Published , by Ozzie Mejia
Published , by Ozzie Mejia
There have been frequent comparisons between Valorant, Riot Games' new team-based shooter, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. After all, the two share some significant commonalities. There have also been a few comparisons between Valorant and Overwatch, Blizzard's team-based shooter, the latter of which has a massive esports league. And that esports league is about to lose its best player to Riot's new hotness, because it sounds like reigning MVP Jay "Sinatraa" Won is about to try his hand at professional Valorant.
ESPN Esports reported on Tuesday that Sinatraa would be parting ways with the Overwatch League's San Francisco Shock in order to join the Sentinels esports team, where he'll embark on a new career as a pro Valorant player.
The San Francisco Shock sent their best wishes to their MVP, seemingly confirming these reports.
Sinatraa himself also appears to have confirmed ESPN's report, noting that he wasn't expecting for the news to come out so soon.
Update: As promised, Sinatraa issued a full statement on Twitlonger, where he cited a loss of passion for Overwatch as his reason for walking away from the league.
Sinatraa was the top player on a stacked San Francisco Shock roster. He helped lead the team to a world championship in 2019 shortly after being named the second Overwatch League MVP. During the regular season, he piled up 20.91 Eliminations and a league-leading 11,849 damage across 27 hours and 32 minutes of action, primarily using Zarya.
The move will send shockwaves across the Overwatch League, which is still in the middle of a tumultuous third season. Even with the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to wreak havoc on Blizzard's ambitious plans for its third season, the Overwatch League recently resumed play and is currently preparing for a league-wide mid-season tournament. Meanwhile, Valorant is currently in its pre-release phase, but is expected to release this summer and immediately make a massive impact on the esports world.