Jay “sinatraa” Won is one of the most controversial figures in esports today.
Despite being a decorated competitor across multiple major esports titles, most of the discussion surrounding him revolves around sexual assault allegations made by an ex-girlfriend. The allegations and the reactions to them by esports institutions have become contentious topics.
But who is sinatraa and where is he now? Here’s what’s known about the competitor.
sinatraa is a professional gamer best known for his time in the Overwatch League.
Real Name: Jay Won
In-Game Name: sinatraa
Birthday: March 18, 2000
Nationality: American
He first stepped into esports in 2017 with Selfless Gaming, a competitive Overwatch team. After the team’s disbandment and the foundation of the Overwatch League, he was courted by both NRG Esports and Cloud9. NRG and Cloud9 later became owners of the San Francisco Shock and London Spitfire OWL franchises, respectively.
The Shock ultimately won those negotiations. After an unsuccessful first season, sinatraa helped the Shock win the championship in OWL’s second season. He was awarded with MVP honors.
The launch of new tactical shooter Valorant saw a significant migration of professionals from other esports titles. Former OWL MVP sinatraa was one of many credentialed pros to leave for Valorant once organizations started looking to form teams.
sinatraa signed with Sentinels in April 2020. Sentinels quickly became one of the top-performing Valorant teams in the world, winning the game’s first major international tournament.
sinatraa was accused of sexual assault by ex-girlfriend Cleo Hernandez in April 2021.
According to Hernandez, the competitor was emotionally abusive and forced her to have sex on multiple occasions during their relationship. This was accompanied by screenshots of text messages and an audio recording that includes her allegedly saying “no” during intercourse while sinatraa insists on continuing.
He was pulled from Sentinels’ roster after the initial allegation. The organization stated it would investigate the matter but nixed this after Valorant publisher Riot Games stated it would conduct its own investigation.
sinatraa confirmed the veracity of the recording but suggested it was taken out of context. He stated that he would provide an unedited copy of the recording, but never did so. He was given no punishment by Sentinels and was instead given a six-month suspension from competition by Riot Games for failing to cooperate in its investigation.
Despite the seriousness of the allegations and the suspension from Riot Games, Sentinels kept sinatraa with the organization as a streamer. He remains with the team in this capacity.
Following the conclusion of his suspension, he remained as a streamer for Sentinels. In April 2022, he announced his intent to return to Valorant esports. This resulted in both praise from a number of esports competitors and significant backlash.
Riot Games initially greenlit a return to competition but then backpedaled. This ruling was then changed to have him complete training before he would eligible to return.
It is likely that sinatraa still intends to return to competitive Valorant, but it remains to be seen whether a top organization is willing to bear down for the inevitable backlash his signing would bring.
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