This week, the Madden NFL 25 Madden Championship Series (MCS) held its fourth and final Monthly Challenge tournament. The Zero Chill Challenge saw thousands of Madden NFL 25 players competing through the ladders and elimination stages, to get down to the final eight competitors. In the end, MCS veteran Cleff The God came out on top and got his long awaited first MCS belt in his 13th live event appearance.
Quarterfinals
Cleff came into the live event as the 6th seed. This set him up against the 3rd seed, Fancy, in the quarterfinals. Fancy came into the Zero Chill Challenge as the top ranked player in the MCS Season Standings with 3000 points.
Midway through the 2nd quarter of the game, Cleff threw a deep ball into double coverage that was intercepted. Fancy would have a chance to extend on his 7-6 lead before halftime. However, on the very next play, Fancy threw an interception to Bobby Wagner, which Cleff returned for a touchdown. Cleff followed it up with two more touchdowns before halftime, and went on to win 33-13.
Cleff would now face off against the winner of the 2nd seed TJ and the 7th seed Kiv. Kiv intercepted TJ on the first possession of the game, and marched right down the field to take an early 7-0 lead. Kiv never let up and went on to blow out the higher seeded TJ 30-6 to move on to the semifinals.
On the other side of the bracket, the top seeded Vohes had to take on the 8th seed Velus. Velus scored the first touchdown of the game with a beautiful deep lob pass to take an early lead. Velus built up an impressive 31-14 lead with only 3:30 remaining in the game. However, Vohes did make it interesting. He answered with a 37-yard touchdown to Desean Jackson, a successful onside kick, and another touchdown to Desean Jackson to make it 31-28 in under a minute of game time. In the end, Velus was able to get the ball back and run out the clock to knock off the top seed in the tournament.
The final quarterfinal matchup had the 4th seed Mr. Football 88 taking on 5th seed Cobo. After a back and forth game, Mr. Football found David Njoku in the back of the endzone to take a 23-12 lead later in the 4th quarter. Cobo answered with a quick touchdown to his Njoku as well. A successful two-point conversion made it a three-point game. However, Mr. Football recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock to win 23-20.
Semifinals
In the first semfinal game, it looked like Mr. Football was about to take a 7-0 lead into halftime. On the last play of the half, Mr. Football threw up a Hail Mary into the end zone. However, Velus picked it off with Out of Position Randy Moss and returned it all the way to tie the game going into halftime.
Coming out of halftime, Velus forced a turnover on downs to set himself up with great field position. Velus worked down the field and eventually found Cedee Lamb for a toe tapping touchdown. Velus followed it up by forcing a turnover on Mr. Football’s next possession. The ensuing offensive possession led to another touchdown for Velus, as he would go on to win 21-13 to reach the championship game.
Velus would now await the winner of Kiv and Cleff on the other side of the bracket. Cleff got the scoring started fast, with a huge throw to Tyreek Hill on the second play of the game that went for 67-yards and a touchdown. The scoring continued throughout the game, with Cleff holding a slim 48-43 lead with under a minute left. It all came down to a 4th and 8 for Kiv just outside the red zone. Kiv dropped back with Baker Mayfield and threw a quick out pass that was intercepted by Out of Position Rob Gronkowski. Cleff secured the win 48-43 and was one win away from his first MCS belt.
Championship Game
The final match was now set between 8th seed rookie Velus and 6th seed veteran Cleff. Both players would be fighting for their first MCS belt. Velus got the ball first, and found David Njoku down the middle of the field for a 52-yard touchdown. On the ensuing possession, Cleff worked the ball into Velus’s territory, but a big hit stick forced a fumble that Velus recovered.
It looked like Velus was all set to take a two possession lead. Then, on a 4th and 2 from the 10-yard line, Velus threw an interception that Cleff returned 90 yards with Kyle Hamilton to tie things up at 7-7. Velus got bit by the turnover bug again on his next possession as he threw an interception to Out of Position Randy Moss in the end zone. On the very next play, Cleff found Tyreek Hill wide open for an 80-yard touchdown.
Velus wasn’t going to go away though. With under a minute before halftime, Velus found Jerry Jeudy on an out route, and after a series of juke and spin moves, he found his way into the end zone to tie the game. Two plays later, Cleff threw an interception to Velus’s defensive lineman that was returned to the 3-yard line. With 6 seconds left on 2nd and goal, Velus found Ceedee Lamb for a touchdown. Velus would take a 21-14 lead into halftime.
Cleff got to work coming out of the break. On the opening drive of the second half, he found David Njoku streaking down the field for a 76-yard touchdown to tie the game at 21. After a back-and-forth second half, it wouldn’t be enough to settle this one. The championship game went into overtime tied at 31.
On the opening drive of overtime, Velus worked the ball all the way down the Cleff’s 13-yard line. However, the drive stalled out, and Velus was forced to settle for a field goal. Cleff could now win the game and the belt with a touchdown.
That is exactly what Cleff did when he got the ball. On 1st and 10, Jerry Jeudy ran right by Velus’s defenders and caught a wide open pass for a 67-yard touchdown. Cleff The God won the game 37-34 and secured his first ever MCS belt.
He's finally done it! 🎉
Congratulations to @CleffTheGod, The MCS #ZeroChill Challenge Champion! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/Y9Vws3afLa
— Madden NFL 25 (@EAMaddenNFL) December 19, 2024
Cleff was visibly emotional following the walk off win. After 13 live event appearances, years of grinding, and over $200,000 in career winnings, Cleff finally got the one thing missing from his MCS resume. You honestly couldn’t write a better script than this. To add to the emotion, Cleff’s father, a college football coach, was in attendance to see Cleff’s victory.
