Esports: Fall Recap/Spring Preview
CCC had three teams competing at the Tier 1 level during the fall 2023 competition in NJCAAe, Call of Duty: MW2 4v4, Call of Duty: Gunfight 2v2 and Rocket League.
"Tier 1 is the highest level of competition within NJCAAe and all three of our teams had genuine national championship aspirations," said CCC head coach Lucas Lumbra.
A season recap of each team follows along with a look at the spring 2024 season.
Call of Duty: MW2 4v4 – Following a 5th and 6th place finish in spring 2023, the Raiders had a different roster look for the fall. The national runner-up Call of Duty: Gunfight 2v2 team of Zack 'SaltySlug' Hollingsworth and Justice 'kensilver' Silver joined the talented core of Ayden 'Blitz' Veik and Jackson 'Vexxpr' Peabody as the starting group.
The Raiders went 6-1 in the fall season, earning them the #1 seed in the nation leading up to the playoffs. Ahead of the regionals, it became clear that CCC's primary competition for the championship would be the #2 seeded Blinn College Buccaneers. The Raiders and Buccaneers met in the regional finals, with CCC taking a tightly contested 3-2 victory and preserving the top seed for the national playoffs.
In the national semifinal match, CCC shut out Iowa Western 3-0, setting up the rematch with Blinn for the national championship. However, the Buccaneers prevailed in the title match, 3-1, securing a second national runner-up banner for the CCC eSports program.
"The commanding win over IWCC gave us quite a bit of confidence for the national championship match with Blinn," Lumbra said. "Unfortunately, we were unable to replicate the success we saw in the regional portion of the playoffs. Despite coming up short, Ayden, Jackson, Zack and Justice put in an incredible effort."
Call of Duty: Gunfight 2v2 – Coming off CCC's strong performance against Iowa Western in the national championship in spring 2023, the Raiders made a notable roster change as Veik and Peabody replaced Hollingsworth and Silver in Call of Duty: Gunfight 2v2.
"Ayden and Jackson were incredibly confident as they took their shot at Tier 1 Gunfight," said Lumbra. "After taking second place in the national championship match last spring, we felt we had something to prove heading into the fall 2023 season."
The Raiders picked up right where they left off by posting an undefeated 7-0 regular season, which included a 3-1 win over the defending champions, Iowa Western. As a result, CCC earned the #1 seed for the regional playoffs. Speaking of Iowa Western, the Raiders pulled off a 3-2 victory over the Reivers in the semifinals, and a thrilling 3-2 victory over Gogebic (Mich.) Community College in the regional finals. Once again, CCC Call of Duty had the No. 1 seed for the national playoffs.
Despite the momentum, the Raiders fell 3-0 in the national championship matchup against Union College, a team that Lumbra said had a brilliant national playoff run. For the second time in the same week, CCC Call of Duty took home a national second-place banner.
Rocket League – After failing to qualify for the playoffs in the spring and an 11th place finish, CCC was looking to bounce back after making some additions to the group. Specifically, Ed 'Eddboi' Dozler and Quinn 'Lephtie' Stewart, two freshman athletes, joined the Tier 1 Rocket League squad alongside returner, Daurys 'Dizzo' Neris.
The Raiders had many ups and downs and even more close matches during the fall regular season, which resulted in a 4-3 record. That was enough to qualify for the regional playoffs with the fifth seed.
Regional tournament play opened with a pair of thrilling upsets. Up first was a 3-2 victory over #4 Southeast Community College, followed by a commanding 3-0 victory over top-seed Wichita State University (WSU) Tech. The upset victories propelled the Raiders into the national playoffs as the #3 seed out of the west region. CCC faced a familiar foe in the first round of the national playoffs, as WSU Tech was the foe, and as before, the Raiders scored another victory. However, back-to-back losses against Lackawanna (Penn.) College and Heartland (Ill.) Community College took CCC out of the national playoff.
Look ahead to the spring:
Call of Duty: MW3 4v4 – With the release of a new Call of Duty game, CCC esports looking forward to learning and being well prepared for the season. Core teammates Veik and Peabody remain motivated and poised for success. They will be joined by freshman Caleb 'UnderCast' Smith and returner from the previous spring, Ethan 'Meta' Bryant.
Call of Duty: Gunfight 2v2 and Warzone 2v2 – Team members are not set for Gunfight, but expect familiar names of Veik, Peabody, Hollingsworth and Silver to lead the charge as they look to finally bring home a trophy after back-to-back runner-up seasons. Additionally, CCC esports will be adding another Call of Duty title: Warzone. This battle royale mode within the game will be yet another opportunity to demonstrate CCC's overall dominance within the Call of Duty title.
Rocket League – Rosters are not quite set for Rocket League this season but look out for names such as Trenton 'Sig' Miller and Chace 'Chacey82' Bond to make a case for their spot on the tier 1 roster.
"This group will be looking to continue the steady improvement we have seen over the last couple seasons," said Lumbra. "Hopefully, the result will be another deep run in the national playoffs."