PITTSBURGH (July 25, 2022) – The Pittsburgh Knights professional esports organization hosted an EA Madden ’22 Summer Camp for youth ages 13 to 18 at both the YouthPlaces Northside location (711 W. Commons) and the YouthPlaces Downtown location (1037 Penn Avenue), from July 18 to 22. 

The Summer Camp included learning how to set up offense, defense and special teams from professional Madden player Jonathan ‘Jonbeast’ Marquez, who has been part of the Knights organization since September 2021.

An accomplished Madden player, Jonbeast ended last season fourth in the world on the final Ultimate Madden Bowl leaderboard.  He also captured the Madden Championship Series (MCS) Ultimate Kickoff title (Sept. 2021).

Throughout the week, Jonbeast worked virtually with the campers and then surprised the campers during their special behind-the-scenes tour led by members of the Steelers organization of Acrisure Field.  The highlight of the stadium tour was the opportunity to visit the Steelers locker room.  In addition to visiting where the Steelers players prepare for home games, the campers got a close up look at the playing field.

The week culminated with a Madden Tournament hosted by Jonbeast where the campers had a chance to win HyperX peripherals, as well as Boost Gaming and Sheetz gift cards.

The Knights Gaming Zones at YouthPlaces are part of the team’s ‘City of Champions’ educational initiative committed to inspiring digital literacy.  Team sponsors Zenni Gaming, Boost Gaming, HyperX, Invstr and Sheetz have provided support for the initiative, along with foundation partners’ The Heinz Endowments and POISE Foundation.

In addition to Gaming Zones at YouthPlaces Northside and YouthPlaces Downtown, the Knights have established a Gaming Zone at the House of Manna (7240 Frankstown Ave.) in the Homewood community.