Esports 10/20/2026 10:15:00 AM

Blinn falls in League of Legends, Overwatch matchups

The Buccaneers' Overwatch team pushed No. 4 Briar Cliff to five rounds

Esports 10/20/2026 10:15:00 AM

Blinn falls in League of Legends, Overwatch matchups

The Buccaneers' Overwatch team pushed No. 4 Briar Cliff to five rounds

The Blinn College esports team competed in NJCAA Esports (NJCAAe) and National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) Super Conference action Monday, with League of Legends falling to Brookdale Community College and No. 11 Overwatch pushing No. 4-ranked Briar Cliff University to five maps.

OVERWATCH

Blinn's Overwatch team took Briar Cliff University to the fifth and deciding map Monday in NACE Super Conference play before falling 3-2.

The Buccaneers dropped to 1-1 overall and 0-1 in conference play.

Overwatch is a team-based, first-person shooter in which players select heroes with unique abilities and work together to complete objectives across different map modes. Teams can strategically choose maps based on their strengths and their opponents' weaknesses, with each mode featuring a distinct win condition.

Blinn opened the series on Ilios, a control map where teams fight to capture and hold a single objective. The Bucs won the first eight team fights before Briar Cliff adjusted its composition and rallied to take the map 2-0.

The teams moved to Aatlis, a flashpoint map featuring rotating capture zones. The first team to secure three zones wins the map. Blinn continued to struggle to adapt to its opponent's changes, falling 3-1 and facing a 2-0 series deficit.

With elimination looming, Blinn made significant composition changes on Esperança, a push map where teams battle to control a robot and advance it toward the opposing team's side. The adjustments paid off as the Bucs earned a 2-1 victory to keep the series alive.

Blinn carried that momentum into Paraíso, a hybrid map that requires teams to capture an objective before escorting a payload. The Bucs delivered a strong defensive performance before taking the map 2-1 to even the series at two maps apiece.

Tank Antony Luna provided a key moment on Paraíso, winning two eliminations in a one-on-three situation to create an opening for Blinn to capture the objective.

The match came down to Watchpoint: Grímsvötn, an escort map in which attackers must move a payload to its destination while defenders attempt to stop them before time expires. Briar Cliff built a substantial advantage on offense, capitalizing on communication breakdowns and effective use of its ultimate abilities.

Blinn responded with a strong attack of its own, quickly capturing the first objective and advancing through the second. However, the Bucs ran short on time while trying to break through the final objective and force overtime, allowing Briar Cliff to secure the series.

Despite the loss, Blinn esports head coach and Overwatch manager Kyle Murto saw plenty of positives in the team's performance against one of the nation's top programs.

"To push the fourth-ranked team in the nation to a fifth map shows just how much potential our roster has," Murto said.

Murto identified in-game adjustments as a key area for improvement, emphasizing the importance of recognizing opponents' strategic changes and responding more effectively. The Bucs will look to build on the performance as they prepare to face No. 6-ranked Fisher Navy on Thursday.

Donnivan Straight, Jose Soliz, Antony Luna, Dylan Wiley, and Salvador Castaneda competed for Blinn.

The Bucs' Overwatch squad battles North Dakota State College of Science in an NJCAAe matchup at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

LEAGUE OF LEGENDS

Blinn fell 2-0 to Brookdale Community College on Monday in its third NJCAAe match of the semester. The Bucs dropped to 2-1 in league play.

League of Legends is a five-versus-five multiplayer online battle arena game in which teams select champions with unique abilities and work to destroy the opposing team's Nexus. Teams also contest objectives such as turrets, inhibitors, Dragons, and Baron Nashor to gain strategic advantages. Matches are contested in a best-of-three format.

Brookdale took control early in the opening game, using a strong team composition and effective engagement to consistently find opportunities against Blinn.

Blinn responded with role changes and a revised team composition in game two. The adjustments helped the Bucs find more success, including a strong performance in the bottom lane and kills for Andrew Vo in the middle lane.

The teams traded plays throughout a competitive second game before Brookdale won a pivotal team fight and opened Blinn's base. The Bucs struggled to recover from three ensuing eliminations.

"I'm really proud of how we bounced back in game two, and it was probably the best I've seen the team communicate and play this semester," Blinn assistant coach and League of Legends manager Ryan Lucich said. "We will look to build on that game going forward."

Long Nguyen, Andrew Vo, Johnson Le, Carlos Dickens, and Benjamin Bryant competed for Blinn.

The Bucs continue their League of Legends season with an NJCAAe match against Camden County College at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 26.

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

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Players Mentioned

Carlos Dickens: Sophomore; League of Legends

Benjamin Bryant: Sophomore; League of Legends

Long Nguyen: Freshman; League of Legends

Johnson Le: Freshman; League of Legends

Andrew Vo: Sophomore; League of Legends

Dylan Wiley: Freshman; Overwatch

Donnivan Straight: Sophomore; Overwatch

Jose Soliz: Freshman; Overwatch

Salvador Castaneda: Freshman; Overwatch

Antony Luna: Freshman; Overwatch

Players Mentioned

Carlos Dickens
: Sophomore; League of Legends

Benjamin Bryant
: Sophomore; League of Legends

Long Nguyen
: Freshman; League of Legends

Johnson Le
: Freshman; League of Legends

Andrew Vo
: Sophomore; League of Legends

Dylan Wiley
: Freshman; Overwatch

Donnivan Straight
: Sophomore; Overwatch

Jose Soliz
: Freshman; Overwatch

Salvador Castaneda
: Freshman; Overwatch

Antony Luna
: Freshman; Overwatch