Madden NFL 12, launches on August 30, and GameStop and Virgin Gaming will sponsors and event to celebrate its release: the Battle of the Gridiron tournament with more than $100,000 in prizes. The tournament will kick off on Sept. 11, 2011 and runs through Oct.16, 2011. Players who pre-order or purchase Madden NFL 12 from GameStop and register for entry between Aug. 30, 2011 and Sept. 18, 2011 will be able to compete in the online tournament powered by Virgin Gaming.

GameStop and Virgin Gaming formed a partnership earlier this year to power online video game tournaments for featured console games sold at U.S. GameStop locations. The upcoming Battle of the Gridiron tournament for Madden NFL 12 marks the first tournament of the partnership, with more than $100,000 in prizes on the line, including:

- Grand prize: Four winners will receive a VIP trip to LA and the $5,000 entry into the EA SPORTS Madden NFL 12 Challenge Series live final for the chance to win up to $1 million in prizing.



- Runner-up prizes: Four runners-up will get a VIP trip and package to LA to watch the finals of the EA SPORTS Madden NFL 12 Challenge Series



- Additional prizes include: EA SPORTS Madden NFL 12 Challenge Series tournament entry fees and Virgin Gaming credit to be used towards future tournaments

Madden NFL 12, which launches on Aug. 30 on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, and PSP.