernesto Fabian Galindez Najera
|
|
Mexico City
|
|
25
|
|
Mexico City, Mexico
|
|
Joseph Thompson
|
|
London
|
|
14
|
|
Wales, England
|
|
David Fortier
|
|
Toronto
|
|
23
|
|
Quebec City, Canada
|
|
John Lacapitane
|
|
U. S. Online
|
|
18
|
|
Green Bay, WI
|
|
Jonathan Roberge
|
|
Canada Online
|
|
18
|
|
Ontario, Canada
|
EA SPORTS Madden Challenge contestants competed with Madden NFL 09, the First Sports Game That Adapts To You. Madden NFL 09 continuously assesses your skills and adjusts gameplay to keep the experience both fun and challenging. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Madden NFL franchise and the game has added over 85 new features and enhancements, including a brand-new broadcast presentation package featuring Cris Collinsworth and Tom Hammond, online leagues, and the most realistic graphics in franchise history.
Beaches Turks & Caicos’ new Italian Village, which served as the backdrop for the championship final, unveiled a $125 million expansion this week, which features 162 luxurious two-bedroom family suites; gourmet dining from five new restaurants, bringing the total dining options at the resort to 16; and unrivaled teen programming. Guests of the EA SPORTS Madden Challenge finals were also able to satisfy their own competitive spirit at Beaches Turks & Caicos’ revamped Xbox 360® Game Garage, featuring a maze of metallic kiosks, each equipped with plasma screens and the hottest games from Xbox 360®. In March, Beaches Turks & Caicos will reveal an expanded Pirate’s Island Waterpark with nine waterslides, a lazy river and the Caribbean’s only surfing simulator.
The Madden Challenge is one of four competitions that make up the EA SPORTS Challenge Series, which also includes the NASCAR Challenge, NCAA Football Challenge and NBA LIVE Challenge. The EA SPORTS Challenge Series is a part of EA SPORTS continuing efforts to provide the spirit of sports competition to all people. For more information on the EA SPORTS Challenge Series, visit http://www.easports.com/challengeseries/.
Developed in Orlando, FL by EA Tiburon, Madden NFL 09 is available on Xbox® and Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION®3 and PlayStation 2 computer entertainment systems, Nintendo DS™, Wii™, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) handheld entertainment system and mobile handsets. For more information check out http://www.easports.com/madden09.
All information contained in this news post comes directly from a press release sent out by EA Sports.
