POLK COUNTY, Fla. — A Florida Polytechnic University student is celebrating after becoming the EA Madden NFL 19 Challenge champion.
- Florida Polytechnic student wins Madden gaming competition
- Christian Lomenzo majoring in business analytics
- Lomenzo studied opponents, came prepared to win
Christian Lomenzo, 20, of Tampa, surprised the gaming world with an 80-yard touchdown in overtime that sealed his victory, and $35,000 grand prize.
“My mind was going crazy when I won. I just didn’t know what to think and everybody that I talked to that were rooting for me were just going crazy,” Lomenzo said.
Lomenzo is also a survivor of the mass shooting in Jacksonville that happened last August at the qualifying tournament for Madden Classic. He said he was watching the games on the television screen inside the room when he heard the gunshots and ran out the back door.
Lomenzo didn't let the shooting deter him from playing the game. He kept practicing and went on to qualify for the Madden 19 Challenge, a nationwide competition held in Redwood City, California at the EA Headquarters between March 15 and 17.
More than 100,000 players from across the country competed for months online, attempting to qualify. Only the top 16 made it to the live Madden Championship series. The finalists this time included defending champion Drini Gjoka and four other former Madden Challenge winners.
“I was just taking it one game at a time while everyone was picking against me,” said Lomenzo, a junior majoring in business analytics. “I definitely felt like the underdog.”
Some may have considered him the underdog, but Lomenzo said he came into the challenge fully prepared to win.
“I had a strategy coming into each game. I studied my opponents a decent amount to know what they wanted to do and tried to exploit that,” said Lomenzo, who failed to make the tournament for the last two years.
“Madden is a mind game. You have to think about what your opponent will do and keep adjusting your game to stop it,” he explained.
Lomenzo will defend his title in the upcoming Madden Bowl in late April, when he’ll get to travel to California once again with all expenses paid. The grand prize is $40,000.