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In an interview with ESPN after the Overwatch League (OWL) opening weekend, San Francisco Shock player Jay “Sinatraa” Won opened up about his path to becoming one of the best in the league. He discussed life as a professional gamer and what it takes to go pro in the gaming industry.

Who is Sinatraa?

Sinatraa is one of the most prolific players in the Overwatch League. He first came on the scene at the age of 17 when he finished first on the NA competitive ladder in season three with an SR of 4873. He then played for Team USA in the 2017 Overwatch World Cup and went on to drop out of high school and sign with the San Francisco Shock in 2018 when he was still too young to play.

There were a lot of questions surrounding Sinatraa’s entry into the league. He was known as a toxic player due to his streams, and there was concern about whether he would be able to work well in a team environment. He has since proven the doubters wrong.

In 2019 he busted onto the competitive scene, winning the T-Mobile Regular Season MVP while his team won the Overwatch League. He also won the Overwatch World Cup T-Mobile MVP with the first American team to win the cup. He has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and NBC Nightly News and is as close to a celebrity as there is in the Overwatch scene.

Takeaways from the interview

Sinatraa discussed how life as a professional gamer has helped him grow and mature. Living in a team house with older and more mature players helped him adjust his attitude, and he has also learned about cooking and exercise. Being in the limelight can be a challenge, and although he said it was hard for him because he wasn’t very good at interviews, he acknowledged doing things he didn’t want to was good for him.

When asked what advice he would give to other young players aspiring to go pro, he laughed and said, “If you’re really aspiring to go pro, you have to be very good at the game already, but on top of that you have to balance your life.” He discussed how he balanced school work with gaming until he eventually was good enough to drop out and go pro.

Finally, Sinatraa talked about how the 2018 season motivated him to keep improving. The San Francisco Shock performed poorly that year, and Sinatraa didn’t initially look great. He said that hearing all the trash talk about him and his team helped push him to become better.

It’s 2020 now and the San Francisco Shock have already gotten off to a hot start, beating Dallas Fuel 3-1 in their opening match. Sinatraa and his team will look to continue their dominance in 2020.