Catching up with Shroud

by Ho Lee Hiel

In August of this year Michael Grzesiek, more commonly known as Shroud of Cloud9’s CS:GO team, surprised many with his announcement that he would retire from active participation in the team and instead focus on streaming full time.  While many had speculated that, at 23, shroud might have been feeling his age, others wondered if there were other reasons.  To find the inside scoop, The Daily Rager went to Canada to ask him ourselves.

Our interview was held at an upscale restaurant.  Shroud himself showed up driving a brand new BMW Z4.  He looked well and relaxed, and was cordial to our interviewed.  When asked what lead him to change from a full time competitive gamer to streamer, Shroud said, “The lifestyle, you know, I get to relax, play the games I want.  I see my son and hang out with my girlfriend a lot more.  I also get to interact with the subscriber community more.”  He then ordered a $150 meal.  When our interviewer declined purchasing anything, Shroud insisted he would cover it.  (and a good thing he did, I was thinking of paying my writers this month and that would have blow it. -ed).

Shroud then said, “I also appreciate all I can do now.”

When asked about the explosive growth of his Twitch subscriber base, Shroud was modest and said, “I’ve got a great community.  I really love them, and they are fun.  They are what makes it all worth it.”

When asked if he’s noticed anything different about streaming vs playing with a team, he said, “Well, there’s my great subscriber community, interacting more with other gamers who aren’t just focused on the competitive scene, and the ability to shop in my free time.”  He then showed us his new Rolex as an example.

When asked what he missed most he said, “I don’t know, maybe some of the guys I played with were pretty cool.  It was a very difficult transition, but I’ve got some cool people now, especially my subscribers.”  He continued to reiterate how much he appreciated the help of his subscribers with the transition.

At the conclusion of our interview Shroud appeared to begin looking up beach front properties for sale in Bora Bora on Zillow.

Editors Note: For full disclosure, it should be noted the editor has been a frequent viewer and at least one time subscriber to Shroud.