Esports 4/24/2025 1:42:00 PM

Blinn Overwatch settles for runner-up finish in NJCAAe title tilt with Bryant & Stratton

The Buccaneers will compete in the group stage round of the NACE Varsity Premier Playoffs beginning Saturday

Esports 4/24/2025 1:42:00 PM

Blinn Overwatch settles for runner-up finish in NJCAAe title tilt with Bryant & Stratton

The Buccaneers will compete in the group stage round of the NACE Varsity Premier Playoffs beginning Saturday

Blinn Overwatch settles for runner-up finish in NJCAAe title tilt with Bryant & Stratton
The Buccaneers will compete in the group stage round of the NACE Varsity Premier Playoffs beginning Saturday

The 17th-ranked Blinn College esports Overwatch team settled for a runner-up finish in the NJCAA Esports (NJCAAe) Overwatch National Tournament on Wednesday.

Seventh-ranked Bryant & Stratton College defeated the Buccaneers 3-1 in a best-of-five championship match.

The team of Joseph Mares, Haluk Tanriseven, Matthew Hutchings, Donnivan Straight, and Dhruv Pandrangi competed for Blinn.

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 Bobcats defeated the Bucs in the NJCAAe Overwatch title match for the fifth time, and left Blinn searching for its first Overwatch championship.

Blinn had early momentum in Wednesday's matchup after earning a 2-1 victory in the opening Control map. Bryant & Stratton answered with a tight 4-3 triumph in the Hybrid round and gained the series advantage with a 3-2 victory in the Escort round. The Bobcats then finished the series with a 1-0 win in the Push mode.

"Heading into Push, we knew we had to clean things up, but unfortunately, it was one of our weakest showings of the night," Murto said. "Despite having a good strategy prepared, we played sloppily, taking bad fights, rotating poorly, and mismanaging cooldowns. While the loss stings, I'm incredibly proud of the team's performance. This has been one of our more difficult semesters in recent years, and we still managed to put up our best showing ever against Bryant & Stratton on the biggest stage. The growth, effort, and resilience from everyone on the roster have been incredible."

Though their NJCAAe season is over, the Bucs will continue their Overwatch season with two more tournaments.

Blinn begins group stage play in the eight-team, double-elimination National Association of Collegiate Esports Varsity Premier Playoffs starting with a tilt against St. Clair College at 8 a.m. on Saturday in Orlando, Fla.

By virtue of its appearance in the NJCAAe national tournament title match, the Bucs also qualified for 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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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