Esports 4/16/2025 11:01:00 PM

Blinn Overwatch overcomes Daytona State in NJCAAe National Tournament semifinal

The Buccaneers are looking for their first national championship and will face Bryant & Stratton in the finals for a fifth time

Esports 4/16/2025 11:01:00 PM

Blinn Overwatch overcomes Daytona State in NJCAAe National Tournament semifinal

The Buccaneers are looking for their first national championship and will face Bryant & Stratton in the finals for a fifth time

The Blinn College esports Overwatch team is on the doorstep of its first NJCAA Esports (NJCAAe) national championship, and a longtime rival awaits.

The 17th-ranked Buccaneers (Overwatch Collegiate Rankings Association) defeated Daytona State College 3-2 in a best-of-five semifinal match in the NJCAAe Overwatch National Tournament on Wednesday to advance to the championship match.

Blinn will now battle Bryant & Stratton College for the title at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 23, the fifth meeting between the two teams in the finals.

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: Teams fight to control a central point on the map. Once a team captures it, a new point appears. The first team to capture three points wins.

In order to punch their ticket to the title tilt, the Bucs' team of Joseph Mares, Haluk Tanriseven, Matthew Hutchings, Donnivan Straight, and Dhruv Pandrangi outlasted a game Daytona State squad.

Blinn won the opening Control round, but the Falcons stormed back in the Hybrid round to even the series 1-1. In round three, Daytona State pulled ahead with a victory in Escort play. The Bucs forced a decisive fifth round with a victory in the Push round. Flashpoint rounded out the series, and Blinn emerged victorious with a 3-2 win.

"While it wasn't our cleanest performance, we got the win," Bucs head coach and Overwatch manager Kyle Murto said. "Credit to Daytona, as they've picked up some serious talent and showed real upset potential. We'll definitely be keeping an eye on them going forward. For now, our focus is locked in, as we're back in the finals and we know what needs to be done to bring home a championship."

Along with earning a berth in the championship match, Blinn's victory over Daytona State also secured the Bucs a trip to the Collegiate Esports Commissioners Cup May 2-4 in Dallas.

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

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