Buccaneers Finding Success During Busy Week Of Esports Action

The Blinn College esports team is staying busy during spring break with a hefty load of matches.

The Buccaneer Call of Duty, Overwatch, Super Smash Bros, and Valorant teams have each been in action this week with varied results.

Although Blinn Call of Duty was awarded a pair of forfeit victories over Mississippi State University and Nova Southeast University in Collegiate Call of Duty League Division II Southeast action Monday, they got back to work for a 3-0 victory over Gogebic Community College in an NJCAA Esports (NJCAAe) tilt Tuesday.

Competing for the Bucs were ??Logan Rivera, Michael Allen, Isaias Nieto, and Tanner Gore.

“I’m proud of my guys for staying focused and taking care of business,” assistant coach and Call of Duty manager Ryan Lucich said. “We completely out-slayed Gogebic and took full map control in each game.”

Blinn’s Overwatch team earned two victories, starting with a 3-0 win over Drexel University in a National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) tilt Tuesday and finishing up with a 3-0 NJCAAe triumph over Daytona State College on Wednesday. Haluk Tanriseven, Matthew Hutchings, Dhruv Pandrangi, Donnivan Straight, and Jaden Cornett helped the team earn the pair of wins.

“Despite some moments of struggle, our team managed to secure some swift victories,” said assistant Kyle Murto, who coaches both Blinn Overwatch and Super Smash Bros. “Daytona State College presented breakthroughs that tested our resolve, reminding us that the landscape of NJCAAe is evolving, with other two-year schools building solid programs. While we remain in a league of our own with Bryant & Stratton, it is encouraging to see the level of competition rising among other institutions. As the competition intensifies, our team remains focused on maintaining our dominance while acknowledging the growing challenge posed by emerging programs like Daytona State College.”

The Buccaneers’ Super Smash Bros Ultimate team competed in four matches between Tuesday and Wednesday and finished 3-1. On Tuesday, Tanner Hicks dropped a 3-0 decision to Heartland Community College; Brady Landry topped Barton Community College and Dallas College-Brookhaven in two 3-0 outcomes; and Cody Bentlage blanked Brookhaven 3-0.

On Wednesday, Bentlage battled Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College and fell 3-1.

The Blinn Valorant team was in action Monday and overcame Northwood University 2-1 in a Valorant Collegiate Esports Commissioners Cup tilt. Noah Drake, Adam Laamoumi, Teague Morgan, Ludovic Lefebvre-Lavigne, and Michael Rieger earned the victory for the Bucs.

Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 45 NJCAA national championships since 1987.