One of the biggest events of the year is set to return in 2021.
The Madden 21 Club Championship is set to return with a prize pool of $750,000. The tournament registration has since closed, and more information about upcoming events and live streams will be available in the future.
The Madden Championship Series is set to run from November 10 to February 5. Players will have eight weeks to compete and to represent one of the 32 NFL teams. Online games will be played on Tuesday nights, and Pizza Hut is the event’s title sponsor.
The partnership
Fans can watch the tournament through Fox Sports and NFL reddit streams.The series was made possible after the NFL, NFLPA, and Madden NFL signed a new multi-year partnership. Madden NFL found that there was an increase in unique players and that EA competitive gaming featured a high volume of viewership.
Fox Sports announced that FS1 would be the primary channel for this tournament. In 2020, former MVP quarterback Michael Vick was a host. The new year also brought in streaming channels such as EA SPORTS Madden NFL on Twitch and Madden Competitive Gaming on YouTube.
The games
Every week, a new celebrity, musical artist, or professional athlete will take on Los Angeles Chargers safety Derwin Hames. At the conclusion of the 16-week long series, James will take on the winner of the season’s Madden Club Championship. Each week we will also see King of the Hill tournaments, where players will face off in two respective single-elimination brackets.
This will feature two NFL athletes taking on each other with two elite Madden NFL competitive players. The winner of each match will then advance to the next week to take on a new opponent. Each week will also see a different division of the NFL represented.
Business is booming
Esports has been taking off. At one point, Hulu Live was streaming the live championship of Overwatch, while other mainstream platforms have shown Rainbow Six Siege matches. ESPN Classic once showed Madden tournaments, so watching digital competitions through such platforms is nothing new. But despite the growth, there remains a divide.
There are people that believe that esports are not equal to traditional sports. They see sports as a skill that is developed with a ball or other equipment. When it comes to Madden, it brings a conundrum. Is this more or less of a sport because the video game is based on a traditional sport? That’s a question that is up for debate.
