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Madden NFL 16 Championship: Meet the Draft Champions Ranked Finalists
The Madden NFL 16 Championship is upon us! The 16 best players on the planet are ready to compete for their share of $50,000 in cash prizes. The four competitors below qualified for the Madden NFL 16 Championship by being finalists during the Season 2 Draft Champions Ranked tournament.
Below you will find additional information about each competitor and what makes them tick as a competitive Madden NFL player.
Name: Pete Calefato
Nickname: Litezout
Hometown: New York
Favorite NFL Team: Jets
Favorite play in Madden: HB Wheel
How I got started: I got started with competitive Madden all the way back to Madden 06 on Playstation 2. I remember playing against a tournament player (before I even knew what that was or meant) and he was playing a type of Freestyle Madden I never witnessed until this game. It was the first time facing quick hiking, constant no huddling, fast blitzes, quick passes, user catching, and someone staying in 1 formation with adjustments all game. Everything was so fast paced and extremely difficult to stop. Naturally when someone sees this for the first time they either immediately hate it and never want to face it again, or they become intrigued by it. I was the latter. The strategy behind everything he did was fascinating to watch and face in my opinion. I never looked back since then and made it a goal to get better and learn as much as possible by finding tips and tricks to get better. I gradually became known in the underground scene by facing the top players online and attending offline events. Years down the road since then and now I am a top Madden player competing in the biggest tournament of the year, and also one of the guys helping others get better at the game so they can some day be in the Madden Challenge Finals!
Favorite Part of competing: My favorite part of competing is the strategy mental aspect of everything. I enjoy the preparation for the tournament almost as much as the competition itself. I never thought I was 1 of the best players in the world but I compete year in and year out because I typically prepare well. If I'm going to beat someone like Problem, it's going to be by trying to do something he's not ready for. I'm not out sticking Problem in anything no matter what Madden I'm playing. I rely on a well thought out game plan to win against the best. I'm a think outside the box kind of guy and that is why this is my favorite part of competing.
Name: Justin Hood
Nickname: Trez money
Hometown: Charlotte, NC
Favorite NFL Team: Indianapolis Colts
Favorite play in Madden: Inside Zone
How I got started: I got started by having a love for football and video games, I first played madden around 2001 and I've been dominating since.
Favorite Part of competing: My favorite part of competing is winning plain and simple
Name: James Segura-Mitchell
Nickname: Piano
Hometown: Lacey, Washington
Favorite NFL Team: Kansas City Chiefs
Favorite play in Madden: Saints Spot (Shotgun Tight Offset TE)- It can beat any coverage when making the right adjustments.
How I got started: First started off when I was losing every game of Madden at football camp, and I decided to stop getting picked on. So I played every day and eventually became better than average. This led me into looking for leagues to play in. I joined C4 (compete4ever.com) which surrounded me with great Madden competition, top players around the nation. They smacked me a lot (they still do) but all of that made me better. I am a much more competitive Madden player because of C4.
Favorite Part of competing: Wins and losses. Winning and losing are all apart of it. Winning is great because it satisfies my competitive nature. My goal is to always win every game I play. However, I often lose my drive when I am on a win streak. In no way do I want to lose, but when I do lose I feel inspired to hop back up and compete again. Losing does not discourage me, or hurt my feelings. It actually does the opposite. It motivates me to keep on trying. It is a never-ending cycle of competing.