Overwatch: Player of the Year 2019

The Overwatch League’s 2019 season was vastly successful and brought forth more narratives than previous years. Not only did it give redemption to the benched players of season one, but the new expansion teams changed everything. There is one Overwatch player who battled through GOATS, succeeded in the Overwatch League, and made an impression in the off-season who will be taking ESTNN’s Overwatch Player of the Year.

my dreams have come true, gg @VancouverTitans we win 4-0 like i said we would 😁 pic.twitter.com/rqgmxXm4QA

— Jay Won (@sinatraa) September 29, 2019

Our player of the year was a leader in his team and kept them on a stable path to success throughout the entirety of 2019. This player is none other than Jay “sinatraa” Won, damage player on the San Francisco Shock and Team USA. The damage player made an impact on and off stage, both online and in the arena making himself one of the most notable faces in Overwatch.

Sinatraa started 2019 on the Shock as an average Zarya player and as the team improved, Sinatraa began to shine as a creative and adaptive off-tank. The Shock and sinatraa found their rhythm as the season went on, and the maniac set records in their attempt to go toe to toe with the Vancouver Titans.  For an entire season, sinatraa led his team on a rivalry to last the ages as the old stars took on the new and came out victorious. Once the 2-2-2 role lock took effect in the League, sinatraa saw less playtime than DPS specialists Architect and Rascal, but his presence on stage was known whenever he appeared.

That winning moment. That winning feeling. Gold Medalists. #WeBelieve pic.twitter.com/wRkYlG9jrs

— USA Overwatch World Cup 🇺🇸 (@USAOWWC) November 3, 2019

During the finals against Vancouver Titans, he demonstrated the true potential Doomfist in the double shield meta. His reign of terror lasted throughout the duration of the Overwatch World Cup leading his team to a historic win over Team South Korea. This was the first year since the World Cup’s creation that Team Korea did not take home first place and sinatraa was instrumental in Team USA’s wins throughout the tournament, harassing every team’s backline and forcing them to scatter. This young player is blessed with fluent mechanical skills and an understanding of how his abilities and the ability of his teammates can work together to produce success.

He won the Overwatch League’s MVP of the year and was named MVP for the Overwatch World Cup. Beyond his performance this year, sinatraa’s social presence has been above par showing up on The Tonight Show and being nominated as Esports PC player of the Year. The story of the 19-year old that had to adapt beyond his role to maintain success ina budding esport is inspiring. He won almost every Overwatch related award possible and ended Korea’s 3-year streak of Overwatch World Cup dominance. Not many other Overwatch nor esports players could match this level of achievement which is why he was the clear winner for ESTNN’s Overwatch Player of the Year.