By Glenn Cravens
Get Your Tournament

ANAHEIM – Normal people would have folded or got on their knees and surrendered. CompLexity’s Len “Dynasty” Green did not.

Dynasty finished second in the Anaheim Madden Challenge this past weekend at the Anaheim Convention Center. With the placing, he earned an automatic spot in the Finals Tournament, coming up in February in South Florida, site of Super Bowl XLIV.

Dynasty had the toughest run of anyone in the tournament, as he faced eight former Madden Challenge regional winners. Despite all of that, the Philadelphia product reached the title bout, where he lost to Florida native Los, 25-12.

Los controlled the game from the beginning, leading 10-0 before Dynasty got on the board. Despite the loss, the goal of getting to the Finals Tournament was achieved.

Dynasty seemed to right the ship after closing within 10-6. With no time left in the second quarter, Los nailed a 56-yard touchdown to go ahead 17-6. It killed any momentum gained in the final few minutes.

Some people will remember only the last match, but let’s not forget the memorable run he made just to get there.

Dynasty was slipped up in his third game of the tournament, losing to 2006 Finals champion Fool, 14-10. Up to that point in this year’s tournament series, all three of his tournament losses had been against his friends.

But he stayed the course and won eight losers bracket games in a row, tying the Madden Challenge record which he set in Dallas a couple months ago.

Along the way, his defense carried him; he allowed 8.6 points a game during his eight-game winning streak.

His breakout game came in the losers bracket semifinals, where he defeated Secret, 20-16. He trailed, 8-0 after the first quarter and then scored 20 unanswered points to beat the 2007 Finals runner-up. With 49 seconds left in the game, Secret was driving with looks of scoring a go-ahead touchdown. However, Dynasty snared an interception to seal the win.

That victory sent Dynasty to the losers bracket semifinals, where he escaped past Brusk, 20-17. Although it was barely a 10-3 lead at half, Dynasty was in complete control; he consumed 107 yards on 17 plays, compared to just 50 yards on five plays for Brusk. Dynasty shut down Brusk’s running game in the first half, not allowing a yard.

Dynasty led 17-10 in the fourth and nearly had the game wrapped up. Brusk spent 30 seconds on one play near the 40-yard line, scrambling to find an open receiver while avoiding Dynasty’s defensive linemen. Dynasty got the sack and Brusk was charged with a holding call. That put Brusk back at midfield. On the next play, Brusk threw a 43-yard pass, and then ran it in to tie the game at 17-17.

Dynasty needed some luck to escape with the victory. On a third-and-16, Dynasty escaped the tackles and threw for 20 yards. One play later, Dynasty threw a pass right to a Brusk defender, who was all alone. It would have been a pick-6 for Brusk, but Brusk dropped the ball. Dynasty then picked a few safer plays and kicked a 25-yard field goal to win, 20-17.

The next Madden Challenge event is scheduled to take place in Orlando in January. With Dynasty — 18-4 overall — having locked up a spot in the Finals, the pressure to get to the Finals is off his back. And he can thank a great eight-game winning streak that sealed the deal.