Esports 3/6/2025 11:32:00 AM

Blinn's Overwatch and Valorant teams pick up victories

The Buccaneers were triumphant over Northeast Iowa and Randolph-Macon

Esports 3/6/2025 11:32:00 AM

Blinn's Overwatch and Valorant teams pick up victories

The Buccaneers were triumphant over Northeast Iowa and Randolph-Macon

The Blinn College esports team earned victories in Overwatch and Valorant play Wednesday.

The Buccaneers, ranked 10th by the Overwatch Collegiate Rankings Association, earned a 3-0 win over Northeast Iowa Community College in a best-of-three NJCAA Esports (NJCAAe) match.

Earning the victory for Blinn were Joseph Mares, Haluk Tanriseven, Matthew Hutchings, Donnivan Straight, and Dhruv Pandrang, who improved to 3-0 in the NJCAAe Central 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 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.
Clash: Teams capture consecutive points, with the first team to a set number of points winning.

The Bucs were triumphant in the Control, Hybrid, and Escort game modes.

Blinn head coach and Overwatch manager Kyle Murto said he was happy to see his team bounce back in dominant fashion after the Bucs suffered a 3-0 loss to Grand View University in a National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) match Tuesday.

"While this type of win is something we expect in NJCAAe, it couldn't have come at a better time," Murto explained. "After the tough loss to Grand View University (on Tuesday), morale took a hit, and we knew we needed to come out strong today to reset and remind ourselves of what we're capable of. The team responded well, showing discipline, confidence, and strong teamwork throughout tonight's series."

Blinn's Overwatch season continues with a NACE bout against St. Clair College at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 11.

The Bucs' Valorant squad was also triumphant Wednesday as Zachary Sutton, Braeden Greiffenstein, Hector Carielo, Ilies Dolliazal, and Brendan Felicidario defeated Randolph-Macon College 2-0 in a three-game NACE series.

Blinn is now 1-4 in NACE Valorant play.

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.

The Bucs were victorious 14-12 in overtime in round one and 13-4 in round two.

Blinn Valorant continues its season with a Collegiate Valorant tilt against Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College at 6 p.m. on Thursday.

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

Print Friendly Version