Esports 10/30/2025 9:41:00 AM

Blinn Overwatch sweeps Hawkeye, Hutchinson in NJCAAe play

The Buccaneers improved to 4-3 in the NJCAAe East Conference

Esports 10/30/2025 9:41:00 AM

Blinn Overwatch sweeps Hawkeye, Hutchinson in NJCAAe play

The Buccaneers improved to 4-3 in the NJCAAe East Conference

The Blinn College Overwatch team swept a pair of NJCAA Esports (NJCAAe) matches Wednesday.

The Buccaneers powered past Hawkeye Community College and Hutchinson Community College in a pair of 3-0, best-of-five series wins.

The team of Joseph Mares, Donnivan Straight, Donovan Hernandez, Trey Vaughan, and Jose Rios earned the victories for Blinn and pushed their NJCAAe East Conference record to 4-3.

Overwatch is a team-based, first-person-shooter in which players select heroes with unique abilities and work together to complete objectives across multiple map modes. Each team can strategically choose its maps based on team strengths and opponent weaknesses.

Each round Wednesday included a different win condition based on the following modes:

Control: Teams fight to capture and hold a single point. The first team to reach 100% control wins two rounds in a best-of-three format, where the loser of each round picks the next map.
Escort: The attacking team moves a payload to its destination while defenders try to stop them. The payload moves when attackers are near it, and the attackers aim to complete the route before time runs out.
Hybrid: Teams capture a point and then escort a payload. The match is typically one round for attackers, who must secure the point first before moving the payload.
Push: Teams battle to control a robot and push it toward the opponent's side. The first team to push it farther than their opponents wins, with the loser picking the next map.
Flashpoint: Two teams fight to control capture zones that keep moving to new locations on the map once a point has been captured. The goal is to capture each point until one side has captured three zones.

Wednesday's matches were contested in the Control, Hybrid, and Escort game modes.

In its opener against Hawkeye, the Bucs prevailed 2-0 on the Oasis map in the Control round, earned a 2-1 victory on King's Row (Hybrid), and finished the sweep with a 3-0 victory on the Shambali Monastery map (Escort).

"Our teamwork, communication, and ability to manage ultimates were the best they've been all semester, and the results showed it," said Blinn head coach and Overwatch coach Kyle Murto.

The Bucs carried their momentum into their battle with Hutchinson, and rolled to victories of 2-0 (Oasis, Control), 1-0 (Eichenwalde, Hybrid), and 1-0 (Shambali Monastery, Escort).

"Every map was controlled from the opening fight, with complete dominance in tempo, positioning, and execution," Murto said. "It was one of the most one-sided performances we've had this season. These back-to-back sweeps show just how much this team has worked since the start of the semester. We're finally playing with confidence, trusting our calls, and showing the discipline and coordination we've been building toward all year."

Blinn's Overwatch slate continues with an NJCAAe matchup against Northwest State Community College at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 5.

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

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Players Mentioned

Donovan Hernandez: Freshman; Overwatch

Joseph Mares: Sophomore; Overwatch

Jose Rios: Sophomore; Overwatch

Donnivan Straight: Sophomore; Overwatch

Players Mentioned

Donovan Hernandez
: Freshman; Overwatch

Joseph Mares
: Sophomore; Overwatch

Jose Rios
: Sophomore; Overwatch

Donnivan Straight
: Sophomore; Overwatch