CommodoreEsports Spring Season Week 1 Recap
February 24, 2026 - - The Lorain County Community College Esports program competed across multiple titles in the official opening week of NJCAAE Spring play, highlighted by strong performances in Chess, Super Smash Bros., Hearthstone, Mario Kart, and Valorant.
Chess – Division III
Austin Lukachko (North Ridgeville, Ohio/North Ridgeville HS) earned a 1–0 victory over Jordan Cummings of Salt Lake Community College on Feb. 16 to secure a win in Week 3 competition.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – Division I
Braydon Dobos (Oberlin, Ohio/Oberlin HS)) split his matches, falling 3–0 to Lucas Whetstine of Daytona State College before defeating Raphael Vu of Rose State College, 3–1.
Lukachko posted two victories, defeating Malachi Barker of Bryant & Stratton College–Virginia Beach, 3–0, in a tightly contested Terry vs. Zelda matchup that came down to one stock in each game. Both sides surrendered multiple early stocks, including two from BSCVA and one from LCCC. Lukachko followed with a 3–1 win over Cameron Wilson of Lake Michigan College, utilizing three different characters. He opened with Palutena for a Game 1 win, switched to Link in Game 2 (loss), moved to Zelda for a Game 3 win, and returned to Palutena to close the match.
Jerron Warner (AdventCD) defeated Cameron Wells of Daytona State College, 3–1, recording three zero-to-death openings across three games. Warner later fell to Jason Mann of Calhoun Community College, 3–1.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – Division II
Traceton Bell (Oberlin, Ohio/Oberlin HS)) dropped a 3–0 decision to Nicholas King of Mott Community College. King's Pichu converted nearly every interaction into extended combos while maintaining consistent stage control.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – Division III
Bell earned a 3–1 win over Conner Ramsey of Central Community College. Lukachko fell 3–1 to Mauri Meza of Arapahoe Community College. Jason Thomas (Lorain, Ohio/Clearview HS) went 2–1 on the night, defeating Andrew Carroll of Panola College (3–0) and Serena Cooper of Carl Albert State College (3–0) before falling to Caleb Stevens of Spoon River College, 3–1.
Hearthstone – Division III
Veronica Gibson (Sandusky, Ohio/Trinity HS) advanced past a bye before defeating Caitlin Hurst of Central Wyoming College, 3–2, and earning a 3–0 win over Hyrum Bowen of Salt Lake Community College in a decisive sweep.
Xander Taylor (Elyria, Ohio/Huron HS), the defending DIII Hearthstone Tournament Champion, picked up two wins to start to improve to 4-0.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Division III
Braden Reichert (Big B) posted a 2–2 record. He defeated Fox Gunner of Seward County Community College, 4–1, and Ryan Tamm of Heartland Community College, 4–0. Reichert fell to Will Crisp of Southwestern Community College (4–1) and Cayman Decker of Somerset Community College (4–2).
Valorant – Division III
LCCC, made up of Lukachko, Brody Taylor (North Ridgeville, Ohio/North Ridgeville HS), Tyler Misconish (Strongsville, Ohio/Strongsville HS, Braylon Zeman (North Ridgeville, Ohio/North Ridgeville HS), Kylie Zeman (North Ridgeville, Ohio/North Ridgeville HS) defeated Western Iowa Tech Community College, 2–0. The Commodores won 13–6 on Haven and 13–8 on Split. The team demonstrated balanced production, with consistent kill totals across the lineup. Lukachko recorded multiple multi-kill rounds on Haven and earned match MVP honors on both maps. Misconish's late-round positioning and effective lurk timing proved pivotal on Split, while the team overcame minor communication errors to close out the sweep.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Crew Battle – Division III
The crew of Austin Lukachko, Traceton Bell, and Braydon Dobos fell to Heartland Community College and Walters State Community College by 2–0 margins.
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). Division 1 and 2 seasons last seven weeks before the postseason begins. Division III runs January-August with tournaments throughout the season. 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.