Esports 3/18/2026 11:27:00 AM

Blinn esports splits results across three titles

The Buccaneers earned wins in Rocket League, Valorant, and Super Smash Bros. competition

Esports 3/18/2026 11:27:00 AM

Blinn esports splits results across three titles

The Buccaneers earned wins in Rocket League, Valorant, and Super Smash Bros. competition

The Blinn College esports team had an up-and-down night of competition Tuesday, earning four victories against seven losses across Rocket League, Valorant, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate play.

Rocket League
Blinn's Rocket League team of Edward Tejada, Aaron Konen, and Vallentino Rossi earned one win across three matches in NJCAA Esports (NJCAAe) and National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) competition.

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.

To begin its evening, Blinn defeated Northcentral Technical College 3-0 in a best-of-five NJCAAe matchup to improve to 8-1 in the NJCAAe East Conference.

"We opened the night strong and, aside from a brief lapse in focus early in the series, handled our business," Blinn head coach and Rocket League coach Kyle Murto said. "The final round went into a lengthy overtime, but we stayed patient and eventually found the golden goal."

The Buccaneers then shifted to NACE play and were swept 3-0 by Idaho State University. Despite the result, Murto said the series remained competitive throughout.

"We played well overall, but a few small slipups and missed opportunities proved costly against a strong opponent," he added.

Blinn concluded its Rocket League slate with a 3-1 NACE loss to Illinois State University. The Bucs dropped the opening two rounds before responding with a convincing win in round three to extend the series.

"We showed the level we're capable of playing at when we're locked in," Murto said. "In the deciding round, we were forced to push forward late while chasing the equalizer, which left us exposed defensively."

Blinn wrapped up its NACE regular season with a 1-6 record in the West-Central Conference.

"Overall, this was a solid showing to close out NACE play," Murto said. "Our record doesn't fully reflect how much we've improved. We're consistently competing with teams that gave us trouble last semester, and the growth is clear."

The Buccaneers have one NJCAAe Rocket League regular-season match remaining and are currently in position to earn the No. 2 seed in the conference heading into the playoffs.

Blinn will conclude its NJCAAe regular season with a match against Dallas College Brookhaven at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 24.

Valorant
Blinn's Valorant team was in action Tuesday and fell 2-0 to Columbia Basin College in a best-of-three NJCAA Esports (NJCAAe) match.

Ilies Dolliazal, Milad Khorsandi, Tyler Hartman, Samuel Long, and Brian Yang competed for the Buccaneers, who wrapped up their NJCAAe regular season with a 4-2 record.

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 assistant coach and Valorant coach Patrick Daley said the result was frustrating after a pair of tightly contested maps.

"Both maps felt within reach, but we struggled to consistently convert advantages and close out rounds in key moments," Daley said.

Columbia Basin claimed the opening map on Pearl by a 13-8 score. The teams traded early rounds before the Hawks used a strong mid-map stretch to build separation.

Blinn pushed the second map, Haven, to overtime before falling 16-14 in a back-and-forth battle. The Buccaneers had opportunities to secure the win in regulation but were unable to capitalize late.

"The team showed resilience and proved it can compete in close matches," Daley added. "Improving our late-round execution will be a focus as we move forward."

Blinn will next turn its attention to its NACE regular-season finale against Briar Cliff University at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
The Buccaneers competed in six NJCAAe Super Smash Bros. Ultimate matches Tuesday, earning two head-to-head victories and one forfeit win.

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 dropped a 3-1 decision to Jefferson College in a tightly contested set before rebounding with a 3-0 victory over Central Community College. Against Jefferson, Rinehart engaged in a slow, methodical battle centered on spacing and zoning before falling in the closing moments. He responded with a strong performance against Central, controlling the pace and consistently forcing his opponent into difficult approaches.

Rinehart moved to 7-5 in NJCAAe Central Group 1.

Cade Noel suffered a pair of 3-0 setbacks to Marshalltown Community College and Jefferson. Noel experimented with different character strategies throughout the evening and showed improvement as the night progressed but was unable to convert key opportunities into stock advantages.

Noel fell to 6-5 in NJCAAe Central Group 2.

Braeyelyn Mitchell earned a decisive 3-0 win over Hawkeye Community College while using Peach as a secondary character to dictate spacing and maintain consistent pressure throughout the set. His second match of the night against Hutchinson Community College was rescheduled for 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 24.

Mitchell improved to 7-2 in NJCAAe Central Group 3.

Gage Cole picked up a forfeit victory over Eastern Arizona College before falling 3-1 to Centralia College. Cole adjusted well to early matchup challenges but was ultimately unable to overcome late pressure in the set.

Assistant coach Patrick Daley said the matches provided valuable experience for the Bucs as they continue to develop.

"There were clear moments of growth across the board, especially in adapting to different playstyles and understanding when to stay patient versus when to apply pressure," Daley said.

Blinn will return to action with nine Super Smash Bros. Ultimate matches beginning at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 24.

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