Young Kiv tops Group B in Madden NFL 20 Bowl

Shay "Young Kiv" Kivlen won a matchup of the past two Madden Bowl champions and emerged atop Group B in Madden NFL 20 Bowl action on Thursday. Young Kiv defeated Drini "Drini" Gjoka 16-3 in the final group game, with both players finishing 2-1. Jordan "Millz" Thompson also went 2-1, but Young Kiv, a 22-year-old from Edmonds, Wash., came in first place due to the tiebreaker, point differential among the tied teams.

Second-place Millz, a 28-year-old from Dallas, and third-place Drini, a 20-year-old from Washington, D.C., move on to the wild-card round. The difference for Young Kiv was a 12-yard touchdown catch from a virtual John Ross with 1:03 left for 13-point lead -- a score that made the difference on the tiebreaker.

Millz sealed his wild-card berth by closing with a 28-0 rout of Zack "Serious Moe" Lane, a 25-year-old from Lima, Ohio, who lost all three of his games. After the final game started with six consecutive three-and-outs, Millz got a 79-yard touchdown run from a virtual Raheem Mostert, then added two defensive TDs en route to the blowout victory. Young Kiv won the Madden Bowl 2018 final over Drini. The next year, Drini captured the Madden Bowl championship.

Millz shut out Young Kiv 6-0 in the Thursday opener before Young Kiv topped Serious Moe 13-6. Drini produced a 28-13 victory over Serious Moe and edged Millz 7-6 before losing to Young Kiv. Young Kiv said of winning the group, "It feels great. It was rough after the first game. I had a lot of opportunities to put some pressure on Millz that game, but I just didn't play smart. He couldn't move the ball at all -- I think he had one first down -- and I lost that game, and that should never be the case, ever, literally.

"So I had to bounce back after that, and I was able to beat Moe and Drini, two of the greatest players of all time, and I just feel really good. I feel super prepared on defense." With Groups A and B having completed action, the first playoff matchups are set. In a wild-card game, Drini will oppose Michael "VoLTeRaX" Bryant, with the winner moving on to a quarterfinal against Young Kiv. VoLTeRaX defeated Drini in the final of the Madden 20 Club Championship in December.

Millz will meet Pavan "Pavan" Lakhat in another wild-card game, battling for the right to oppose Group A winner Raidel "Joke" Brito in the quarterfinals. Madden Bowl group play continues Friday with Group C and Saturday with Group D.

The wild-card round will be held May 14, followed by the quarterfinals on May 15. The semifinals and final will be contested May 16, airing from 5-9 p.m. ET on ESPN. All matches are available for streaming on the EA Sports' Twitch and YouTube channels plus the ESPN app.

Madden NFL 20 Bowl group standings, with win-loss record and point differential Group A (played Wednesday)

1. Raidel "Joke" Brito, 2-1, +32 (+16 vs. group's top three) 2. Michael "VoLTeRaX" Bryant, 2-1, -2 (-6 vs. group's top three)

3. Pavan "Pavan" Lakhat, 2-1, +11 (-10 vs. group's top three) 4. Reginald "Boogz" Brown, 0-3, -41

Group B (played Thursday) T1. Shay "Young Kiv" Kivlen, 2-1, +14 (+7 vs. group's top three)

T1. Jordan "Millz" Thompson, 2-1, +33 (+5 vs. group's top three) T1. Drini "Drini" Gjoka, 2-1, +3 (-12 vs. group's top three)

4. Zack "Serious Moe" Lane, 0-3, -50 Group C (scheduled for Friday)

Noah "Noah" Johnson Dwayne "CleffTheGod" Wood

Justin "Lil Man" Barone Mark "Schemin" Samuels Jr.

Group D (scheduled for Saturday) Henry "Henry" Leverette

Daniel "Rage" Loftin Wesley "Wesley" Gittens

Daniel "Dcroft" Mycroft --Field Level Media