| 09 August 2010
ESPN posted another article this past weekend about the life of a Madden player. In this, they talk to several competitive players about the competitive scene and how high the stakes can get. For a guy like Eric "Problem" Wright, the stakes can get really high.
A 21-year-old college student from West Covina, Calif., Wright is considered by many within the hardcore Madden NFL community to be ... the greatest player of all time. The Jerry Rice of rocket catching. The Dick Butkus of the game's virtual lumber-laying "hit stick." Since entering the competitive "Madden NFL" scene as a high-school junior, Wright has won dozens of tournaments and thousands of random games.
And that's not all.
"I've made close to $300,000 in tournaments," he said. "I've made nearly $500,000 underground. Online, I have to play with aliases. Or else no one will bet with me."
Add it up: that's 800 large. I thought Wright was joking. That is, until former Madden Challenge champ Ayan "Fool" Tariq mentioned that the pot for Madden NFL "money games" -- read: wagering on wins and losses -- can run between $300 and more than $3,000. Meanwhile, Topp told me that he won $50,000 playing against former NFL defensive tackle Sam Adams.
None of the "Madden NFL" hardcore scoffed at that claim, either.
