After a lengthy absence of four years, Twitch star Shroud made a comeback in eSports. One of the biggest stories of the year was his return to the professional scene. The entire gaming world was ecstatic about it. However, events transpired differently than anticipated.
Hunter “SicK” Mims, a member of the Valorant eSports team Sentinels, announced last month that he would not be participating in the North American Last Chance Qualifiers 2022. They, therefore, found a replacement to take that empty seat. It was Shroud who filled the vacancy, surprising everyone.
Shroud, a.k.a. Michael Grzesiek, is one of the most well-known eSports athletes. His exploits with the eSports team Cloud9 and as a professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player brought him fame. To devote more time to streaming, he did, however, leave the professional scene in 2017.
Grzesiek achieved success as a Twitch streamer after leaving the world of professional eSports. After four years, his devoted following was eager to see him play in a professional setting. Around 40,000 spectators reportedly turned out to see his comeback at the North American Last Chance Qualifiers 2022.
In the first round of the competition, Sentinels and The Guard squared off. Shroud completely dominated the opening map with a triple kill that brought him back to his CSGO days. The opposition swept Shroud’s team on the following maps, putting an end to the comeback.
Sentinels were eliminated in the first round by The Guard, falling 2-1. The fact that their star left the competition so early must have been heartbreaking for the thousands of Shroud fans who came to the event.
After Shroud’s early exit from the NA Last Chance qualifiers, many eSports professionals and enthusiasts began to criticize him for being overrated. Thorin, an eSports historian, even asserted that Shroud was overrated in both Valorant and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Let’s take a look at what fans are saying about the former professional CSGO player in their tweets.
Nevertheless, the 28-year-old still has some supporters. After a four-year absence, they claimed Shroud gave a good performance in the tournament. Some even asserted that his team’s practice period was only one month long. He was also limited in his ability because his job was to plant the majority of the bombs.
The comeback undoubtedly didn’t go as Shroud had hoped. We must now wait and see if he stays in the professional scene with Sentinels or switches back to his full-time streaming career.