The Blinn College esports team navigated a bustling night of action Tuesday and came away with six victories in Call of Duty, Rocket League, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate play.
The Buccaneer Call of Duty squad of , Sirr McCook, Travis Stansberry, Jordan Vo earned a 3-1 victory over Iowa Central Community College in a best-of-five NJCAA Esports (NJCAAe) series.
The matchup pitted the four Bucs against the Tritons, with each team 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.
- Control: Teams attack and defend two capture points, with limited lives adding an elimination aspect. The first team to win three rounds claims victory.
The Bucs improved to 1-2 in NJCAAe play.
“This was a big win for us and much-needed to get us moving in the right direction for a playoff push,” Blinn assistant coach and Call of Duty manager Ryan Lucich said. “The energy was super high throughout the match, and every player had some huge moments as everyone was hyping each other up. That energy is really what carried us.”
The Bucs take on Texas A&M International University in a National Association of Collegiate Esports bout at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Also Tuesday, Blinn’s Rocket League team secured a 3-0 NJCAAe victory over Laramie County Community College in a best-of-five match.
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. Teams with the most goals during a five-minute match win.
The Bucs’ Xavier Johnson, Braeden Pomeroy, and Edward Tejada earned the win to push Blinn’s record to 5-3 in the Central Conference.
Blinn claimed the series with 6-1, 5-1, and 3-1 victories.
“Our Rocket League team put on one of the most dominant performances of the season tonight,” Bucs head coach and Rocket League manager Kyle Murto said. “From start to finish we played lights out, excelling on both the offensive and defensive ends to control every aspect of the series. Every single player contributed to this win, and it was a true showcase of what we are capable of when everything is clicking. Our rotations were clean, our shot accuracy was vastly improved, and our defensive efforts made it nearly impossible for Laramie to get anything going.”
Up next, Blinn’s Rocket League team faces Northcentral Technical College in an NJCAAe tilt at 6 p.m. on Friday.
Wrapping up the night for the Bucs was their Super Smash Bros. Ultimate team, which competed in five one-on-one matchups and earned four wins.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is a crossover fighting game where players, either in one-on-one or four-on-four matches, aim to knock each other off a combat stage. The objective is for players to inflict damage to increase their opponents’ likelihood of being knocked off the platform. In singles play, each player has a set number of lives or “stocks,” and the match is won by reducing the opponent’s stocks to zero. In crew battles, teams take turns battling, with stock carryover. The team that eliminates all opposing players’ stocks first wins. Series are often best-of-three or best-of-five.
Getting things started for Blinn was Gage Cole, who swept his opponent from St. Louis Community College 3-0. The Bucs’ Kiara Molina and Gabe Pipes then faced off, with Pipes securing a 3-0 triumph. Molina later came up short in a 3-0 setback against Coastal Bend College. Pipes added to his successful night with a 3-0 sweep of Coastal Bend. Cole and teammate Joshua Delossantos faced off to conclude the night, with Cole prevailing 3-0.
Pipes improved to 7-3 in the Central 2 Conference, Cole moved to 6-2 in the Central 1 Conference, Delossantos dropped to 1-8 in the Central 1, and Molina is now 3-7 in the Central 2.
“Overall, this wasn’t the best week in terms of results, but given the multiple in-house matchups, we anticipated some losses,” said Murto, who manages Blinn’s Super Smash Bros. team. “Gabe and Gage are really starting to separate themselves, showcasing their ability to dominate opponents and secure crucial wins. With key matches still ahead, the focus remains on continued improvement and pushing toward a strong finish to the season.”
Blinn Super Smash Bros. will play makeup matches at 6 p.m. on Thursday and 6 p.m. on Friday.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 50 national championships since 1987.
