Gamers united in the White Building Saturday night to play of Madden football for a tournament as part of the "Duck the Balls Holiday Tournament" festivities, which also involved dodge ball and Mario Kart tournaments.

Helping run the Madden challenge was Penn State wideout Derrick Williams, who also participated in the tournament.

Gamers took the tournament seriously, even though prizes were minimal; T-shirts and other assorted prizes were distributed. Strategy was vital, trying to decide what teams would be best to go deep into the tournament.

You could see some people realize any hopes of winning the tournament go down the drain when it was announced that the games would be played with three minute quarters on the All-Madden difficulty. There was also a 21-point mercy rule in place.

Some gamers trash talked and showboated with the flamboyance of Chad Johnson, while others sat with the stoic calm of Tom Brady.

One of the major highlights of the tournament was a game that involved two players locked in a defensive struggle, with both players trading stop-for-stop. The game finished on an offensive flurry for both teams and a narrow four-point victory.

The clear highlight of the event was presence of Derrick Williams. A large crowd gathered around Williams as he played. He showed that he was an experienced player right away with deep passes to Jacksonville wide receiver Matt Jones.

Williams also wowed the crowd with the ability to rush the punter. Williams easily passed the mercy rule on his opponent. When asked how he felt the night was going Williams said, "It's been going pretty good. The team did a good job of putting it together."

The major complaint at the event seemed to be that the players had to play on the X-Box. "I wish it woulda been on X-Box 360 or Playstation 2" said Williams.

Although the choice of system might have put some people at a disadvantage, the competition was of a high caliber. Willams characterized the competition as "great."

Even with the minor complaints, most of the players had an enjoyable time and the Madden tournament went off as a major success during the "Duck the Balls" festivities.