On June 10th 16 of the top madden players in the world will ascend on ESL studios in Burbank, CA and compete for a share of 50 thousand dollars.
Growing Madden as an e sport hasn’t always been an easy thing. But with EA’s efforts to make madden more spectator friendly, and some of the story lines to go with these final 16 competitors, I see no reason why this can’t be the most watched in madden event in history.
So without further ado here are some interesting story lines that I can’t wait to see play out.
Serious Moe is the reigning madden challenge champion. Nobody works harder than he does at madden. He’s not a flashy player by any means, nothing he does in game is “sexy”, he just wins games. And he’s one weekend away from cementing himself on the mt Rushmore of madden. (If he isn’t already)
Skimbo walked away from the stage in SF the most disappointed he’s ever been in madden. A shot at a madden challenge title and 20k came to an end when serious moe nabbed a monster interception in OT to all but seal the game. I’ve personally talked to skimbo on multiple occasions and he’s hit the lab hard. Nobody would love a crack at moe for the 20k more than Michael Skimbo.
Eric “problem” Wright is the GOAT in madden and nots even a debate. He’s wildly popular in the community through his accomplishments, his twitch, and his Twitter. He’s been around forever but with that comes the idea that the new guys or he up and comers are here to unseat him from his throne. Problem is coming to Burbank to not just reiterate he’s the best of all but the best right now.
Mark “bam” Samuels heads to Burbank and overcoming arguably the toughest challenge of anyone in the event. Bam had spent the last few years taking care of his mother while she battled cancer. While his mother is no longer here in body here spirit and her courage live through Bam. It would mean the world to him to go out there bring home the title and show everyone that nobody fights harder than him.
Taylor “spotmeplz” Robertson qualified for the live event by juggling the online qualifier and his wife giving birth to the newest edition to their family. Take it from someone who has is raising kids them self, 20k could come in handy to give him and the wife a break or to set money aside when for the kiddo. Not many people get a chance to provide for a family by winning madden games. He has that opportunity.
Hollywood has been a legend on gamersaloon for years and this year took his game to live tourney scene winning his first ever tournament in Atlantic city. He’s been incredibly hot all year and people seem to have forgotten about him. He heads to Burbank to remind everyone and to put a stamp on a remarkable 2016 campaign.
Litezout and stiffmeister are co-founders of maddendaily.com and two of the classiest guys in the community. A third member, fiasco, fell just short of joining his comrades in Cali. With all the madden tip websites out right now, litez and Stiff would love nothing more than to prove why you should be a member of theirs.
Kiv, part of “the takeover”, is a relative unknown to live events but online we know who he is. Drawing comparisons to a young Justin bieber he arrives in Burbank to make a splash in the tourney community and help aid problem and moe in taking over the madden world.
James pianoman and youbuggin dude enter the event looking to prove they belong with the heavyweights. Both these guys cut their teeth grinding games in Koach K’s compete4ever leagues. Two very versatile players who are capable of beating you in different ways. I personally can’t wait to see which one of these two Davis slay a Goliath first.
The remaining competitors aren’t well known either and regarded as “randoms” but as we all know some times all you need is a shot. And I for one wouldn’t be surprised to see one of them make a run.
If these plots don’t make you interested in watching this you don’t have a pulse. This is the stuff you see in movies. After my loss to Boogz in the 64 man bracket I wasn’t sure I wanted to even hear the word “madden” again. But after looking at this list of competitors I couldn’t imagine not tuning in to twitch to watch this.
Written by Tony Montagnino ( V Tech)
Follow on Twitter @Maddenvtech