It took him three tries, but Patriots receiver Mack Hollins was thrilled to take his first BlitzChamps title on May 26. Hollins won every match, including a tough finals against Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, to win the event ahead of seven other chess-loving NFL players, including two-time defending champion Saints safety Justin Reid.
For his victory, Hollins earned $30,000 for his preferred charity, the Free The Feet Foundation.
Early Rounds
The first round of the tournament featured the top four finishers from last year’s event against four newcomers. The more experienced players had no trouble with their opponents, each scoring 2-0 victories. Reid defeated Giants cornerback Paulson Adebo and Vikings quarterback Kyler Murray handled Seahawks linebacker Chazz Surratt. Herbert won a battle of quarterbacks named Justin against Chiefs quarterback Justin Fields, while Hollins surpassed his teammate K. J. Britt.
Matchups got tighter in the second round, as players entered the losers and winners brackets. Hollins scored a minor upset, defeating the back-to-back champion Reid 2-0. Hollins convincingly refuted Reid’s unusual opening play in their first game.
Meanwhile, Herbert defeated Murray 1.5-0.5, while Britt eliminated Adebo 2-0 and Surratt did the same to Fields.
The next round got complicated as Hollins came back against Herbert to force the first armageddon of the day in the winner’s bracket final. Hollins found a fork to win quickly and reach the Grand Final for the first time.
In the losers bracket, Murray and Reid both advanced to face each other. Murray eliminated Reid, gaining revenge for defeats in the Grand Final the previous two years. Reid took the defeat in stride.
Guess I’m gonna go play golf now…
— Justin Reid (@JustinqReid) May 26, 2026
Murray earned himself a spot in the loser’s final and a rematch against Herbert. Herbert won material early in the first game, but Murray missed one chance to turn the game around.
Herbert won the next game as well to reach the Grand Final for another shot against Hollins.
Grand Final
The first game of the Grand Final demonstrated the importance of knowing king and pawn endgames. Herbert reached a winning position, but one mistake cost him the win, and another allowed Hollins to win a key pawn and push it to promotion.
Hollins needed just a draw to claim the title, and he soon gained a substantial material advantage in the second game. However, Herbert kept things complicated and pulled off a miraculous hail Mary to send the match to armageddon.
In the final game of the tournament, Hollins played maybe his best game of the whole event. He developed quickly and piled pressure on the white kingside until it collapsed.
After the tournament, Herbert and Hollins joined the commentators for an interview. Hollins revealed that he practiced playing more deliberately with slower, offline games in the last year. Herbert expressed how much he enjoyed the tournament and the game in general. He’s made great progress since his debut in last year’s tournament, even having a lesson with WFM Anna Cramling.
You can watch the whole tournament below, hosted by by GM Aman Hambleton, Barstool Sports personality T-Bob Herbert, and NFL Media’s first analytics expert, Cynthia Frelund.
BlitzChamps V was the fifth chess and NFL crossover where NFL stars compete to see who rules the 64 squares. Participants played in an 8-player double-elimination bracket on Chess.com’s servers until a winner was determined, each vying for part of the $100,000 prize fund to donate to charities of their choice.