The Buccaneers were invited to represent the NJCAA in the Overwatch tournament and were fresh off a runner-up finish in the NJCAA Esports National Tournament. Blinn was seeded 12th in the 16-team bracket, which featured two-year colleges and four-year universities.
The Buccaneers opened with a 2-0 loss to No. 5 Savannah College of Arts and Design, but bounced back in the consolation bracket to knock off No. 13 Georgia College 2-0.
In what Blinn assistant coach Kyle Murto called his team’s best match of the season, the Buccaneers were defeated by No. 6 Boise State University 2-0 to finish their tournament run.
“Boise State was forced to fight tooth and nail to come away with the win,” Murto said. “For us to go against a team like Boise State and be able to keep up with them meant the world, not only to me but my players as well. We trained every day to get to this moment, and to see all our effort be worth it meant a lot. We were able to go toe-to-toe with the best teams in the nation.”
Blinn’s Pierce Ray, a member of Blinn’s starting squad, said he was proud of the way the Buccaneers answered their biggest challenge of the year.
“Personally, I feel like our team performed exceptionally for how large the skill difference was between us and the other teams,” Ray said. “We did have some moments where we were under performing but other than that I think we excelled in the competition.”
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 42 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
