Derrick Hornbaker ’23, Staff Writer

With the pools stage of their season coming to a close, LVC’s ‘Super Smash Brothers’ team manages to squeeze its way into the playoffs.

It’s been a difficult season for the team, with the caliber of its opponents greater than ever before and members juggling heavy school loads on top of it. However, that adversity didn’t slow them down as they finished groups stage with a record of five wins and two losses.

“The road to playoffs has been a bit rocky but fulfilling,” says Andrew Syslo, captain of the team. “After a heartbreaking loss against Messiah in week two, I knew we’d have to win out against [almost] every team.”

Apart from the loss to Messiah University, the team also fell to Stonybrook University, the strongest team in the league. This meant taking one more loss would’ve put it out of contention.

“Ultimately, it came down to the last week against [Widener University],” Syslo said. “While they played well and forced set three, we bounced back and closed out set three against them. Widener always plays us close, so it’s satisfying to beat them.”

The team’s season isn’t over yet though. It will start off in conference playoffs to decide the seeding for the final bracket, and after that it’s off to the races.

“For final playoff brackets, I feel like I’m playing with house money,” Syslo said. “If we win a few sets and go on a run, great. If not, I’m hoping that we can give these teams a run for their money.”

The smash team will be facing off in conference playoff this Thursday, March 23 at twitch.tv/nacestarleague. Be sure to come by and cheer it on as it looks to keep going strong.