TenZ replaces Sinatraa on Sentinels for Masters

Tyson “TenZ” Ngo will stand in for Jay “Sinatraa” Won on Sentinels for the upcoming Valorant Champions Tour: Masters event. Sinatraa has been suspended from competitive play after he was accused of sexual abuse by his ex-girlfriend.

Sentinels issued a statement yesterday afternoon stating that they were aware of the situation and would be investigating it internally. Riot Games also announced that they would be launching an investigation of their own. The Valorant developer suspended Sinatraa for the length of the investigation, meaning he won’t be able to compete in this weekends Masters event.

The suspension happened a day before Masters began on March 11, putting the Sentinels in a tough spot if they still wanted to compete. They’ve had to replace their star player immediately. Riot Games’ Valorant ruleset says that organizations may not substitute in a player that has already played for another team during the VCT. That left very few options for Sentinels to obtain, but TenZ was one of them.

TenZ stepped back from competitive Valorant in January after his team, Cloud9 Blue, failed to perform. He remained under the Cloud9 banner as a content creator and streamer for the organization. Since he stepped back, he has not participated for any team during the Champions Tour.

TenZ will have an immediate impact on the Sentinels

Sinatraa was viewed as one of the most talented players in Overwatch, where he earned the league MVP award in his championship run as a member the San Francisco Shock. That reputation continued when he made the transition to Valorant. TenZ will have a lot of ground to cover in replacing Sinatraa, but he’s also one of the most widely-respected players in the scene.

TenZ was the first player to reach Radiant in Valorant when the game launched, helping him earn a spot on the Cloud9 roster. Despite his team’s lack of success, TenZ impressed the competitive Valorant scene by outperforming his teammates on Cloud9.

Riot Games issued a statement about TenZ’s move to Sentinels, clarifying that they had adjusted the rules for roster lock-in due to the situation. They added that that TenZ’s contract is now owned by Sentinels, since players cannot play for two organizations at once.

Sentinels will face off against Luminosity Gaming in the first round of Masters on March 12.