Sentinels have practiced without Jared “zombs” Gitlin on their VALORANT roster, according to a report from Dot Esports and independent journalist Bo Hoogland. They are reportedly considering former player Jay “sinatraa” Won as a replacement, among other players.
Sinatraa was an active remember of the Sentinels line-up before his ex-girlfriend, Cleo Hernandez, accused him of sexual assault in March of 2021. At that point, both Riot Games and Sentinels suspended him from competition pending multiple investigations.
While the VALORANT Esports investigation did not come to a definite conclusion regarding the allegations, sinatraa received a six-month ban due to his failure to cooperate with the investigators.
“[The] Competitive Operations team had serious concerns with Sinatraa’s conduct during the course of the investigation,” head of competitive operations Alex Francois wrote in a statement regarding sinatraa’s ban. “It was determined that on at least two occasions Sinatraa misrepresented certain facts, made false statements and did not cooperate with the investigation in a way expected of a professional VALORANT esports player.”
Sinatraa’s suspension ended on September 10, 2021. On Tuesday, sinatraa announced his intention to return to competitive VALORANT and his desire to compete on the Sentinels roster again. A representative from Riot Games told Dot Esports that sinatraa does not currently face any restrictions that would prevent him from competing in the VALORANT Champions Tour.
“It’s been a year since I was forced to step back from competitive play,” sinatraa tweeted. “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.”
It’s been a year since I was forced to step back from competitive play. 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.
— Jay Won (@sinatraa) April 12, 2022
Sentinels consider bring back sinatraa
According to the Dot Esports report, Sentinels may bench zombs if a replacement player joins the team prior to the beginning of Stage 2 of the VCT in May. If they choose sinatraa, then Sentinels would field the following roster at upcoming VCT events:
- Shahzeb “ShahZaM” Khan
- Hunter “SicK” Mims
- Michael “dapr” Gulino
- Tyson “TenZ” Ngo
- sinatraa
- zombs (inactive)
Sentinels peaked with a first-place finish at the first offline VALORANT major, VCT 2021: Stage 2 Masters, Reykjavík. There, they defeated Team Vikings, NUTURN Gaming and Fnatic. However, they recently failed to qualify for the VCT 2022, Stage 1 Masters, Reykjavík tournament.
