The best player that Overwatch had in 2019 announces his retirement. The Overwatch League MVP, Jay “Sinatraa” Won, is no longer interested in Overwatch and will now play Valorant . The responsible e-sports chief at Blizzard expresses disappointment but states that the decision is understood. The MVP skin will still be released.
Who is leaving? 20-year-old Jay Won, known as Sinatraa, was recently the e-sports star of the Overwatch League. He was voted the league’s Most Valuable Player in 2019 and won the Overwatch League Grand Finals 2019 with his team, San Francisco Shock, as well as the Overwatch World Cup with Team USA.
He is also considered “the face of the league”.
Won achieved particular success as Zarya. In a 3 Tanks/3 Support setup, he could provide the necessary damage.
The current star player drew attention in 2017 when his mother signed a professional contract for him worth $150,000. At that time, he was still a minor.
With new changes, Overwatch is no longer fun for him
Here’s why he’s leaving: Sinatraa states that he has lost his passion for Overwatch. He can’t pinpoint what killed his passion, whether it was the “2-2-2” forced distribution (the role lock) or Blizzard’s decision to introduce hero bans.
It’s no longer fun for him to play pre-defined roles and have his heroes banned regularly. It has become increasingly difficult for him to log into Overwatch. The decision has been a long time coming, and he has given it a lot of thought.
Though it’s unfortunate, he ultimately decided to do the right thing. He will switch to Valorant.
Blizzard esports chief comments on the departure
This is what Blizzard says: The responsible person at Blizzard is Jon Spector, the Vice President of Overwatch esports. He made a statement on the matter (via reddit):
The Overwatch League showcases the approximately 200 best Overwatch players in the world. Many of them have prior professional experience in games like Counterstrike, TF2, or LoL. Players fall in love with other games and choose to pursue that love, and that is something we understand.
But of course, it is disappointing to see a top player like Sinatraa leave Overwatch. He had an incredible season last year, and I personally loved watching him compete at the highest level. I hope he and all other former Overwatch professionals find continuous success in what they do.
Jon Spector, Vice President of Overwatch eSports (Blizzard)
The planned MVP skin for Sinatraa’s hero Zarya will still be released, even though Sinatraa is leaving the league, says Spector.
The background: 2020 was supposed to be the year when the Overwatch League “takes off.” Now there have been some setbacks for Blizzard and Overwatch:
- almost all the casters have left
- the league switched from Twitch to YouTube and lost viewers
- the tier 2 of the league is shrinking as well
- the changes for esports with hero bans and role locks seem to have stirred things up quite a bit
- additionally, the top player is now leaving with Sinatraa
Additionally, there is the cost-cutting by Activision Blizzard and the new attractive alternative with Valorant. This is attracting some esports players, not just from Overwatch, but also from other games. For example, Psalm switched to Valorant: he had won $1.8 million at the Fortnite World Cup.
However, it seems quite extraordinary that now the MVP and star player is leaving. This is a change that is being closely watched and commented on.
Some see the switch critically. The former Overwatch caster MonteCristo states that “the face of the league and the reigning MVP” is switching to a title that does not yet have an esports scene.
