shroud reveals he’s open to staying in pro Valorant after VCT LCQ

Former CS:GO professional turned popular streamer Michael ‘shroud’ Grzesiek has revealed what it would take for him to continue to play competitive Valorant.

shroud was announced on July 8 as a stand-in for Sentinels in their bid to qualify for Valorant Champions via the North American last-chance qualifier, scheduled for August 4-14.

The announcement marks a return to competition for the 28-year-old, who made a career in the CS:GO scene playing for Cloud9. Since retiring from the game in 2018, shroud has become one of the most popular streamers in the world, amassing over 10 million followers on his Twitch channel.

The news of shroud’s return to competition with Sentinels, the most popular Valorant team in North America, was received enthusiastically by the community. And it turns out that the last-chance qualifier may not be the only opportunity to see shroud test his skills against the region’s best players.

shroud hints at staying in pro Valorant

On July 27, shroud revealed on stream that he could play professional Valorant beyond the VCT LCQ, provided that some conditions are met.

“If franchising is a thing, if it’s in LA, which is where I live, there’s a very good chance I’ll continue to play professional Valorant,” shroud said.

The Canadian did not rule out the possibility of staying with Sentinels, though he claimed not to know if the organization would be successful in its application for a partnership in Riot Games’ league.

shroud added: “Is it with Sentinels? I don’t know. Are they in franchising? I don’t know. I have no idea.”

According to a July 21 report by Dot Esports, Sentinels are among the organizations that have made the next stage of the application process for the Americas league, which will have between eight to 10 teams.