Jimmy Fallon Overwatch: Sinatraa and Super on the Show
By Jack O'Dwyer
Jimmy Fallon interviewed Overwatch League (OWL) champions Jay "Sinatraa" Won and Matthew "Super" DeLisi on the Tonight Show last night.
Sinatraa and Super are fresh off their OWL win with the San Francisco Shock last weekend against the Vancouver Titans at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Penn. During the segment, the pair brought on their 40 lbs. trophy from the season and got to explain a bit more about their sport.
Jimmy Fallon Overwatch Interview
They explained their sport as a "franchised sports league" akin to the NFL. Every team has a home arena and matches can be either home or away with specific uniforms. Overwatch isn't truly that removed from physical sports in this mindset—a comparison drawn again toward the end of their interview.
The two were asked what their parents thought of their professional gaming careers. Sinatraa responded that getting his parents to see it was a legitimate opportunity was difficult.
"I waited until Christmas time, actually," he said, "I wanted them to be more willing, you know? Because it was a huge step."
When presented with Super's first contract, his Dad had to co-sign it because he was underage. His Dad ended up learning about eSports on his own through a Forbes article and signing the contract after some research.
When asked about what life was like as a professional gamer, both players responded that it was at least eight to twelve hours a day just practicing whether alone or as part of the team. Sinatraa confirmed that he spends at least half his day practicing on Overwatch. Super compared it, again, to the NFL.
"If you compare it to an NFL team, they have their team practice, their scrimmages, their game tapes and stuff they go over. And then they, individually, have their weight training to keep their physical performance up and their strength up," he said.
Nevertheless, they find the constant gaming fun, if not a bit tiring. After all, they aren't simply playing causal matches anymore.
Jimmy finished up the interview by asking if the two had any advice for aspiring professionals looking to start a career in eSports.
"I consider it like an extracurricular. Most parents wouldn't let their kids play football or baseball in school if they were failing or doing terrible in all their classes. So, I just try to say stay on top of your responsibilities. Be a smart person about it, but if this is something you're really into and you're really passionate about then I would say give it a shot." Super said.
"On top of that, I would also say you have to grind a lot because you're competing millions of players that want to be pro—that want to be the best—so you have to put in a lot of time, like eight hours a day, while balancing your life," said Sinatraa.
Image courtesy of the Tonight Show