Blinn College esports split two matches Tuesday, finding victory in Overwatch play while falling short in Call of Duty action.
The Buccaneer Overwatch team of Haluk Tanriseven, Donnivan Straight, Andrew Dugas, Matthew Hutchings, and Javier Amezcua remained unbeaten in collegiate league matches as they blanked Colorado School of Mines 3-0 (best-of-five series) in a National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) matchup.
Blinn is now 5-0 in the NACE West-Central 2 Conference, and 8-0 overall between NACE and NJCAA Esports (NJCAAe) tilts.
“We came out looking strong and put forth a dominating performance,” Blinn assistant coach and Overwatch manager Kyle Murto said. “While we still have matches to play in other leagues this week, our primary focus is preparing for the University of Texas-Dallas, which is ranked 12th in the nation.”
The Bucs battle UT-Dallas in a NACE matchup Oct. 10, but first take on Southwestern Oregon Community College in an NJCAAe showdown at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
Also Tuesday, Blinn Call of Duty came up short against Central Community College, falling 3-0 in a best-of-five NJCAAe contest.
The Bucs are 3-1 in NJCAAe Call of Duty matches this fall.
Competing for Blinn were David Rodriguez, Logan Rivera, Landon Campos, and Wesley King.
“We knew this would be a test going in, but one that we should’ve been able to beat,” said Blinn assistant coach Ryan Lucich, who oversees the Call of Duty squad. “We started off hot in map 1 before falling flat a bit. We almost brought it back, but it ended up being too little too late. This was a tough loss to take, but as always, these guys know how to learn from it and push forward.”
Blinn’s next Call of Duty match will see the Bucs battle St. Edward’s University in a NACE clash at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 44 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
