Esports 10/16/2025 11:42:00 PM

Blinn Valorant sweeps Laredo, but Super Smash Bros. team falls to Loyola-New Orleans

The Buccaneers improved to 4-0 in NJCAA Esports Valorant matches

Esports 10/16/2025 11:42:00 PM

Blinn Valorant sweeps Laredo, but Super Smash Bros. team falls to Loyola-New Orleans

The Buccaneers improved to 4-0 in NJCAA Esports Valorant matches

The Blinn College esports team went 1-1 in a pair of matches Thursday.

The Buccaneers defeated Laredo College 2-0 in a best-of-three NJCAA Esports (NJCAAe) tilt, while Blinn dropped a 2-0 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate decision to Loyola University-New Orleans in National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) play.

The Bucs' Valorant team of Ilies Dolliazal, Milad Khorsandi, Hayden Rubino, Samuel Long, and Brian Yang earned a sweep of Laredo, taking the best-of-three series to improve to 4-0 in NJCAAe matches.

Valorant is a tactical, team-based, first-person shooter set in a near-future world. Teams of five players choose unique agents with distinct abilities, combining shooting skills with strategic use of each agent's toolkit. Teams alternate between attacking and defending. Attackers aim to plant a spike at one of the designated sites, while defenders try to prevent this or defuse the spike if planted. The first team to win 13 rounds claims victory. If both teams reach a tie at 12-12, overtime is triggered, and the match continues until one team wins by two rounds, with teams alternating between attacking and defending in each overtime round.

In the opening round, Blinn picked up a close 13-10 victory on the Lotus map. The Bucs trailed 8-7 before rallying for the win. In the deciding round, played on the Abyss map, the Bucs rolled out to a commanding 9-3 halftime advantage and staved off a Laredo rally to earn a 13-9 victory.

"The team is playing its best Valorant of the season right now," Blinn assistant coach and Valorant coach Patrick Daley said. "Our communication, map control, and confidence are creating constant pressure for opponents, leaving them in lose-lose situations every round. The hard work and focus are paying off, and we're thrilled to remain undefeated in NJCAAe play. With one more NACE match left and playoffs on the line, the squad is locked in and ready to finish the regular season strong."

The Bucs continue Valorant play with a NACE tilt against Lubbock Christian University at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 22.

Blinn's Super Smash Bros. Ultimate team came up short in a best-of-three loss at the hands of Loyola-New Orleans.

Competing for the Bucs were Gage Cole, Kiara Molina, James Rinehart, Braeyelyn Mitchell, and Rose Jones.

Blinn fell to 0-6 in NACE Varsity Premier play.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is a crossover fighting game where players, either in one-on-one or four-on-four matches, aim to knock each other off a combat stage. The objective is for players to inflict damage to increase their opponents' likelihood of being knocked off the platform. In singles play, each player has a set number of lives or "stocks," and the match is won by reducing the opponent's stocks to zero. In crew battles, teams take turns battling, with stock carryover. The team that eliminates all opposing players' stocks first wins. Series are often best-of-three or best-of-five.

"Despite the result, this was the best Smash our team has played all semester," said Daley, who also coaches the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate team. "The coordination, confidence, and adaptation on display showed just how much progress we have made since the start of the season. Everyone left proud of how far they've come and excited to close out the season strong in our final NACE match next week."

Blinn Super Smash Bros. Ultimate concludes its season with a NACE bout against Texas A&M University-San Antonio at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 23.

Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 53 national championships since 1987.

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Players Mentioned

Ilies Dolliazal: Sophomore; Valorant

Milad Khorsandi: Freshman; Valorant

Samuel Long: Freshman; Valorant

Hayden Rubino: Freshman; Valorant

Brian Yang: Freshman; Valorant

Braeyelyn Mitchell: Freshman; Overwatch/Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Gage Cole: Sophomore; Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Rose Jones: Freshman; Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Kiara Molina: Sophomore; Super Smash Bros Ultimate

James Rinehart: Freshman; Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Players Mentioned

Ilies Dolliazal
: Sophomore; Valorant

Milad Khorsandi
: Freshman; Valorant

Samuel Long
: Freshman; Valorant

Hayden Rubino
: Freshman; Valorant

Brian Yang
: Freshman; Valorant

Braeyelyn Mitchell
: Freshman; Overwatch/Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Gage Cole
: Sophomore; Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Rose Jones
: Freshman; Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Kiara Molina
: Sophomore; Super Smash Bros Ultimate

James Rinehart
: Freshman; Super Smash Bros Ultimate