November 23, 2004 - Thanks to EA Sports for providing the recaps of each event.

San Diego - 11/20

Name: David Stepney

Hometown: Pomona, CA

Age: 21

Nickname: One 9

Team Used: Falcons

One-9 Gets Title #1

Last week in Las Vegas, The Beast started the pre-final round of 32 with a cheer for the West Coast. "Is the West Coast the best coast?" he yelled. In San Diego, we were about to find out. Ballers from all over the West showed up for the 30th Madden Challenge regional and the competition was accordingly stiff. Rod "Reality" Wynn, David "One-9" Stepney, and "Icon" were just a few of SoCal's finest who showed up. From NorCal, we had Marcus "Panoramic" Phillips, Montell "Savetime" Jones, and "Unknown" just to name a few. Also stepping up was a presence from last week in Las Vegas, a young baller by the name of Jhenna Halili who showed up to do a lot of damage, winning her first two games. She definitely ruined a couple of ballers' days by sending them home early. The youngsters definitely made a dent in San Diego as they have all over the country this year, so look out when you have a shorty standing next to you at the sticks. It may just be your last game of the day.

Out of the top ballers that came from all over California for this regional, the final two ended up making a SoCal versus NorCal battle. Marcus "Panoramic" Phillips who spends most of his time near Oakland went up against Pomona native David "One 9" Stepney. Panoramic, who came out as the Titans, had been strong on both sides of the ball all day but didn't have the answer for One 9 and his Falcons. One 9's game plan was simple. Score as many points as possible, and go for it on all four downs. This tactic developed because early in the 2nd quarter One 9 was faced with a tough call. With his back against his own wall and facing a fourth down, One 9 elected to go for it and converted. That play not only gave One 9 momentum but it also gave him confidence in his play selection. Next we saw One 9 open up with some huge offense of plays with Mike Vick running and passing. But make no mistake; Panoramic gave One 9 a run for the title.

Los Angeles - 11/21 - Third Street Promenade

Name: Luis Gonzales

Age: 26

Hometown: Bakersfield, CA

Nickname: Tru Legend

Team Used: Atlanta

A Truly Legendary Performance

The Madden Challenge finished up its tour of Southern California with the Los Angeles Regional. After being on the road for four months, the touring crew thought that this might be our last chance for some nice, sunny, and most importantly of all, warm weather. Unfortunately, we and the record number turnout of Madden Ballers had to endure the frigid overcast, decidedly not sunny SoCal ocean chill, but the games going on were definitely excitedly hot.

With only three regionals to go, the top ballers were leaving their games on the field, trying to get to Las Vegas to win that $50,000. The finals in LA came down to Luis "Tru Legend" Gonzales and Paul "Hollow Man" Wright. From the beginning, Tru Legend held an advantage. Hollow Man, playing as the Vikings, had lost his starting Quarterback, Daunte Culpepper for the game. Even Randy Moss, the best wide receiver in the game is rendered much less effective without someone to get the ball to him. Without having to worry about Culpepper's gun and his exceptional wheels, Luis's strong defense helped him cruise to a 31-7 win.