Sinatraa Plans Return To Competitive VALORANT: “I’ve Grown As A Person”
VALORANT pro Jay "Sinatraa" Won, who was dropped from Sentinels and investigated by Riot Games after being accused of sexual assault and emotional abuse from an ex-partner, has said he is planning to return to competitive play, "starting with tryouts this week".
Sinatraa To Return To Competitive VALORANT
"It's been a year since I was forced to step back from competitive play," said Sinatraa in a tweet on April 12. "In that time, I have learned a lot about myself and grown as a person. I am now ready for a return to competitive play and will be starting tryouts this week."
The former Overwatch pro became one of the early stars of Riot Games' tactical shooter in its first year, the blockbuster name of a Sentinels team that dominated North America, but his competitive career came to an abrupt stop in February 2021 when his ex-girlfriend accused him of being sexually and emotionally abusive. An investigation by Riot Games' Competitive Operations team was launched and, concluding in May of that year, found that it could not come to "a definitive conclusion" over the accusations.
It did however find that Sinatraa had twice "misrepresented certain facts, made false statements, and did not cooperate with the investigation in a way expected of a professional Valorant esports player." Of particular issue was Sinatraa's claims that he would provide the complete video and audio of a seemingly incriminating clip originally made public by his accuser. He was subsequently banned from competitive play for six months a time in which he continued his streaming career on Twitch.
Life moved on without Sinatraa, with Sentinels picking up Tyson "TenZ" Ngo and winning North America's Stage 1 Masters and the first-ever international LAN event, the Stage 2 Masters held in Reykjavik in May of last year.
Where Could Sinatraa Go?
A potential Sinatraa return would not be without issue, and it remains to be seen whether any organisation will pick him up. Who Sinatraa would prefer to go to is much clearer, in a follow-up tweet, he claimed that his first choice would be a return to Sentinels, and he seemingly had the support of teammate, Jared "zombs" Gitlin, who said he would pay his salary to see him return.
