Pavan 'Pavan' Lakhat wins the Madden 19 Club Championship

Add the name Pavan “Pavan” Lakhat to the exclusive list of Madden Championship Series belt winners. The 18-year-old Oakland Raiders representative from Yuba City, CA took home the $100,000 grand prize, an EA Major title of Madden 19 Club Champion, earned a seat in the upcoming Madden Bowl, and secured two tickets to Super Bowl LIII following his resounding victory in the Championship Game over Vikings Club Champ Ryan “ibestrafing” Danczak (who earned a respectable $75,000 as runner-up). 

Pavan dominated his side of the bracket, crushing both seasoned veterans and new competitors in the MCS, and planted his flag as a new face of the youth movement in the competitive Madden scene.

The young competitor posted at least 23 points in all five of his games during the four-day live finals. Here's a snapshot of his path to victory.

• Round of 32: Daniel “WarDaddy” Delgado (Chiefs) 27-10
  
• Round of 16: Jeffrey “Turbo Jeff” Taroon (Broncos) 28-21
  
• Quarterfinal: Raidel “Echo Fox Joke” Brito (Browns) 26-14 
  
• Semifinal: Abbott “Blocky” Lopez (Dolphins) 23-10
  
• Final: Ryan “ibestrafing” Danczak (Vikings) 38-24
  

Pavan isn't the only competitor who locked up a slot in the Madden Bowl, which is the finale of the MCS 19 season. Each of the four semifinalists including Abbott “Blocky” Lopez, Ryan “ibestrafing” Danczak, and Hassan “GOS” Spall earned seats at the MCS's final tournament of the year coming up this spring. 

The debut of the Player's Lounge added a fun element to the tournament, as the 32 finalists hung out as they watched and reacted to all four days of intense Madden 19 gameplay. Our guy Rico Williams held it down in the lounge, as he took fan questions from social media to the players while they labbed, discussed upcoming matchups, and cheered on their fellow competitors. 

Electronic Arts ran a contest a few months ago called the Madden Shoutcaster Showdown to discover new casters who could win a chance to broadcast live at the Club Championship. Three of the winners were flown to California and had an opportunity to call some of the games during the event. All three of them crushed it, to say the least. Nick Mizesko, Cookieboy, and BreakyCPK joined our all-star cast of Scott Cole, RG, and Michael Skimbo at the caster's desk adding depth to the broadcast. Huge shout to the entire crew for calling an amazing tournament. 

That will do it for our coverage from the Madden 19 Club Championship. GGs to all of our 32 finalists, and keep an eye out for news about the Draft Champions format Madden 19 Challenge coming up in March.

— Matt Franciscovich (Follow Matt on Twitter @MattFranchise)

For more information on the Madden Championship Series and how to compete in future events, visit the Madden NFL 19 compete homepage. Keep it locked on the @MaddenLeagueOps  Twitter handle for news, tournament updates, recaps, and content throughout the Madden 19 Club Championship and all season long.