Esports 4/10/2025 9:45:00 AM

Blinn Overwatch sweeps Salt Lake, Columbia Basin to reach NJCAAe nationals

The Buccaneers are the top seed out of the Central region and will face Daytona State in the opening round

Esports 4/10/2025 9:45:00 AM

Blinn Overwatch sweeps Salt Lake, Columbia Basin to reach NJCAAe nationals

The Buccaneers are the top seed out of the Central region and will face Daytona State in the opening round

The Blinn College esports Overwatch team swept its way to the NJCAA Esports (NJCAAe) National Tournament on Wednesday.

The Buccaneers defeated both Salt Lake Community College and Columbia Basin College 3-0 in best-of-five semifinal and finals matches of the NJCAAe Central Super Regional to make their return to the national stage.

Blinn – ranked 17th by the Overwatch Collegiate Rankings Association – was led to victory by Joseph Mares, Haluk Tanriseven, Matthew Hutchings, Donnivan Straight, and Dhruv Pandrangi.

The Bucs enter nationals as the top seed from the Central in the four-team national competition and join second-seeded Columbia Basin as well as the East's first and second seeds Bryant & Stratton College and Daytona State College, respectively.

Blinn will take on Daytona State in the first round at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 16.

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.

In its opening win against Salt Lake, Blinn prevailed by winning the Control, Hybrid, and Escort modes before defeating Columbia Basin in the same modes.

"The team showed up with focus, energy, and a clear determination to prove why we're one of the strongest programs in the nation," Bucs head coach and Overwatch manager Kyle Murto said. "I'm proud of the discipline and composure the team showed tonight. Even when opponents managed to earn a point, we stayed locked in and responded immediately."

Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 50 national championships since 1987.

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Players Mentioned

Donnivan Straight: Sophomore; Overwatch

Haluk Tanriseven: Sophomore; Overwatch

Dhruv Pandrangi: Sophomore; Overwatch

Matthew Hutchings: Sophomore; Overwatch

Joseph Mares: Freshman; Overwatch

Players Mentioned

Donnivan Straight
: Sophomore; Overwatch

Haluk Tanriseven
: Sophomore; Overwatch

Dhruv Pandrangi
: Sophomore; Overwatch

Matthew Hutchings
: Sophomore; Overwatch

Joseph Mares
: Freshman; Overwatch