The semi-finals and final are due to take place on Thursday and can be streamed on EA Madden's Twitch channel
Thursday 2 April 2020 13:33, UK
NFL stars are coming together to raise money in aid of COVID-19 relief efforts by competing in The Checkdown's Madden 20 tournament.
Formula One have already hosted a Virtual Grand Prix, while professional footballers have also gone head-to-head on FIFA 20 and now some of the NFL's biggest names are ready to go head-to-head for a worthy cause.
Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl champions Tyrann Mathieu and Tyreek Hill are among those taking part, along with the Los Angeles Chargers' Derwin James and Keenan Allen, the Philadelphia Eagles' DeSean Jackson, the San Francisco 49ers' Deebo Samuel and the Cleveland Browns' Jarvis Landry and Denzel Ward.
The round one match-ups will be aired on Wednesday April 1, starting with Landry and Ward in an all-Cleveland battle followed by Mathieu and Hill two months after the pair helped the Chiefs overcome the 49ers in Miami.
For each participant the NFL Foundation and EA will donate $5,000 towards relief efforts against the coronavirus pandemic, before making a contribution of $20,000 on behalf of the winner.
The Chargers' James showcased his Madden skills at the weekend as he made light work of former NFL quarterback Michael Vick with an 80-16 victory in the first ever Madden NFL Invitational designed to raise awareness for the fight against COVID-19.
Some players were clearly disappointed to have been left out, including Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon who tweeted: "Y'all know not to put me in this tournament no" - to which Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray replied: "Said the same thing".
All contests will be streamed live on EA Madden's Twitch channel from Wednesday, with the semi-finals and final set to take place on Thursday.
