Cabrera’s Season Continues On Friday in Tier 2 Tournament; Rogers Places 5th in Tier 1 Playoffs
April 15, 2025 - - The Lorain County Community College Esports team continued its strong showing in the National Junior College Athletic Association Esports (NJCAAE) postseason this week, with exceptional performances from Commodores Robert Rogers and Colby Cabrera in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate competition.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – Tier 1 & Tier 2 Playoffs
Robert Rogers (Lorain, Ohio/Clearview HS), the No. 3 seed in the Tier 1 playoffs, kicked off his national tournament with a dominant opening match, sweeping Utah State University Eastern in three straight rounds. In the second round, Rogers faced a tough challenge against No. 2 seed Brookdale Community College, the East 1 Region champion. After dropping the first round, Rogers battled back but ultimately fell in four rounds. He moved to the elimination bracket where he went toe-to-toe with Heartland Community College in a thrilling five-round match. Both players were down to their final stocks in the deciding round, but Rogers narrowly came up short, concluding his impressive season with a 19-3 record and a 5th place finish in T1 tournament.
Colby Cabrera (Amherst, Ohio/Marion L. Steele HS), competing in the Tier 2 playoffs as the No. 2 seed, started his postseason journey with a gritty five-round victory over Bates Technical College. After a setback in the second round against Marshalltown Community College, Cabrera dropped into the elimination bracket and faced another opponent from Marshalltown. He jumped ahead with two early round wins, dropped the third, but regrouped to clinch the match in round four. Cabrera advances in the elimination bracket and is set to compete again on Friday at 6 p.m. against Madison College.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Tier 3 Opt-In Tournament
James O'Reilly (North Ridgeville, Ohio/North Ridgeville HS) and Jason Thomas (Lorain, Ohio/Clearview HS) both participated in the Tier 3 Opt-In Tournament but were eliminated in the first round.
Marvel Rivals – Tier 3 Opt-In Tournament
Earlier in the week, the Commodores also competed in Marvel Rivals against North West Arkansas Community College in the Tier 3 Opt-In Tournament. Despite a hard-fought effort, the team fell in three straight rounds.
Next Up:
#CommodoreEsports will be back in action on Thursday with O'Reilly competing in the Tier 2 Mario Kart 8 Tournament. LCCC's live stream of the events begins at 6 p.m. at athletics.lorainccc.edu.
About CommodoreEsports:
LCCC's Esports team competes in the National Junior College Athletic Association Esports (NJCAAE), which is divided into three competition tiers:
Tier 1 – Premier Series (PS): The highest level of NJCAAE competition, featuring teams composed of eligible students.
Tier 2 – Contender Series (CS): The mid-level competition, also for teams of eligible students.
Tier 3 – Open Series (OS): 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 tiers, 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.
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