After winning its first two matches, the Blinn College Valorant esports team suffered its first loss of the season Tuesday in the West Regional Open Qualifier 1 tournament.

Blinn fell 2-1 to a strong University of Houston Premiere team. The Bucs on Sunday won matches against Texas A&M Academy White and San Jose State University to advance to the round of 16 teams.

"They definitely are one of the better teams in the country," head coach Aaron Kapiko said of UH Premiere, "but we also came out a bit flat to open the series. I believe we will be back stronger this weekend for the second qualifier."

Team members for Blinn (2-1 on the season) were Syed Shaheer Naqvi, Devin Dirst, Dylan Gerlach, Justin Barry, and Wesley Hawley.

Blinn's Valorant team will compete in the West Regional Open Qualifier 2 tournament beginning Sunday.

Valorant is a tactical shooter game in which teams are either attackers or defenders. An attacking team wins if it eliminates the entire enemy team or is able to detonate a spike placed on an objective. The defending team wins if it can prevent the spike from being detonated or eliminates the attacking team.

Blinn launched its esports program in 2020. It is a member of the National Association of College Esports, competing against two-year colleges and four-year universities. Blinn is one of the few community colleges in the region that offers esports scholarships.