A couple of surprises have left the best two Madden players out of the upcoming Ultimate Thanksgiving tournament, but not out of the top spots in the latest Madden Championship Series power rankings.
Henry Leverette and Noah Johnson, better known as Henry and NoahUpNxt, have maintained their hold on the Nos. 1 and 2 spots in the power rankings, released Wednesday by EA Sports.
With a loss to fellow competitor and close friend Wesley in a win-and-in game in the double-elimination portion of the tournament, Henry's streak of 11 straight appearances in EA major events was snapped. Henry's unprecedented run lasted over 1,100 days, and included over $520,000 in career earnings, a 69-14 record in live events, and three straight title belts, including a third won in a thrilling game against Noah in the Ultimate Kickoff final.
Henry will spend this live event final eight watching from home for the first time since the early portion of the Madden 20 Championship Series, played back in 2019. Noah, an esports student-athlete at West Virginia University, will also watch the action without a controller in hand next week after falling short of the live event's final eight.
As for the rest of the power rankings, one competitor -- KMac -- made a huge leap into the top 10. His run to the Ultimate Thanksgiving final eight propelled him from 38th in the power rankings to 10th. His rise coincides with another surprise appearance from Dez, a player who is new to the competitive Madden scene and will be making his EA major event debut in a showdown with KMac in the first round next week.
After missing out on the Ultimate Kickoff live event, Cleff The God is back in a final eight next week, and his standing in the power rankings reflects his latest victory. Cleff started the Madden 23 season ranked 12th, and jumped to No. 6 in the latest rankings.
Also on the rise are JonBeast, who leapt from ninth to fourth and will face BigGucci -- who jumped from fifth to third -- in the Ultimate Thanksgiving quarterfinals. Each is looking to earn some redemption after losing in the semifinals of their last respective live events, with JonBeast losing to eventual runner-up Wesley in last season's Madden Bowl, and BigGucci falling to eventual runner-up NoahUpNxt in Ultimate Kickoff '23.
Fresh off a win over the reigning Madden king Henry, Wesley's standing in the power rankings improved from eighth to fifth. He'll look to record his first win in a live event final eight this season.
Finally, three competitors who fell short of the Ultimate Thanksgiving final eight -- two-time belt winner Drini, one-time belt winner Young Kiv, and Datboi -- each saw their standings in the power rankings drop.
Two-time belt winner Drini, who has earned over $400,000 in his Madden career, dropped from third to seventh, while Young Kiv ($263,700 in earnings) went from seventh to ninth. The least experienced of the three, Datboi ($46,500 in earnings), fell from fourth to eighth.
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