Radford student Justin Chow plays Xbox games at his Radford apartment.

Pete Dybdahl | The Roanoke Times

RADFORD -- On Tuesday afternoon, the best "Madden NFL" player east of the Mississippi River took a seat next to his longtime training partner, the TV set in his spare Radford apartment.

He is Justin Chow, or simply Chow in gaming circles, and the TV is a boxy 24-inch Toshiba. He has spent the past four years in the flicker of its screen, working an Xbox controller with his long, nimble fingers and developing into a top player of the popular football video game.

Chow, who is lanky and 22, estimates he has made as much as $70,000 playing "Madden NFL" in tournaments in the past three years. He appeared on an ESPN2 reality show about the game, "Madden Nation," in 2005.

And in December he had a huge score, finishing second at the 2007 EA Sports Madden Challenge, held at Universal Studios in Los Angeles. The near-victory came with a $5,000 check and a $25,000 gift card to Best Buy.

So perhaps it is time for an electronics upgrade. The Radford University junior, who is studying computer science, is thinking of a pair of flat-screen high definition sets.

"I want to get one for the Xbox. One for the TV," he said between sips of Pepsi. "I get overwhelmingly excited when I think about how I'm going to spend that much money."

But he has not yet seen the gift card -- or perhaps gift cards, given the sum -- and is left to write his wish list: the TVs, maybe a new laptop, more games. (The most expensive TV on the electronics mega-store's Web site costs a hair under $33,000. The next most expensive TVs are $15,000.)

Chow started his career with "Madden NFL '95," then just a boy playing for fun with his father. The long-running video game franchise, named for NFL broadcaster John Madden, has cranked out new releases since 1988, sold an estimated 60 million copies and won over NFL fans.

"It's like watching a real football game on TV," said Jamie Bentley, a manager at the GameStop in Roanoke County's Tanglewood Mall. Players coach and quarterback their teams, running the offense and defense.

As playing styles go, Chow says he is conservative, with a good eye for reading an offense. His hands, which easily cradle a controller, have memorized the "Run 'N' Gun" playbook for his go-to team this year, the San Diego Chargers.

Chow has always been a serious gamer -- "Mario Kart" and "GoldenEye" were early favorites -- but often grew bored when facing the predictable play of a computer. "Madden" was different. It allowed for online play and opened him up to a world of gamers and their erratic styles.

It also gave him a better sense of his abilities because, he recalled, he destroyed the Internet competition.

"He's a pretty bright guy," Bill Chow, Justin's dad, said from the family home in Great Falls. Bill Chow shares his son's gaming instinct, particularly a fondness for pinball, but the house is divided over Justin's dedication.

"His mother considers this a distraction. I have to be secretive about rooting for him," the senior Chow said. "She wants him to focus on getting a college degree."

For now, Chow is focused on a smaller Madden tournament in February. Or is trying to focus. Since his disappointment at the Madden Challenge in December, when he lost 38-10 to a California gamer named Eric Wright, Chow has needed some time off.

"After I lost, I went through a 'Madden' depression. The last time I played it was so intense," he said.

And how can you play on a 24-inch Toshiba TV in your Radford apartment after all that?

"It's empty," he said.