Breaking The Jinx

The one thing the last three Madden Challenge winners have had in common is that they have all had great years leading up to Nationals.

At Nationals V, Da Untouchable (GTP) rolled into Miami fresh off being crowned Madden Challenge champion, looking to continue his good fortunes against the largest Madden field ever (188) at a Nationals. Only to have his joy ride cut short after being bounced in the second round of Survivor Sunday. Last year Sandman rolled into Miami considered one of the hottest ballers in the nation, only to be bounced from contention in the elite 8 at Nationals 6 by Gooch. This year it will be Big Gene holding the crown as Madden Challenge winner. True the Madden Challenge has the most prestigious prize purse in the game at $50,000 dwarfing the chicken feed $3000 that Nationals has offered the past 2 years. Nevertheless, the National Championship of Madden, the oldest professional tournament crown in Madden competition is still the most prestigious, and most coveted crown in the game. And now going strong into its 7th year, the question is who will be the next whiz on the sticks to hold down the crown.

If you ask a knowledgeable member of this community to list their top five, you would be hard pressed to find one that would not have Gene in the top 5. Big Gene has been consistently at the top of the game for the past two years. And while he is probably about $50,000 richer than most in the community at this time, the National crown has alluded him during his dominant run. And this could be the one thing missing from Gene's resume that would put him in the class with a Tillery or Realist, two ballers that enjoyed at least two years dominating the game. Gene has several local and regional tournament championships on his resume, just as many if not more than any other top baller in the nation. The Nationals crown would certainly elevate him to one of the best ever.

If he were to nab the Nationals 7 title, he would be the first player to ever hold a National Championship and a Madden Challenge crown at the same time, signifying complete dominance of the field. So can he break the curse of the Madden Challenge Champions? Will the new rules enhance or be a detriment to Gene's game? And if Gene were to pull it off, wouldn't it make Gametime Philly the most dominant camp in the nation? After all two Madden Challenge winners and a National Champion would certainly be unprecedented.