Ayan Tariq (aka Fool) from Ridgefield Park, NJ defeated 31 gamers from around the world to take home $100,000 in prize money, bragging rights and be crowned the world's best MADDEN NFL 07 player during the fifth annual EA SPORTS Madden Challenge Finals Tournament, presented by Best Buy, on Feb. 8 in Honolulu. Tariq, the winner of the Pittsburgh, PA tournament, defeated William Wolf (aka Secret), winner of the Minneapolis, MN competition, in a showdown at the Finals.

Held every year during Pro Bowl week, the EA SPORTS Madden Challenge Finals tournament from Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: ERTS) pits the winners of international, regional and online semifinal competitions against one another in an effort to nab the title and the cash prize.

"It feels great to win! I think I am going to give the money to my mom," said Tariq upon receiving the $100,000 grand prize.

In addition to the competitors, this year's event saw several NFL athletes in attendance: Chad Johnson, Antonio Gates, Derrick Brooks, Marshal Faulk, DeAngelo Hall, Roy Williams and Julian Peterson were there to show their support for the competitive spirit that gripped the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel, the site of the Finals.

The 2006 EA SPORTS Madden Challenge competitions ran regularly from Sept. 1to Jan. 20 and is the only Electronic Arts sanctioned public tournament competition in the celebrated 17-year history of the EA SPORTS Madden NFL football video game franchise. In years past, the EA SPORTS Madden Challenge has been solely a U.S. event, but this year four international (London, Germany, Toronto, Mexico City) and two online tournaments were added, with those winners traveling to the Finals as well.