Blinn College esports picked up two victories Thursday, Oct. 29, as its Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Valorant teams earned dominant wins, while the Overwatch team suffered a five-map defeat against Long Beach State University.
The Super Smash Bros. Ultimate team swept Academy of Art University 2-0 in NACE competition, while Valorant shut out Navarro College 2-0 in NJCAA Esports (NJCAAe) regular-season play. Blinn's No. 11-ranked Overwatch team battled Long Beach State in Swiss Stage 5 of the NACE Overwatch Collegiate competition before falling 3-2.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
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 crew battles, players compete with a set number of stocks, or lives, and teammates enter the battle as opponents are eliminated. The team that eliminates all of its opponents' stocks wins.
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Blinn delivered one of its strongest performances of the season against Academy of Art University, sweeping both crew battles to secure an 8-0 overall victory. The Buccaneers improved to 2-1 in NACE play.
Will Rychetsky and Alexander Pieratt led the way with outstanding individual performances, combining for 15 stocks across six opposing players.
In the first crew battle, Rychetsky used Kazuya to take eight stocks across three opponents. He opened by eliminating all three of an opponent's stocks while losing only one of his own. He followed with another three-stock performance against Samus before taking two additional stocks against Chrom.
Braeyelyn Mitchell entered on Bayonetta to finish the first battle, eliminating Chrom's remaining stock before continuing to pressure Academy of Art's Pokémon Trainer.
Pieratt followed with an equally impressive performance in the second crew battle. Playing Bowser, he took seven stocks across three opponents, including all three stocks against Pokémon Trainer and Samus before taking another against Corrin.
Christiano Persad helped close out the second battle with Mr. Game & Watch. He eliminated Corrin's remaining two stocks before taking three more against Marth, finishing with five stocks taken while losing only one of his own.
The victory highlighted Blinn's depth and individual talent, with all four competitors contributing to the two crew-battle wins.
Other Bucs who participated included James Rinehart and Jaden Pereira.
Blinn will return to NACE competition against Texas Tech University at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5.
Overwatch
Overwatch is a team-based, first-person shooter in which players select heroes with unique abilities and work together to complete objectives across multiple map modes. Teams compete in a variety of formats, including Control, Push, Hybrid, Flashpoint and Escort, each featuring different objectives and win conditions.
The No. 11-ranked Bucs, according to OWCRA, battled Long Beach State University in NACE Overwatch Collegiate Swiss Stage 5, ultimately falling 3-2. Both teams entered the matchup with 4-1 records, and Blinn dropped to 4-2 with the loss.
Blinn struggled to find its footing in the opening map, dropping Ilios (Control) after a 0-100 loss in the first round. The Bucs bounced back to take the second round but fell 71-100 in the deciding third round.
Blinn responded on Esperança (Push), winning the opening fight and maintaining a tempo advantage throughout the map. The Bucs secured the final fight to even the series at one map apiece.
Long Beach State selected Paraíso (Hybrid) for the third map and took control of the matchup. Blinn made progress during its attacking round but stalled after reaching the first checkpoint. Long Beach State then completed its attack to regain the series lead.
The Bucs answered on New Junk City (Flashpoint), dominating the fourth map with a 3-0 victory to force a deciding fifth map.
On Route 66 (Escort), Blinn started strong with several early eliminations but stalled before reaching the first checkpoint on offense. Long Beach State capitalized on its opportunity to complete a strong attacking push and secure the 3-2 series victory.
Blinn's lineup featured Donnivan Straight, Jose Soliz, Antony Luna, Dylan Wiley and Salvador Castaneda.
The Bucs will return to NACE competition against Winthrop University at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2.
Valorant
Valorant is a tactical, team-based first-person shooter in which two teams of five players select unique agents with special abilities. The attacking team attempts to plant a spike at a designated site, while the defending team tries to prevent the plant or defuse the spike if it is planted. The first team to win 13 rounds wins the map. If the score reaches 12-12, the teams enter overtime.
Blinn cruised to a 2-0 victory over Navarro College in NJCAAe regular-season play, earning two perfect 13-0 map victories. The Bucs improved to 4-1 in league competition.
The matchup came with unusual circumstances, as Navarro experienced connection issues that left the team competing with just four players throughout the series. Despite the opponent's disadvantage, Blinn remained focused and took care of business without surrendering a single round.
On its map selection of Lotus, Blinn controlled the pace from the opening rounds, using its numerical advantage to establish map control, win gunfights and overwhelm Navarro's defensive setups. The Bucs closed out a 13-0 victory.
The second map, Haven, followed a similar script. Blinn continued to capitalize on its advantage, effectively trading eliminations and preventing Navarro from establishing any momentum. The Bucs again shut out their opponent, completing the 13-0 victory and securing the series sweep.
Blinn's lineup featured Michael Pint, Ahnaf Khan, Tyler Hartman, Samuel Long and Brian Yang.
Although the Bucs would have preferred to face Navarro at full strength, the team executed its game plan and secured an important NJCAAe victory as it continues preparing for tougher matchups ahead.
Blinn will return to NACE competition against Elizabeth City State University at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4.
