Courtesy photo The Alpena Community College Esports team poses for a photo. The team earned a spot in the National Esports Collegiate Conference National Championship on Wednesday after clinching the Division VIII East Playoff Championship.

ALPENA – The Alpena Community College Lumberjacks’ Rocket League team is set to compete for a national title tonight after clinching the National Esports Collegiate Conference (NECC) Division VIII East Playoff Championship.

Aaron Guitar is the head esports coach and athletics office coordinator at Alpena Community College, and talked about the history of E-Sports at the college in Alpena.

“Our Esports Program just started two years ago, but this last year was really our first full year involved in it,” Guitar said. “We switched from NJCAA Esports into now the NECC League for Esports.”

“We connect with other Universities/Colleges throughout the USA and Canada in the NECC Platform and play our matches at the Campus against the schools throughout North America,” Guitar added.

In his first year at the helm Guitar assembled his team from students already on campus and quickly turned the program into a contender in the NECC which features mostly four-year colleges and universities.

The team consists of three players, including sophomore Charlie Best, freshman Max McCarty, and Isaac Zocco. They defeated Mercychurst University 4-2 in a best-of-seven series on April 15. They now face the team of Fuel Rising ESports from Fanshawe College in Ontario, Canada, in the Division VIII national championship match, scheduled for tonight at 8 p.m.

“The NECC D8 National Championship will be this upcoming Wednesday at 8pm,” Guitar said. “We will be in the BTC Commons on Campus playing where an audience can watch, or we live stream it on our Twitch account: accesports.”

In their debut season in the NECC the Lumberjacks entered the East bracket as the seventh seed. They overcame a regular season loss to top seed Mercyhurst in a thrilling playoff run that showcased resilience and teamwork.

“There were many close games throughout the playoffs but one that really stands out is our Divisional Championship against Mercyhurst who we played this past Wednesday in the Semifinals,” Guitar said. “Earlier in the regular season, they had beat us 4-1 so being able to beat them for the Division Championship 4-2 was a big deal.”

One reason ACC was able to overcome some tough moments in the playoffs was standout play from their captain.

“Charlie Best is the captain of the team and really teaches the other two players a lot mid-game and helps guide them through each situation,” Guitar said. “He has played many hours in this game, and I believe his ranking or hours is within the top 1% of all players.”

The ACC esports program, which also fields a Rainbow Six Siege team, continues to grow and has already posted strong results in its debut NECC season. A national title would cap an impressive year and further elevate the visibility of esports at ACC.

“Next semester we will be competing in Rocket League, Rainbow Six Siege, and Mario Super Smash Bros,” Guitar explained. “We are currently looking to add two more recruits in for Rocket League and 2 for Super Smash Bros, so if anyone is interested in coming to ACC, they can reach out to me via email.”

For updates, live stream information, or watch party details, visit acclumberjacks.com.