Esports 4/18/2024 7:02:00 PM

Blinn Overwatch set for NJCAAe championship rematch with rival Bryant & Stratton

The Buccaneers and Bobcats are meeting in the NJCAA Esports National Tournament for a fifth time

Esports 4/18/2024 7:02:00 PM

Blinn Overwatch set for NJCAAe championship rematch with rival Bryant & Stratton

The Buccaneers and Bobcats are meeting in the NJCAA Esports National Tournament for a fifth time

The Blinn College esports program is inviting the public to cheer on the Buccaneer Overwatch team as it vies for its first NJCAA Esports Overwatch national championship.

The Blinn quintet of Haluk Tanriseven, Matthew Hutchings, Dhruv Pandrangi, Donnivan Straight, and Jaden Cornett will face Bryant & Stratton College for the title in a best-of-five series at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 24, at the Blinn Esports Arena at Mill Creek Hall on the Blinn-Brenham Campus.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and admission is free.

Dating back to the spring 2022 season, this will be the fifth matchup between Blinn and Bryant & Stratton (Wauwatosa, Wis.) in the NJCAA Esports (NJCAAe) national tournament and the fourth in which the championship is up for grabs. The Buccaneers are 0-4 against the Bobcats in those previous four meetings, but Blinn did score its first victory over their rivals during the Overwatch Collegiate Esports Commissioners Cup South Regional on Feb. 24.

Blinn enters the title match ranked 10th by the Overwatch Collegiate Ranking Association, while the Bobcats are 14th.

"The expectation for us is that we're going to go into this match and win it," Buccaneer assistant coach and Overwatch manager Kyle Murto said. "This is the best team we've ever had for Overwatch, and that is a testament to the success we've had in previous years that has allowed us to recruit better competitors. These kids come here because they want to be national champions, and we as a program believe this is the team that can do it."

Hutchings, Tanriseven, and Straight were each part of the Overwatch team that fell short to the Bobcats in the NJCAAe championship on Dec. 6, 2023. Murto and his players are quick to recognize the growing rivalry between two of the top Overwatch programs in collegiate esports.

"The very first time we faced them for the championship in 2022, we came in as underdogs," Murto said. "but every player we've brought into the program, they're determined to prove that they're better than the team before, and they want to be the ones to take down Bryant & Stratton."

Hutchings believes his team's win over the Bobcats during the regular season should serve as a confidence boost, but reiterated the need to stay focused on the task at hand.

"I think the entire team is excited for the challenge because there is definitely a rivalry there," Hutchings said. "We've always wanted to beat them, and we know that this semester is the most competitive we've been against them. We beat them earlier this season, so it's reassuring to have that monkey off our backs, but now we need to stay hungry we'll hopefully pull out the win."

Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 47 NJCAA national championships since 1987.

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Players Mentioned

Matthew Hutchings: Freshman; Overwatch

Donnivan Straight: Freshman; Overwatch

Haluk Tanriseven: Freshman; Overwatch

Jaden Cornett: Freshman; Overwatch

Dhruv Pandrangi: Freshman; Overwatch

Players Mentioned

Matthew Hutchings
: Freshman; Overwatch

Donnivan Straight
: Freshman; Overwatch

Haluk Tanriseven
: Freshman; Overwatch

Jaden Cornett
: Freshman; Overwatch

Dhruv Pandrangi
: Freshman; Overwatch