Waynesburg, Pa. (May 6) - The Smash Bros. team became the third esports squad to win a national championship in the past two years defeating Southwest Minnesote State 2-1 on Wednesday night to claim the NECC Division V National Championship.

The path to the national title saw the team go into three of their four matches as the underdog. They started the tournament as the #10 seed. Their first round match was a 2-0 win against #7 Hendrix advancing them to the quarterfinals. The next victory in the quarterfinal was against the #2 seed East Central which they won also by shutout 2-0. The semifinals match against #11 Fresno Pacific also ended in a 2-0 shutout securing the team a spot in the national championship game. 

The first game of the national title game was a 9-12 loss for the Jackets. Freshman Braiden Decker started the match taking two stocks before falling. Sophomore team captain, Aaron Beard, entered the match taking two stocks before falling to a very strong Shulk. Sophomore, Cash Wieczorek came into the match next taking four stocks before losing to Young Link. This brought in the team anchor, senior Alex Solomon. Solomon was able to take one stock before falling to Bowser and closing out game one.

Game two saw a dramatic turn for the Jackets. Decker once again started for the Jackets this time taking eight stocks before falling in his third game. This impressive run set up Wieczorek to come into the match to clean up and take the final four stocks to tie the series 1-1.

Anticipating a counter play to Decker, the Jackets changed their lineup for game three and started with Solomon. The strategy proved to be a very good one as the Mustangs also changed their lineup to counter the strong play of Decker. Solomon was able to take two stocks before falling. This set up Wieczorek to step in and take the next seven stocks forcing the Mustangs to their last player - Bowser. This proved to be the hardest fight of the series. Wieczorek fell to Bowser, leaving him with three stocks and bringing in Beard. Beard was successful in taking one stock before he fell, setting up freshman Decker to play cleanup. With the title on the line, the game came down the final stock for each player. With his speed and aerial ability, Decker was able to take down Bowser and secure the national title for the Jackets.

This victory closed out the season for the esports program and tallying the teams third national title with a 2025-26 season record of 157-122-5, an ECAC conference title, and an NECC national championship. The victory also featured the long awaited trophy for senior, Alex Solomon, who played for four years with the Jackets and captained the Smash team for three years.