The Blinn College esports Valorant team fell one win shy of the Collegiate Valorant Winter Split consolation bracket Grand Finals on Saturday, falling to the University of St. Thomas 3-1 in a Finals tilt.

"It's never fun to lose, but I think we have a lot we can learn from this series, and going forward we will be a better team for nationals," Blinn head coach Aaron Kapiko said. "We started strong but made some mistakes that led to close losses that I think we can clean up in the future."

Competing for the Buccaneers were Hayden Whitaker, Bruce Nguyen, Teague Morgan, Austin Ray, and Adam Laamoumi.

Blinn's Valorant squad will return to play when it faces Suffolk Community College at 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 9.

In other esports action, the Buccaneer Overwatch team earned a 3-0 victory over State Technical College of Missouri in NJCAA Esports play.

Blinn Overwatch improved to 4-0 overall.

Competing for the Bucs were starters Gabriel Lopez, William Bowman, Jake Langridge, Matthew Hutchings and Nicholas Behney, along with Ezekial Bernheim who subbed in for matches two and there.

Blinn's next NJCAA Esports Overwatch match scheduled for Friday, March 10, against Arkansas State University has been forfeited and awarded to the Bucs. Blinn will compete against Stony Brook University in a National Association of Collegiate Esports bout at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, March 7.