Back without missing a beat and bigger than ever, Tecmo Madison, the world championship of the NES classic Tecmo Super Bowl, gets underway in 30 minutes. You can watch all of the action live, right here.
The competition begins at noon ET from the High Noon Saloon in Madison, Wisc. Calling the action for TecmoBowl.org's live stream on Twitch is Jimmie Kaska with the play-by-play and J.D. Fox with analysis.
The latest groupings have 284 seeded, but no-shows and alternates are expected right up to the last minute, and the tournament can accommodate 292 in all.
Top performers in the field include Joseph Chiltowsky — Philadelphia's JoeyGats, who won Tecmo Madison 12; Josh "Coconuts" Aaronson; the Buennagels, Francis (Mort) and Louis of Buffalo, N.Y.; Matthew Vogt and his brother, Chris, of Cincinnati; Erik "Rikster" Johnson; David "Bruddog" Brude; Tecmo Madison 10 champion Kyle "Regulator" Miller; Tecmo Madison 12 runner-up Aaron "The Kid" Toner; and Tecmo Madison 8 and 9 champion, and tournament co-founder Chet Holzbauer.
The full list of groupings and competitors is here.
Master of Ceremonies Josh Holzbauer, who will begin the tournament with "A Reading from the Book of L.T." also is seeded first in one of 72 four-player groups. Only one winner will advance from each group. Single-elimination play is expected to begin at 4:50 p.m. ET, with a double-elimination final round commencing at 9:20 p.m. ET.
Tecmo Madison was headed for a quiet retirement after last year's tournament, until it was bought by Dave Murray of TecmoBowl.org and reconstituted with a new tournament committee. Koei Tecmo of America and Hyperkin have been brought aboard as sponsoring partners, and the competition field is the largest it has ever been.