sinatraa is returning to pro Valorant after two years in 2023

Fariha Bhatti Published 11/01/2023

Former Overwatch pro and Valorant star Jay “sinatraa” Won is returning to Valorant in 2023, but it’s not in Sentinels.

Sentinels’ former lead initiator, sinatraa is preparing to resume his pro Valorant career after a hiatus of two years. The popular streamer and pro player was barred from official Valorant events in May 2021 following sexual assault allegations. After two years, sinatraa is set to pick up where he left off, at least according to Connor “PROD” Mora. 

Valorant streamer PROD shared the announcement on Twitter, which quickly blew up among the fans of sinatraa. The poster included the potential lineup for the upcoming Valorant Champions Tour Challengers 2023.

Is sinatraa playing pro Valorant in 2023?

sinatraa is currently a free agent in professional Valorant but occasionally streams on Twitch. However, his free agency may only last for a while if PROD’s announcement isn’t just bait. According to the North American streamer, sinatraa is finally returning to pro play after teasing a comeback last year in April. 

sinatraa was moved to Sentinels’ bench following assault allegations levied against him by ex-girlfriend Cleo “cle0h” Hernandez in 2021. Due to sinatraa’s ban from VCT events, Sentinels was forced to pick Tyson “TenZ” Ngo to fill his shoes. However, in April 2022, sinatraa announced his intent to return to competition, he indicated that his goal was to return to playing Valorant at the pro level for Sentinels. But, that didn’t happen. 

Since then, sinatraa had gone under the radar. However, after strings of rumors and reports, PROD has teased his comeback for VCT Challengers. If the post is true, the potential lineup will feature Jimmy “Marved” Nguyen, Jared “zombs” Gitlin, and streamer Coby “dizzy” Meadows, PROD, and sinatraa. It’s not precisely a lousy lineup by any stretch, and it could totally compete against the best in the VCT circuit. 

However, players are still not sold even though sinatraa retweeted the announcement. Since he’s served the suspension period, he’s eligible to compete. Despite his storied career in Valorant, big organizations had eluded picking him instantly due to the potential backlash. Even PROD’s tweet is met with a mixed response from the community, but some believe he deserves a second shot. 

According to PROD, the team will begin competing by partaking in the NA Challengers Last-Chance qualifier between January 17 and 22. The top two sides will secure the final spots in NA’s Challengers League. 

Only time will time whether sinatraa’s return is for real this time. Before he was sidelined, sinatraa was considered the top Sova in the world and arguably the best overall Valorant player in North America. His return is imminent, and this time, he might actually hop back into the pro scene. 

Fariha Bhatti

About Fariha Bhatti

Fariha Bhatti is a long-time gaming writer who loves competitive FPS games and slots with particularly fun themes. She got her start playing classic games developed by SNK, from legendary fighting game series The King of Fighters to challenging platform franchise Metal Slug. She now spends most of her time playing Valorant and Counter-Strike 2 while working her way through new slot releases to find her next favorite. Fariha has been published at PCGamesN, TalkEsport and ONE Esports.

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