Smash Crew Battle Squad and Hearthstone Competitors Enter DIII Final Four
November 18, 2025 - - The Lorain County Community College esports team entered the first week of postseason play and saw competitors from two titles advance to the final four of the NJCAAE Playoffs. The LCCC Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Crew Battle team has reached the semifinals of the NJCAAE Division III playoffs, where two more wins would secure a national championship. In Division III Hearthstone play, competitors Xander Taylor (Elyria, Ohio/Huron HS) and Veronica Gibson (Sandusky, Ohio/Trinity HS) both advanced to the DIII Final FOur after defeating their opponents after receiving a first round bye.
Taylor, the No. 1 seed who finished the regular season with a 15-7 record, cruised past No. 8 seed Griffen Fletcher of Finger Lakes Community College, 2-0. Gibson moved on after defeating No. 6 seed Kenna Hitzemann of Des Moines Area Community College.
Both players return to action on Tuesday, November 18, when Taylor faces No. 4 seed Rylan Roach of Three Rivers College and Gibson takes on No. 10 seed Matt Walsh of Finger Lakes.
In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Crew Battle, the Commodores squad — Jerron Warner (Avon, Ohio/Avon HS), Gabriel Beckstrom (Lorain, Ohio/Clearview HS), Austin Lukachko (North Ridgeville, Ohio/North Ridgeville HS), and Christopher Gonet (Lorain, Ohio/LCCC Early College) — advanced to the final four after back-to-back victories. They will meet Heartland Community College in the semifinals on Friday, with the winner immediately moving on to face Marshalltown Community College in the finals.
About CommodoreEsports:
LCCC's Esports team competes in the National Junior College Athletic Association Esports (NJCAAE), which is divided into three competition divisions:
Division 1: The highest level of NJCAAE competition, featuring teams composed of eligible students.
Division 2: The mid-level competition, also for teams of eligible students.
Division 3: The most accessible level, open to participants who do not have to meet student eligibility requirements but must be associated with LCCC.
The NJCAAE has two seasons: fall (September–December) and spring (February–April). Both seasons last seven weeks before the postseason begins. LCCC has players competing across all three divisions, and full-time students can choose to participate in any tier.
Games LCCC Esports Competes or has competed in:
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – A fighting game featuring characters from the Nintendo universe, played on the Nintendo Switch. Players can compete in 1v1 best-of-five matches or Crew Battle, a 3v3 elimination-style format.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – A racing game featuring Nintendo characters, also played on the Nintendo Switch.
Valorant – A PC first-person shooter where teams of five compete in a best-of-three format. One team attempts to plant and detonate a spike, while the opposing team tries to defuse it.
Overwatch 2 – Another first-person shooter, in which teams compete using unique hero characters.
Fortnite – LCCC began competing in this battle royale game in 2024.
Marvel Rivals – A 6v6 third-person shooter featuring characters from the Marvel Universe, with LCCC set to begin competition in spring 2025.
Rainbow 6 Siege - a tactical, online multiplayer shooter where two teams of five compete in high-stakes scenarios like hostage rescues and bomb defusals. The game features intense, close-quarters combat within highly destructible indoor environments, forcing players to strategize using specialized "Operators" with unique skills and gadgets.
Madden – A football simulation game.
Tekken & Street Fighter – Both hand-to-hand combat fighting games.
Hearthstone - Building upon the existing lore of the Warcraft series, a turn-based card game between two opponents, using constructed decks of 30 cards along with a selected hero with a unique power.
Call of Duty: Warzone - Battle royale style first-person shooter game
Chess - The classic strategy board game for two players, who each move 16 pieces of six different types across a 64-square checkered board. The objective is to checkmate the opponent's king, which occurs when the king is under attack and has no legal move to escape.