THANK YOU!!!

Thanks to everyone who participated in the inaugural EA SPORTS™ Challenge Series powered by Virgin Gaming exclusively on PlayStation®3 and a special shout out to those gamers who joined us in NYC for the live finals. It was an awesome day and we learned a lot on our end and are looking forward to putting off an even better Challenge Series next time.

By 7am on April 28th there were gamers lined up outside the Terminal 5 venue waiting patiently for the doors to open. Not just a few enthusiasts waiting to enter the building; there were about 2000 gamers and spectators lined down the block and around the corner for as far as we could see! Right then and there we immediately knew that it was going to be a legendary day for the gaming community!

At 8am Virgin Gaming opened the doors to begin registration. After players signed in they were met by the lovely and absolutely gorgeous Challenge Series cheerleaders who greeted all of the attendees as they entered the a tunnel into a three-level gaming party palace, decked out with hundreds of PS3 consoles, televisions, interactive gaming stations and an epic 30 foot HD screen.

The gamers were welcomed to drink as many free energy drinks as they could handle, which were provided by NOS, the Official Energy Drink of Virgin Gaming.

The DJ was on the main stage spinning some beats to get the gamers amped while they practiced their game one last time before their first round matches. Our fun loving host welcomed everyone to the Challenge Series and the first round officially got underway.

ROUND 1

As soon as the matches were announced, the gamers got right to their assigned consoles and began doing what they do best. There were some big wins, some tough losses, a couple of heated exchanges but overall the gamers played fairly and were just stoked to be there to meet and compete against the best of the best in sports gaming. After the first round ended, there were some sad and disappointed gamers who were on the losing end of their first match and who were desperate to get back in on the action.

Then they got their second chance - the announcement came that there were several spots available to round out each bracket that would be raffled off to those gamers who lost in the first round. Gamers patiently waited and some did their lucky dances - all hoping their names would be randomly selected to get back in for Round 2.

The names were called by Zack (you favorite gamer's favorite gamer) as some gamers shrieked in excitement while others showed obvious signs of disappointment. Once we had the fully rounded brackets completed, the games moved full speed ahead and the tournament was officially in full swing.

ROUND 2

As round two got underway, the intensity was turned up an extra notch. This is where the gaming got serious. At this point everyone was guaranteed a cash prize - it was just a matter of exactly how much cash these guys would be walking away with. Once gamers lost here, they were officially eliminated from further competition.

As the gamers played through the subsequent rounds, some took a break to get in on the tailgate action on the rooftop patio, ate some lunch in the canteen area, or participated in the indoor competitions being run, where the host awarded PlayStation Vitas and other awesome prizes.

DJ Reflex Le Roque kept the beats pumpin as he stepped up to the turntables and the Maxim girls arrived to heat things up a little.

As they powered through the later rounds, gamers constantly checked the bracket boards and took a look through their playbooks as they waited to play their next match. They gathered in small groups on the main floor and shared strategies on those who they'd already faced in earlier rounds.

As players got eliminated, they huddled around the ongoing matches to cheer on friends and teammates or decided to reflect on missed opportunities in the PlayStation lounge.

FINALS

On the soccer pitch, the guys were battling it out. The gamers weren't taking any risks as they all chose Real Madrid to ride it to the end. It came down to Bryann and AdamW in the finals. It was an insanely close game with Bryann taking an early 1-0 lead. AdamW, a fierce competitor in his own right, quickly answered with a gorgeous equalizer to tie it up 1-1. The winning goal came approximately at the 72nd minute mark, when AdamW put one in to gain the lead. He was able to hold on and edge out Bryann to secure the championship with a final score of 2-1 to become the Challenge Series FIFA Soccer Champion. AdamW walked away with the largest prize of the day at $167,200 while Bryann cashed out with a respectable $40,000.

NHL 12 was the next game to crown a champion. On3_StEp beat One-Shot to become the Challenge Series NHL Champion. The On3-on-One battle ended with a final score of 5-4. On3_Step, a hardcore Bruins fan and Boston native, was sporting a Bruins hat and jersey and used the Bruins to take him to glory. By winning first place and being the first ever Challenge Series NHL Champion he took home a cool $70,000. One-Shot walked away with a sweet second place prize of $30,000.

To keep the crowd going until the Madden 12 finals, Jadakiss took the stage to a roaring crowd. He gave a shout out to the gamers before performing some songs. The audience cheered, sang along and took pictures and videos.

As the longest game to play and with the most gamers in the bracket, the Madden 12 Challenge roared on late into the night and early morning. Even though they were on their 18th hour of gaming, these guys didn't slow down even for a second. The finals touted SiriusTheVirus against FratStar going at it for a cool $140,000. FratStar pulled ahead to win and was crowned the Challenge Series Madden Champion. In second place, SiriusTheVirus walked away with $40,000 for his efforts.

SEE YOU NEXT TIME - STAY DANGEROUS!

Stay tuned at VirginGaming.com and Facebook.com/VirginGaming for details on the next Challenge Series. In the meantime, we are constantly running online tournaments on our site. Sign up for free and get in on the action.