Esports 3/12/2026 9:34:00 AM

Blinn esports earns seven victories across three titles during competitive Tuesday slate

Rocket League sweeps two matches as Valorant and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate squads add to Buccaneers’ win total

Esports 3/12/2026 9:34:00 AM

Blinn esports earns seven victories across three titles during competitive Tuesday slate

Rocket League sweeps two matches as Valorant and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate squads add to Buccaneers’ win total

The Blinn College esports program secured seven victories in Rocket League, Valorant, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate competition during a busy Tuesday evening of action.

ROCKET LEAGUE
Blinn's Rocket League squad of Edward Tejada, Ruben Salas, and Vallentino Rossi earned a pair of NJCAA Esports (NJCAAe) East Conference victories, sweeping Catawba Valley Community College 3-0 before defeating Bergen Community College 3-1 in best-of-five play.

Rocket League combines elements of soccer with fast-paced car mechanics. Teams of three players use rocket-powered vehicles to hit a ball into the opponent's goal. The team with the most goals during a five-minute round wins.
Blinn improved to 7-1 in the NJCAAe East Conference.

The Buccaneers opened the night with a dominant sweep of Catawba Valley, controlling the series from start to finish with round scores of 1-0, 4-0, and 10-1.

"Our rotations were clean, the defense was strong, and we consistently capitalized on scoring opportunities," Blinn head coach and Rocket League coach Kyle Murto said. "Especially in the final round where we put up 10 goals."

The second matchup against Bergen proved much tighter. After dropping the opening round 2-1, the Buccaneers responded with a 4-1 win in round two to even the series. Blinn then captured the final two rounds 4-3 and 3-2, both in overtime, to seal the 3-1 victory.

"The ability to recover after dropping the first round and win two overtime matches showed strong composure," Murto added.

Murto also highlighted the performance of Salas, who made his first start on Blinn's varsity Rocket League roster.

"Ruben fit in seamlessly with the lineup and played a strong role in helping secure both wins," Murto said.

Blinn Rocket League returns to action Tuesday, March 17, beginning with an NJCAAe matchup against Northcentral Technical College at 6 p.m. The Buccaneers will then compete in two National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) matches against Idaho State University at 7:30 p.m. and Illinois State University at 8:15 p.m.

VALORANT
In Valorant action, Blinn earned a 2-0 sweep of Lake Area Technical College in a best-of-three NJCAAe matchup.

Ilies Dolliazal, Milad Khorsandi, Hayden Rubino, Samuel Long, and Brian Yang secured the victory as the Buccaneers improved to 2-1 in NJCAAe competition.

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.

Blinn opened the series with a 13-5 victory on Pearl before closing the match with a dominant 13-3 win on Bind.

"Our match against Lake Area Technical College was one of our most complete performances of the season," Blinn assistant coach and Valorant coach Patrick Daley said. "From the opening rounds the team communicated well, controlled the pace, and avoided the small mistakes that can let opponents build momentum."

Daley credited Dolliazal's in-round leadership and the team's coordinated play for helping maintain control throughout the match.

"Hayden and Brian consistently found opening picks that created space for our executes," Daley added. "Milad's utility slowed several of their pushes and Sam came through with some strong multi-elimination rounds that kept them from building an economy."

Blinn Valorant returns to competition at 6 p.m. Wednesday with a NACE matchup against Cleary University.

SUPER SMASH BROS. ULTIMATE
The Buccaneers competed in eight one-on-one matches in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate play and finished the night 4-4.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is a crossover fighting game in which players aim to knock opponents off the stage by increasing their damage percentage, making them more vulnerable to launch. In singles play, competitors battle with a set number of lives, or "stocks," and the match is won by reducing the opponent's stocks to zero. Series are commonly played in best-of-three or best-of-five formats.

James Rinehart earned a forfeit victory over Eastern Arizona College before falling 3-1 to Centralia College. After winning a tight opening round, the set shifted when his opponent switched characters, forcing Rinehart to play from behind as the series progressed. Rinehart moved to 6-4 in NJCAAe Central Group 1.

Cade Noel split his two matches, sweeping Hawkeye Community College 3-0 before dropping a 3-0 decision to Collin College. Noel maintained strong spacing in the Hawkeye series before encountering a difficult matchup against Collin that allowed his opponent to control long advantage states. Noel is now 6-3 in Central Group 2.

Gage Cole recorded two victories, defeating Laredo College 3-1 before earning another 3-1 win over Hutchinson Community College. After dropping the opening round in both sets, Cole adjusted and used strong momentum swings to take control, including a dominant third round against Hutchinson. Cole improved to 8-1 in Central Group 1.

Braeyelyn Mitchell fell in both of his matches, dropping 3-0 decisions to Jefferson College and Collin. In both sets, Mitchell struggled to establish longer combo sequences and was often forced into defensive play. He now sits at 6-2 in Central Group 3.

The Blinn Super Smash Bros. Ultimate team returns to action with eight NJCAAe matches beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 17.

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

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Players Mentioned

Ilies Dolliazal: Sophomore; Valorant

Milad Khorsandi: Freshman; Valorant

Samuel Long: Freshman; Valorant

Hayden Rubino: Freshman; Valorant

Brian Yang: Freshman; Valorant

Braeyelyn Mitchell: Freshman; Overwatch/Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Vallentino Rossi: Sophomore; Rocket League

Ruben Salas: Sophomore; Rocket League

Gage Cole: Sophomore; Super Smash Bros Ultimate

James Rinehart: Freshman; Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Players Mentioned

Ilies Dolliazal
: Sophomore; Valorant

Milad Khorsandi
: Freshman; Valorant

Samuel Long
: Freshman; Valorant

Hayden Rubino
: Freshman; Valorant

Brian Yang
: Freshman; Valorant

Braeyelyn Mitchell
: Freshman; Overwatch/Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Vallentino Rossi
: Sophomore; Rocket League

Ruben Salas
: Sophomore; Rocket League

Gage Cole
: Sophomore; Super Smash Bros Ultimate

James Rinehart
: Freshman; Super Smash Bros Ultimate