Esports 3/5/2025 10:21:00 PM

Blinn drops Overwatch match to Grand View, goes 3-5 in Super Smash Bros. play

The Buccaneers face Northeast Iowa in an NJCAA Esports bout Wednesday

Esports 3/5/2025 10:21:00 PM

Blinn drops Overwatch match to Grand View, goes 3-5 in Super Smash Bros. play

The Buccaneers face Northeast Iowa in an NJCAA Esports bout Wednesday

Blinn College esports competed in nine matches Tuesday, with the Buccaneers dropping an Overwatch tilt while also going 3-5 in eight Super Smash Bros. Ultimate matchups.

Tenth-ranked Blinn (Overwatch Collegiate Rankings Association) battled Grand View University in a National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) bout, falling 3-0 in a best-of-five series.

Joseph Mares, Haluk Tanriseven, Matthew Hutchings, Donnivan Straight, and Dhruv Pandrangi competed for the Bucs, who dropped to 2-3 in the NACE Super Conference.

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 Tuesday 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.
Clash: Teams capture consecutive points, with the first team to a set number of points winning.

"From start to finish, we never found our footing, and there were very few moments where we looked coordinated," Blinn head coach and Overwatch manager Kyle Murto said. "Even in the rare times where we managed to group up and attempt to play as a team, our mechanical play completely fell apart. Shots were missed, ultimates were wasted, our tracking of enemy ultimates was sloppy, and communication lacked the clarity we expect. It felt like nothing went right, and we made far too many unforced errors across all three maps. We're taking this one on the chin, but it's clear we have a lot of work ahead of us. The only path forward is to put our heads down and grind, because we know we are capable of so much better than what we showed tonight."

Blinn Overwatch faces off against Northeast Iowa Community College in an NJCAA Esports match at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

Murto's Super Smash Bros. team was also in action, as four Buccaneers each competed in two one-on-one NJCAAe matchups.

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.

Sophomore Kiara Molina fell 3-0 to Jefferson College before bouncing back for a 3-0 sweep of her opponent from Moberly Area Community College. Sophomore Gabe Pipes lost a tight 3-2 match to Dallas College Richland but rebounded with a 3-0 victory over Laramie County Community College. Sophomore Joshua De Los Santos was on the losing end 3-0 sweeps at the hands of Jefferson and Moberly Area. Freshman Gage Cole split matches against Jefferson (3-1 loss) and Moberly Area (3-1 win).

Molina is now 3-3 in the Central 2 Conference, De Los Santos is 1-5 in the Central 1 Conference, Cole is 4-2 in the Central 1 Conference, and Pipes is 4-2 in the Central 2 Conference.

"Overall, tonight's outcomes weren't the results we were hoping for, but the players continue to gain valuable experience and show glimpses of their potential," Murto said. "With every match, the players are identifying areas to improve and are tightening up their gameplay. We'll regroup, review the footage, and get back to work for the next round of matches."

Next up, Blinn Super Smash Bros. will play eight one-on-one NJCAAe matches against St. Louis Community College, Rose State College, State Technical College of Missouri, and Wichita State University Tech on Tuesday, March 11.

Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 49 national championships since 1987.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Donnivan Straight: Sophomore; Overwatch

Haluk Tanriseven: Sophomore; Overwatch

Dhruv Pandrangi: Sophomore; Overwatch

Matthew Hutchings: Sophomore; Overwatch

Gage Cole: Freshman; Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Gabe Pipes: Sophomore; Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Kiara Molina: Sophomore; Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Joseph Mares: Freshman; Overwatch

Joshua Delossantos: Sophomore; Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Players Mentioned

Donnivan Straight
: Sophomore; Overwatch

Haluk Tanriseven
: Sophomore; Overwatch

Dhruv Pandrangi
: Sophomore; Overwatch

Matthew Hutchings
: Sophomore; Overwatch

Gage Cole
: Freshman; Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Gabe Pipes
: Sophomore; Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Kiara Molina
: Sophomore; Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Joseph Mares
: Freshman; Overwatch

Joshua Delossantos
: Sophomore; Super Smash Bros Ultimate