BLINN ESPORTS CALL OF DUTY TEAM FALLS SHORT IN NATIONAL TITLE BID

Story by Joe Alberico, Blinn College Sports Information

In its quest for a second national championship, the Blinn College esports Call of Duty team came up short Tuesday.

The Buccaneers fell to the University of South Carolina-Sumter 3-0 in the NJCAA Esports (NJCAAe) National Tournament best-of-five championship match.

The team of Jaden Navarro, Aariz Ali, Karsyn Krchnak, and Jordan Vo competed for the Bucs, who finished second in the NJCAAe national tournament for a second time in program history. 

Blinn won the NJCAAe championship during the 2023 fall season and placed second in the spring 2024 title tilt.

Tuesday's matchup pitted the four Bucs against the Fire Ants, with the teams 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 6 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.

“Unfortunately, we did not play our best Call of Duty today,” Bucs assistant coach and Call of Duty head coach Ryan Lucich said. “While this series did not show how good we are, I’m still so proud of my guys and how hard they battled this season. We showed a tremendous amount of growth and improved immensely from August until now. I am excited for what awaits us in the spring.”

Blinn posted an impressive 7-2 record during the NJCAAe regular season, including six consecutive wins heading into the postseason. After finishing third in the NJCAAe Call of Duty Regional Playoffs, the Bucs defeated Keyano College for the first time in three tries in an upset in the national tournament’s semifinal round.

“Overall, from where we started this season and where we’ve finished, there’s a lot to be proud of,” Vo said. “Regardless of today’s outcome, I think being in this championship match was a testament to the strength of our squad and how close we’ve become as a team.”