The Overwatch superstar Jay “Sinatraa” Won sent out shockwaves across the scene as he announced his retirement from Overwatch to switch over to VALORANT.
On April 28th San Francisco Shock officially announced Sinatraa’s retirement. The starplayer had been the key factor to the team’s Overwatch League (OWL) championship last year. But even the recognition as MVP for the entire season was not enough to keep Sinatraa in Overwatch.
Sinatraa’s fans were ready for a big announcement as Sinatraa had already been teasing “big changes” on stream.
He came, he saw and he conquered.
Thank you and best of luck in your future endeavors @Sinatraa🧡 pic.twitter.com/XCyWSzN4UV
— San Francisco Shock (@SFShock) April 28, 2020
“I straight up just lost passion for the game”
In his Twitlonger the former San Francisco Shock player explained his decision to leave Overwatch. As main reasons he vented his frustration with the 2-2-2-system and the bans introduced by Blizzard. These made it “hard for (him) to log on to play” and he simply did not enjoy scrims or ranked play anymore.
SF SHOCK
Read: https://t.co/wgQnr79SRp
— Jay Won (@sinatraa) April 28, 2020
Blizzard’s intention to shake up the meta seem to have backfired immensely for sinatraa as he “straight up just lost passion for the game”. Sinatraa’s departure sets a dire precedent for Overwatch. If even the scene’s standout player from last year is swayed that easily to another game Overwatch’s standing seems to be very fragile.
A new start in VALORANT
For his career in VALORANT sinatraa has signed under Sentinels, famously the home of the current Fortnite world champion Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf.
Teaming up with former CS:GO-players Shahzeeb “ShahZaM” Khan und Hunter “SicK” Mims Sentinels is set for VALORANT’s brand new beginning.
Time to write the next chapter.
We are excited to announce details about our Valorant team consisting of @sinatraa, @ShahZaMk, @zombs and @SicK_cs.
📰: https://t.co/sQ6hDFtvtZ pic.twitter.com/wsxlXCOqF7
— Sentinels (@Sentinels) April 29, 2020
In addition to a plethora of CS:GO-experience Jared “zombs” Gitlin will also bring in a sprinkle of Apex Legends, where zombs had been playing for Sentinels already.
With the recently released ranked game mode in VALORANT they can already prepare for the esports scene to come. As the release of VALORANT in summer inches ever closer we can expect more and more prominent organisations and players to commit to Riot’s new FPS.
How devastating a blow is Sinatraa’s decision for Overwatch? Will VALORANT “kill” Overwatch? Join the discussion on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or on our Discord!