The first spot in the Ultimate Madden Bowl 23 Championship Game was on the line Wednesday night, and to the surprise of very few, the most decorated Madden player of all time grabbed it.
After getting a bye into the quarterfinals by way of earning the tournament’s top seed, world No. 1 Henry “Henry” Leverette breezed through his two games Wednesday by a combined 65-20 score, booking a place in Monday’s final.
The Ultimate Madden Bowl is a 14-person tournament, with competitors earning berths through a series of Madden Championship Series qualifying tournaments. All 14 players pocket at least $30,000, with the champion taking home the $250,000 grand prize and coveted championship belt.
After last week’s first-round games, the quarterfinals and semifinals take place this week in San Francisco — with one half of the bracket completed Wednesday and the other half Thursday.
Going into the tournament, Henry was the clear favorite. The 19-year-old has five total championship belts, has won 82.8 percent of his games and has more than $600,000 in career winnings — all competitive Madden records.
And Henry quickly showed why he’s the best on Wednesday, taking control late in the first half against eighth-seeded Jacob “Cobo” Clause and running away with the quarterfinal win. Playing as the Bears, Henry carried a 17-10 lead into the break, then dominated the second half in beating Cobo’s Lions 34-17.
The semifinal was an even bigger blowout, with Henry taking a 24-3 lead into halftime against No. 13 seed Jacob “Fancy” Worthington’s Cowboys before rolling to a 31-3 win.
Fancy made it to the semis by beating No. 12 David “David” Tampellini’s Giants 31-17 in the day’s second quarterfinal.
The tournament’s other bye recipient, No. 2 Peyton “Dez” Tuma, kicks off his Madden Bowl on Thursday against No. 10 Christopher “Cole” Anthony, followed by No. 11 Daniel “DCroft” Mycroft facing 14th-seeded Seamus “Kiv” Kivlen.
Ultimate Madden Bowl
Wednesday’s results
Quarterfinals
No. 1 Henry “Henry” Leverette 34, No. 8 Jacob “Cobo” Clause 17
No. 13 Jacob “Fancy” Worthington 31, No. 12 David “David” Tempellini 17
Semifinals
Henry 31, Fancy 3
Thursday’s schedule
Quarterfinals
No. 2 Peyton “Dez” Tuma vs. No. 10 Christopher “Cole” Anthony
No. 11 Daniel “Dcroft” Mycroft vs. No. 14 Shay “Kiv” Kivlen
Winners to play in semifinals
Ultimate Madden Bowl prize money
1. $250,000
2. $150,000
3-4. $100.000 — Jacob “Fancy” Worthington
5-8. $55,000 — Jacob “Cobo” Clause, David “David” Tempellini
9-14. $30,000 — John “Mr Football 88” Britt, Noah “Noahupnxt” Johnson, Jack “JackOregon” Hodson
–Field Level Media