4/13/23
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – The Lackawanna College Esports Smash Ultimate squad had a successful first night of NJCAAE playoff action, with all three Falcons still alive in the tournament after the first day on Thursday.
 
The Falcons were led by Xavier Lasenberg (Gamertag: lvl.x) and Bikrom Chanda (Gamertag: BA$H), who each remained unbeaten with a pair of wins to advance to round four. Meanwhile, Cayman Ravenell (Gamertag: Cmilith) won his first two rounds before dropping his round three match-up, but is still alive in the consolation bracket.
 
Ravenell got the night started in round one with his opponent from Jackson College. Ravenell chose his usual character of Fox, while his foe, GameDiety, chose the character Pyra. Ravenelle dropped the first game, but battled back to win the next three games and advance to round two with a 3-1 victory.
 
Lasenburg and Chanda earned byes, so their first action came in round two. Chanda, who had swept his competition all season long, had his first real test in round two against his opponent from Northeast State CC. Chanda chose his WiiFit Trainer, while his opponent (GamerTheC) picked Inkling. Chanda and his counterpart battled back-and-forth, trading wins into the fifth and decisive game, where Chanda dug deep and was able to win without dropping a stock to advance, 3-2, into the third round.
 
Lasenburg and his choice of Ryu took on the player Jezze from Southwestern Tech, who switched between Kirby and Samus throughout the match-up. It wouldn't make a difference, as Lasenburg and Ryu made quick work of the competition to advance with a 3-0 victory.
 
Ravenell battled against Flashybloodhound2128 from Northwestern Michigan College, who chose ROB as his character. Similar to the first round, Ravenell fell in the first game, but rallied to win the next three and advance with a 3-1 win into round three.
 
Into round three, Chanda and WiiFit Trainer ran into another player playing as Inkling, as they took on Praspian from Heartland CC. Chanda didn't spend any time messing around in this match-up, looking to regain have regained the composure from the regular season to sweep past his opponent, 3-0, and get into the fourth round of the winners bracket. 
 
Lasenburg and Ryu took on player Big_N from SUNY Rockland, who played as Mario, in round three. Lasenburg dropped a game, but managed to roll past Big_N with a 3-1 victory, advancing into the fourth round of the winners bracket.
 
Ravenell and Wolf took on St. Clair CC's bloodhound2128 and his choice of Bowser. Ravenell battled hard, but finally met his match on day one, as bloodhound2128 and Bowser knocked out Ravenell 3-1. Ravenell is still alive in the double elimination tournament, as he now falls into the elimination bracket.
 
Stay tuned to the Lackawanna College Esports social pages for more information on the next rounds in the NJCAAE championships in SSBU.