Esports 3/25/2026 11:49:00 AM

Blinn esports earns eight victories in Call of Duty, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate play

Buccaneers stay unbeaten in NJCAAe Call of Duty Central Conference competition

Esports 3/25/2026 11:49:00 AM

Blinn esports earns eight victories in Call of Duty, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate play

Buccaneers stay unbeaten in NJCAAe Call of Duty Central Conference competition

The Blinn College esports program combined for eight victories across Call of Duty and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate play Tuesday.

CALL OF DUTY
The Buccaneers earned a 3-1 win over Alvin Community College in a best-of-five NJCAA Esports (NJCAAe) bout.

The trio of Jaden Navarro, Aariz Ali, and Daniel Gonzalez competed for Blinn and improved to 6-0 in the Central Conference.

Tuesday's matchup pitted the three Bucs against the Dolphins, with the teams attempting to collect three wins across three modes of play in the first-person-shooter game:

Hardpoint: Teams secure rotating capture points, earning points for control. A team wins by reaching 250 points first.
Search and Destroy: Teams alternate attacking and defending, with the goal to plant or defuse an objective. The first team to win six rounds claims victory.
Overload: Teams placed on separate areas on a map compete to capture an Overload Device and transport it to one of two detonation zones on the opposing team's area. The match ends when either team scores eight points.

Blinn assistant coach and Call of Duty coach Ryan Lucich said the Buccaneers faced an added challenge by competing a player short but still rose to the occasion.

Alvin claimed the opening round on Scar Hardpoint in dramatic fashion, edging Blinn 250-248 after the Bucs built an early 40-0 advantage and reached match point before a late Dolphins rally.

Blinn responded in round two on Raid Search and Destroy. After the teams traded rounds throughout the map, the contest came down to an 11th round tied 5-5. Ali delivered a clutch 1-on-2 performance to secure the win and even the series.

The Buccaneers took control in round three on Den Overload, stringing together four consecutive captures to build a 4-0 halftime lead before cruising to a 6-1 victory.

Blinn closed out the match in round four on Blackheart Hardpoint, maintaining the momentum from the previous map while controlling the majority of capture points. The Bucs sealed the series with a 250-178 triumph.

"I'm really proud of the energy and attitude our players brought while competing a man down," Lucich said. "They were up to the task and found a way to keep our undefeated streak alive."

Blinn concludes its NJCAAe Call of Duty regular season with a match against Central Community College at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 31.

SUPER SMASH BROS. ULTIMATE
The Buccaneers competed in seven NJCAAe Super Smash Bros. Ultimate matches Tuesday, earning six head-to-head victories and two forfeit wins.

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 was awarded a forfeit victory against Hutchinson Community College before earning a hard-fought 3-2 win over Jefferson College. Competing in a tightly contested set that required patience and strong neutral play, Rinehart stayed composed throughout and improved to 8-5 in NJCAAe Central Group 1.

Cade Noel dropped a narrow 3-2 decision to Dallas College Mountain View in one of the closest matches of the day before later receiving a forfeit victory against Hutchinson. Noel moved to 6-6 in Central Group 2.

Braeyelyn Mitchell delivered one of Blinn's top performances, earning victories over Hutchinson (3-0), Northeast Iowa Community College (3-0), and Hutchinson again (3-1). Mitchell improved to 10-2 in Central Group 3.

Gage Cole split his matches, falling 3-1 to Jefferson College before bouncing back with a dominant 3-0 win over Central Community College. Cole improved to 10-3 in Central Group 1.

Assistant coach Patrick Daley said the team continues to show noticeable progress.

"Overall this was a strong showing with multiple dominant wins and several close sets that could have gone either way," Daley said. "The biggest takeaway is continued growth in adaptation and awareness, especially in longer sets. The team continues to build confidence and experience, and performances like this show clear progress week to week."

Blinn's Rocket League team was scheduled to face Dallas College Brookhaven on Tuesday but was awarded a forfeit win.

The Buccaneers return to action with six Super Smash Bros. Ultimate matches beginning at 6 p.m. on March 31.

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