Many consider Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek one of the best, most naturally-gifted shooters in gaming. His aim has been the stuff of legends since his days as a professional Counter Strike Global Offensive player. A couple of years ago, Shroud stepped down from pro eSports in favor of a career in streaming. Recently, rumors started flying around that Shroud could return to professional eSports, this time with Valorant.

After a highly successful career in eSports, Shroud made the jump to live-streaming in April 2018. It wasn’t long before he rose to the very top in streaming as well, garnering millions of followers on Twitch, before moving on to Mixer. Many of his fans have had one question on their minds for the past couple of years- will Shroud ever go back to professional competition again?

Shroud on a possible professional career in Valorant

Last month, Riot Games released the closed beta for their new tactical shooter, Valorant. Shroud was one of the first gamers to get access to the game, and he was absolutely delighted with it. If you’ve followed his streams you know Valorant has dominated his broadcasts over the last month or so.

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Soon enough, murmurs started floating around that Shroud was considering going pro again, just for Valorant. Understandably, fans were delighted with these rumors. What’s better than an aim-god getting back to the highest levels of competition, after all?

Alas, it is not to be. Shroud expressed his thoughts as he touched upon the subject.

“I don’t plan on going pro or competing at the highest level. (Valorant will) definitely be a game I play a lot until a new game comes out. Here’s what you guys don’t understand about going professional and playing a game at the top level. If you truly want to play at the top, you cannot stream your practices. That is just an easy way for people to creep on your strategy and how you’re gonna play. Granted, as much fun playing a game professionally is, I can’t stream it at the same time.”

While his mind seems made up, you can hardly blame him for it.

“It’s mentally taxing”– Shroud

Competitive gaming is something that does not come without its share of stress and hard work. It takes a mental toll on the player after a while. Moreover, streaming is certainly more lucrative, especially if you’re as popular as Shroud.

“Being a professional player in any game is so inconsistent, that it’s just really mentally taxing. If you’re somebody with a big brand in the game, that doesn’t help your case, because it’s hard being consistently good in a team game.”

He’s paid his dues, and done his bit in eSports and has now moved on to a more comfortable and more lucrative career path. We can all agree he deserves it too. Among the plethora of streamers out there, Shroud definitely stands out as one of the most level-headed and pleasant ones.

As long as we get to see him tearing it up in shooters, we’re fine with it. As an added bonus, we’ll probably see him compete in invitational events for streamers.