Jonathan “Jonbeast” Marquez beat Tyjhir “TJ” Joyner 38-34 to win the Madden 24 Most Feared Challenge on Tuesday.
Jonbeast, a 21-year-old from Hartford, Conn., captured his second Madden Championship series belt — the seventh player to win more than once on the circuit. It was his first title in person, as the other came in remote competition during the COVID lockdown.
For the victory, Jonbeast earned $30,000 from the $125,000 prize pool. The event was conducted live at EA’s center in Redwood City, Calif.
Jonbeast went up 17-13 on a 25-yard touchdown pass with 21 seconds to play in the first half, but TJ responded with a 75-yard scoring pass over the top on the next play.
TJ led 34-24 in the fourth quarter before Jonbeast rallied. A touchdown with 3:51 left was followed by a recovered onside kick. Moments later, a 60-yard TD run put Jonbeast on top 38-34 with 3:24 to go — and then Jonbeast grabbed an interception on the next play from scrimmage.
TJ, a 20-year-old from Dover, Del., was competing in his first MCS major.
In the first semifinal, Jonbeast got past Abram “Abram” Joseph 35-28. Abram, 18-year-old from Humble, Texas, was in an MCS major for the first time.
TJ beat Wesley “Wesley” Gittens 18-17 in the other semifinal by scoring a 3-yard rushing touchdown with eight seconds remaining. Wesley then got to TJ’s 49-yard line with one second to go, but an incomplete pass ended the contest.
Wesley, a 25-year-old from Austin, Texas, is tied for fifth in all-time MCS major appearances with 12.
Most Feared was the first of a series of four monthly Ultimate Challenges featuring a combined $500,000 prize pool. It also follows the Ultimate Kickoff, which was the most-watched Madden esports competition to date with an increase in average minute audience (AMA) of 62 percent year-over-year.
–Field Level Media