Despite the short-lived run with Sentinels, Michael ‘shroud’ Grzesiek is eager to continue pursuing Valorant competition at the highest level, having now doubled down on his goals to play at the pro level some more in the near future.
The esports industry stood still on July 8 when former CS:GO pro turned streaming icon shroud announced his return to competitive play.
Joining the already popular Sentinels lineup for a brief stint in the North American Last Chance Qualifier for Valorant Champions, shroud not only turned heads with his sharp skills, but drew an astonishing crowd for his first performance in Riot’s tactical shooter.
Despite claiming he’s barely scratching the surface of his potential in Valorant, his pro return even saw fellow competitors heaping praise on his few maps with SEN.
Outside of a 2-0 win over Shopify Rebellion, the team ultimately fell short of their objective, falling out of the LCQ after losses to both The Guard and 100 Thieves. Though this hasn’t deterred shroud from the pro Valorant scene. Far from it, he assured during an August 24 Twitch stream.
“Are you interested in competing more in Valorant since you played with the [Sentinels]?” a fan asked six hours into shroud’s lengthy broadcast. “Yeah, definitely,” he replied without hesitation.
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Shroud said he's "definitely" interested in competing more after playing with Sentinels pic.twitter.com/y0UB0hDnNR
— Valorant News (@ValorINTEL) August 25, 2022
As for which team he might land on or when we’ll see him in action again, it all remains up in the air for now. With the Valorant landscape changing drastically over the next offseason, as Riot pivots to a partnership program, it’s yet unclear which teams may secure a spot in the new system.
For shroud though, he appears eager to continue forward in pro Valorant, assuming he can play for an LA-based lineup. “If it’s in LA, which is where I live, there’s a very good chance I’ll continue,” he said previously.
From his perspective, it’s a different feeling competing as part of a cohesive unit rather than a ragtag group in the online ladder.
“Competing in this game is so different from playing this sh*t,” he stressed. “Ranked, who the f**k cares. This sh*t is ass.”
Before shroud can continue discussions, however, we first have to get through the Valorant Champions 2022 event. Action is set to get underway on August 31 and run through September 18. Be sure to keep on top of the biggest tournament this year with our dedicated hub.
