3/15/23
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – The main players for the Lackawanna College Esports Super Smash Bros Ultimate squad kept it rolling against some stiff competition, as the Falcons went 3-1 in their round five match-ups in NJCAAE play on Wednesday night.
 
The featured match on-stream was between Lackawanna's Xavier Lasenburg (Scranton, PA; Gamertag: lvlX), undefeated on the year, and "Factor64" from Calhoun Community College. Lasenburg brought out his ol' faithful, Ryu, while Factor64 started out the best-of-five with Terry. And, for the first time this season, Lasenburg did not have control of the match from the start, with both players trading stocks and leads back and forth, keeping the casters and the audience on the edges of their seats. Heading into the third game, with the match tied at 1-apiece, Factor64 decided to switch from Terry to Mario. Mario's parrying abilities were used to counter Ryu's zoning capabilities, and it started paying dividends as things tightened significantly. Lasenburg was able to pull out the win to make it 2-1, but Factor64 was not going to let him grab game four, using Mario to his full potential and grabbing the win to even out the match at 2-2 and send it to a deciding fifth game. The battle ensued for quite some time, with stocks flying left and right, but ultimately, Lasenburg would gain the upper hand and find a way to seal the victory with a 3-2 win over Factor64 from Calhoun CC. Lasenburg remains undefeated in his group with a record of 5-0 during the regular season.
 
In other action on Wednesday night, Cayman Ravenell (Gamertag: Cmillith) got a chance to compete against "Chedddar" from Camdem County College, who played the series with Bowser. Ravenell took a page out of his teammate's book by bringing out Ryu for his first two games, but he was apparently on the wrong chapter, dropping the first two to give Camden's Chedddar a 2-0 lead. Ravenell switched back to his usual pick of Wolf, which immediately changed the complexion of the contest, as Ravenell found his groove and pulled off the rare reverse-sweep to take the match, 3-2, and secure the big win. Tonight's win for Ravenell moves him to 4-1 during the regular season, where he sits in third place in his group.
 
Next, Bikrom Chanda (Gamertag: BA$H) went up against another player from Camden CC named "Hydrokestrel" (Ike). Ike tried his luck during this match-up with Marth, but Chanda and his Wii Fit Trainer selection made quick work of the opposition. Chanda pulled off the perfect sweep in his match tonight, winning 3-0 without dropping a single stock! This win keeps him undefeated and at the top of the leaderboard in his group at 5-0 on the year.
 
The final match of the evening pitted Lackawanna's John Howells (Gamertag: jan), who brought out Bowser, against a Calhoun CC opponent named Volteon who played as Pichu. Volteon, the top player in Howell's group this year, has an undefeated record, and showed why, using Pichu's speed and his own experience to overwhelm Howells. Howells fought valiantly with Bowser, trying to dispatch Pichu at every opportunity, but his Calhoun CC counterpart proved to be too much, knocking Howells off with a 3-0 victory. Howells has a record of 1-4 during the regular season, and currently sits in sixth place in his group.
 
The Falcons Super Smash Ultimate squad gets back to it on Thursday 3/16 at 8pm ET for its third round match-up in the Team Meta Invitational Crew Battles, taking on Buena Vista University. Be sure to stay tuned to the Lackawanna College Esports Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for all Lackawanna College Esports scheduling info!