Madden Finals Recap
32 players, five rounds, and fifty grand on the line. Check out our recap of the 2004 Madden Challenge Finals in Las Vegas.
What would you do in Las Vegas with an extra $50,000? That was the question 32 of the best Madden NFL 2005 players in the country were asking themselves last Saturday just before the opening rounds of the 2004 Madden Challenge Finals event, which was held at the Mandalay Bay Casino. The finalists, all winners from the 32 regional events held during the Madden Challenge road tour, convened at the casino to determine who would take home the title as best Madden player of the year, along with a debit card worth 50 grand.
The stage was set early for intense competition, as this year's list of hopefuls included some familiar faces, such as last year's Madden Challenge winner David "Sandman" Sietchick and runner-up Eugene "Big Gene" Williams, in addition to another former finalist in David "Dred" Grant. Many of the finalists had played one another before, either in this year's slate of regional tournaments or in previous years' events. It wasn't unusual for players to compete in several regional tournaments, often hundreds of miles apart from one another, in hopes of nailing that shot at the finals in Las Vegas.
The evening before the actual tournament began, a celebrity pro-am event was held at a casino nightclub, where current and former pro athletes such as Kyle Turley, Ray Mickens, Bryan Cox, and John Salley took on the Madden Challenge finalists in a friendly tournament. Just who the "pros" and "amateurs" were was up for some debate, however, as the majority of the stars were eliminated early, including Turley, Cox, and Salley. Mickens, a former Madden Bowl winner, was clearly the best gamer among his celebrity colleagues, even though he was beaten in overtime by Madden Challenge finalist Anthony "Booker T" Mims.
The real competition, however, began the following morning when players arrived at 9am to begin the long day of tournament games. Along with the Madden finalists, the concurrent 2004 NCAA Football Finals were also held, pitting 16 of the best NCAA Football 2005 players in the country against one another, all vying for a championship title and a $10,000 pot. Perhaps due to the smaller prize or because of the relative lack of hype surrounding the NCAA event, the generally mellow, competitive vibe between the NCAA tournament finalists was in stark contrast to the trash talking and dog barking that ran rampant through the Madden tournament.
Just as we saw in the San Francisco regional tournament held several weeks prior to the finals, the best Madden players know that to win you need to have the best weapons in your arsenal. As such, the vast majority of players preferred one of two high-powered offensive teams for the tournament in either the Atlanta Falcons or the overwhelming favorite Minnesota Vikings. A scattered few chose such teams as the Tennessee Titans or the Denver Broncos. Interestingly, one poor soul even chose the Washington Redskins...and was promptly eliminated early in the competition.
More Features
Games you may like…
-
Madden NFL 2004
(XBOX) -
ESPN NFL 2K5
(XBOX) -
Madden NFL 2003
(XBOX) -
NFL Fever 2004
(XBOX) -
ESPN NFL Football
(XBOX)
Users who looked at content for this game also looked at these games.
See More Similar Games