Esports 10/15/2026 11:15:00 PM

Blinn Overwatch, Valorant teams earn victories

The Buccaneers' Super Smash Bros. Ultimate team fell to South Florida

Esports 10/15/2026 11:15:00 PM

Blinn Overwatch, Valorant teams earn victories

The Buccaneers' Super Smash Bros. Ultimate team fell to South Florida

The Blinn College esports team picked up a pair of victories Thursday, Oct. 15, as Overwatch swept The Ohio State University and Valorant dominated Dallas College El Centro in NJCAAe regular-season action. The Super Smash Bros. Ultimate team also competed, falling to the University of South Florida in National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) crew battles.

OVERWATCH
Blinn's Overwatch team, ranked No. 11 nationally by the Overwatch Collegiate Rankings Association (OWCRA), improved to 4-0 in Swiss Stage play with a 3-0 sweep of No. 18 Ohio State.

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. Teams use strategic map selections and coordinated play to capitalize on their strengths and exploit opponents' weaknesses. Matches are played under a best-of-five format.

Blinn opened the series with a dominant 2-0 victory on Ilios in Control, a mode in which teams fight to capture and maintain control of designated areas. The Buccaneers continued their strong play on New Junk City, earning a 3-1 win in Flashpoint, a mode that challenges teams to capture a series of objectives across the map.

After a brief stumble on the second point of New Junk City, Blinn regrouped and returned to form. The Buccaneers closed out the series on Havana, earning a 1-0 victory in Escort, a mode in which teams work to move a payload along a designated route.

The victory marked Blinn's first conference match since the Queen City Clash, where the Buccaneers also faced Ohio State. The team showed significant improvement in communication and coordination, delivering one of its strongest performances of the season.

"This was easily one of our strongest performances of the season," said Blinn esports head coach and Overwatch manager Kyle Murto. "Our communication was sharp, our coordination was significantly improved, and for the first time in a while we looked like the team we know we're capable of being."

Blinn's results at the Queen City Clash tournament earlier this month pushed the team outside the national top 10, but the sweep of Ohio State provided a statement win as the Bucs look to climb back into the upper echelon of the poll.

"Defeating the No. 18 team in the country in convincing fashion shows that we belong among the nation's best," Murto said.

The Overwatch roster featured Donnivan Straight, Jose Soliz, Antony Luna, Dylan Wiley, and Salvador Castaneda.

Blinn Overwatch gets back to work with an NJCAAe tilt against North Dakota State College of Science at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 21.

VALORANT
Blinn's Valorant team delivered one of its most dominant performances of the season, sweeping Dallas College El Centro 2-0 in NJCAAe regular-season play.

Blinn improved to 2-1 in NJCAAe regular-season play.

Competing for the Bucs were Michael Pint, Ahnaf Khan, Tyler Hartman, Samuel Long, and Brian Yang, led by Blinn assistant coach and team manager Patrick Daley.

Valorant is a tactical, team-based first-person shooter in which teams of five players select agents with unique abilities. Teams alternate between attacking and defending, with attackers attempting to plant a spike at a designated site and defenders working to prevent the plant or defuse the spike. The first team to win 13 rounds takes the map, with overtime required if the score reaches 12-12. Matches are played in a best-of-three format.

The Buccaneers opened the series on Bind and quickly established control, using aggressive positioning, coordinated utility, and strong gunplay to disrupt Dallas College's setups. Blinn applied pressure around B Long and A Short, rotated effectively, and consistently converted early advantages into round wins to secure a 13-3 victory.

Haven brought more of the same, as Blinn contested A Long and Garage to deny its opponents easy map control. The Buccaneers spread pressure across the map's three sites, used their abilities effectively, and created favorable engagements throughout the contest. Blinn earned another 13-3 victory to complete the sweep with a combined round score of 26-6.

The Buccaneers experimented with nontraditional agent compositions on both maps, embracing a looser approach after back-to-back losses against Pratt. The performance showcased the team's confidence, communication, and ability to adapt while maintaining control throughout the series.

The Buccaneers return to NJCAAe competition at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22, against Grayson College.

SUPER SMASH BROS. ULTIMATE
Blinn's Super Smash Bros. Ultimate team fell 2-0 to the University of South Florida in NACE crew-battle action Thursday.

Braeyelyn Mitchell, Christiano Persad, Alexander Pieratt, William Rychetsky, and James Rinehart competed for the Bucs.

Blinn is 0-1 on the year.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is a crossover fighting game in which players attempt to knock opponents off the stage by increasing their damage percentage, making them more vulnerable to being launched. Competitors fight using a set number of lives, known as stocks, and must eliminate their opponents' stocks to win. Matches are played in a best-of-three format.

Despite the loss, Blinn produced several encouraging individual performances across the two rounds.

In the opening round, William Rychetsky started on Terry and took one stock before being eliminated. Alexander Pieratt followed but was unable to take a stock, leaving Blinn with ground to make up.

James Rinehart helped close the gap with two stock eliminations using his signature Toon Link. Braeyelyn Mitchell then delivered a standout performance on Bayonetta, taking four stocks before being eliminated. Although Blinn could not complete the comeback, Mitchell's run helped make the round competitive.

In the second round, Mitchell opened and took one stock before falling. Christiano Persad then competed on Pit, taking another stock and leaving South Florida's Piranha Plant with one stock remaining. Rinehart returned on Toon Link and eliminated the final stock to finish the matchup before falling in his next battle against Terry.

Rychetsky entered as Blinn's final player, switching to Kazuya in an attempt to spark another comeback. He defeated Terry with a series of powerful attacks, including his signature Electric God Fist, before falling to the Mii Swordfighter who had troubled the Buccaneers in the opening round.

Daley, who also coaches the SSBU team, said the team showed resilience despite struggling to maintain consistency across the lineup.

"We competed in two crew battles tonight that featured some strong individual performances, important stock trades, and several opportunities for the guys to fight their way back into difficult situations," Daley said.

Daley highlighted Mitchell's four-stock performance, Rinehart's ability to eliminate important stocks, and Rychetsky's late victory on Kazuya as positive takeaways. He also noted that the unfamiliar crew-battle format presented a challenge for several players competing for the first time.

"Moving forward, the focus will be on improving our opening matchups and limiting unnecessary stock losses so we can give our closing players better opportunities to finish out these crew battles," Daley said.

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

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Players Mentioned

Dylan Wiley: Freshman; Overwatch

Donnivan Straight: Sophomore; Overwatch

Jose Soliz: Freshman; Overwatch

Salvador Castaneda: Freshman; Overwatch

Antony Luna: Freshman; Overwatch

Alexander Pieratt: Freshman; Super Smash Bros Ultimate

William Rychetsky: Freshman; Super Smash Bros Ultimate

James Rinehart: Sophomore; Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Braeyelyn Mitchell: Sophomore; Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Michael Pint: Sophomore; Valorant

Players Mentioned

Dylan Wiley
: Freshman; Overwatch

Donnivan Straight
: Sophomore; Overwatch

Jose Soliz
: Freshman; Overwatch

Salvador Castaneda
: Freshman; Overwatch

Antony Luna
: Freshman; Overwatch

Alexander Pieratt
: Freshman; Super Smash Bros Ultimate

William Rychetsky
: Freshman; Super Smash Bros Ultimate

James Rinehart
: Sophomore; Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Braeyelyn Mitchell
: Sophomore; Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Michael Pint
: Sophomore; Valorant