Esports 2/19/2026 10:37:00 AM

Blinn Valorant outlasts Manchester in best-of-three NACE series

The Buccaneers will face Pratt in an NJCAA Esports Valorant match Thursday

Esports 2/19/2026 10:37:00 AM

Blinn Valorant outlasts Manchester in best-of-three NACE series

The Buccaneers will face Pratt in an NJCAA Esports Valorant match Thursday

The Blinn College esports Valorant team picked up a 2-1 victory over Manchester University in a best-of-three National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) match Wednesday.

The Buccaneers improved to 1-2 in NACE play.

Competing for Blinn were Ilies Dolliazal, Milad Khorsandi, Tyler Hartman, Samuel Long, and Brian Yang.

Valorant is a tactical, team-based, first-person shooter set in a near-future world. Teams of five players choose unique agents with distinct abilities, combining shooting skills with strategic use of each agent's toolkit. Teams alternate between attacking and defending. Attackers aim to plant a spike at one of the designated sites, while defenders try to prevent this or defuse the spike if planted. The first team to win 13 rounds claims victory. If both teams reach a tie at 12-12, overtime is triggered, and the match continues until one team wins by two rounds, with teams alternating between attacking and defending in each overtime round.

In the opening round (Bind map), the Bucs earned a 13-6 win to take a 1-0 series lead. In round two (Split map), Manchester earned a tight 13-11 victory. The Bucs bounced back in the deciding round (Pearl map) and prevailed 13-4.

"Our performance on the final map was the response we were looking for," Blinn assistant coach and Valorant coach Patrick Daley said. "From the opening rounds it was clear the team was locked in, as we built early economy and never let Manchester stabilize."

Daley said the keys to the third-round win were consistent opening picks from Long and Dolliazal, as well as Khorsandi and Hartman used strong positioning to control site anchors. He also complimented Yang for putting consistent pressure on Manchester, which forced the Spartans into rushed decisions and uncomfortable rotations.

"Overall, the match showed how much we can play when we take time to talk to each other," Daley added. "Even after dropping a close Split map, the team stayed focused and delivered a dominant performance to finish the series. The communication, pacing, and confidence across all five players continues to improve, and this win over Manchester keeps us trending in the right direction as we move forward."

Up next for Blinn's Valorant squad is an NJCAA Esports tilt against Pratt Community College at 7 p.m. on Thursday.

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Players Mentioned

Ilies Dolliazal: Sophomore; Valorant

Milad Khorsandi: Freshman; Valorant

Samuel Long: Freshman; Valorant

Brian Yang: Freshman; Valorant

Tyler Hartman: Sophomore; Valorant

Players Mentioned

Ilies Dolliazal
: Sophomore; Valorant

Milad Khorsandi
: Freshman; Valorant

Samuel Long
: Freshman; Valorant

Brian Yang
: Freshman; Valorant

Tyler Hartman
: Sophomore; Valorant