Esports 3/24/2026 10:26:00 AM

Blinn League of Legends sweeps College of DuPage to reach NJCAAe championship

The Buccaneers will face either Pratt or Brookdale on March 30

Esports 3/24/2026 10:26:00 AM

Blinn League of Legends sweeps College of DuPage to reach NJCAAe championship

The Buccaneers will face either Pratt or Brookdale on March 30

The Blinn College esports League of Legends team is headed to the NJCAA Esports (NJCAAe) national championship after a semifinal sweep Monday.

The Buccaneers defeated College of DuPage 2-0 in a best-of-three NJCAAe League of Legends National Tournament matchup to punch their ticket to the title tilt.

League of Legends is a five-versus-five multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) in which teams draft champions with unique abilities and work to destroy the enemy Nexus. Along the way, teams contest objectives such as turrets, inhibitors, Dragons, and Baron Nashor to gain strategic advantages.

Braxton Jones, Andrew Vo, Brian Yang, Carlos Dickens, and Nicholas Lawless combined to lead Blinn to victory.

Blinn assistant coach and League of Legends coach Ryan Lucich said the Bucs entered the match confident after a regular-season sweep of DuPage but still expected a tightly contested battle.

In round one, Blinn built an early advantage as Jones made plays across the map while Lawless controlled the top lane. After a failed tower dive allowed DuPage to swing momentum and even the matchup, the teams traded advantages late into the contest. With DuPage attempting to secure Baron Nashor, Vo delivered a clutch steal that sparked a decisive teamfight and allowed the Buccaneers to push through and secure the win.

Blinn continued its momentum in round two by drafting a more aggressive composition designed to initiate fights. Lawless again surged ahead in the top lane, while Vo dictated the pace with a series of impactful plays that helped the Bucs gain control of key objectives. DuPage threatened to shift the match after securing multiple eliminations and starting another Baron attempt, but Vo responded with a pivotal quadra elimination — aided by Dickens — to swing the advantage back to Blinn. The Buccaneers later capitalized on a final teamfight sparked by Jones' burst damage to close out the sweep.

Vo finished with an 18-4 scoreline in the clinching round.

"I'm so proud of this team," Lucich said. "This officially marks the farthest we have made it in League of Legends as a program. We know Pratt or Brookdale will be a very difficult matchup next week in the championship, but we will put our best foot forward and see what happens."

Blinn will face Pratt Community College or Brookdale Community College in the NJCAAe national championship at 6 p.m. on Monday, March 30.

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Players Mentioned

Brian Yang: Freshman; Valorant

Braxton Jones: Sophomore; League of Legends

Andrew Vo: Freshman; League of Legends

Carlos Dickens: Sophomore; League of Legends

Players Mentioned

Brian Yang
: Freshman; Valorant

Braxton Jones
: Sophomore; League of Legends

Andrew Vo
: Freshman; League of Legends

Carlos Dickens
: Sophomore; League of Legends