The Story of Shroud: The King of Reddit

To be famous in the world of esports, it's safe to say that you have to be able to appreciate a good meme. True super stardom in this world doesn't come from big press conferences, red carpets, or glamorous photo shoots. In esports you must master the art of Reddit. The combination of being absolutely amazing at whatever game you choose while also not ta

king

anything seriously. (Stream) Perhaps no one in the hi

story

of esports embodies this better than the King of Reddit himself: ShroudyRowdy From clinging to the biggest stage with Cloud 9 to the top of the Twitch charts.

This is his

story

. Shroud joined Cloud9's Counter Strike: Global Offensive roster on September 1, 2014, after the organization acquired compLexity's roster, which featured Shroud as an alternate. Shroud was a streamer who had been competing in the ESEA qualifiers with Exertus eSports and Manajuma during 2013 and early 2014. It was during this era that he impressed the eventual Cloud9 roster and earned a spot on the team. "The main way they discovered me was that I streamed a lot. I guess streaming is actually a good way for people to explore. Because they can watch your stream." "I didn't even know I was joining the team, I just finished the regular season with Manajumas.

And then a week later, Dboorn messaged me and said, 'Hey, do you want to join Complexity?'" which is Cloud9 now and I was like, of course." From his beginnings in Mississauga, Canada, Shroud was bred to play. He lived with his father, who obsessively built computers and introduced Shroud to gaming when he was a child. "I love games, I love computers. I built every single computer we had. And because he was so little, I would put him on my lap and let him do whatever. And then I introduced him to Counter-Strike because I like that game, and he learned it so quickly that after a couple of months it no longer made sense to play it.

Shroud started streaming while professional Counter-Strike was still a pipe dream for him in 2011. In fact, he had lost interest in it. CS during. Source, but his passion for FPS was rejuvenated when a friend gave him CSGO on Steam about a year later. Shroud was a big fan of Summit1G on Twitch and wanted to try streaming "So I started streaming, oh wow. , That's how it went. probably like 2011ish. I didn't have any viewers, I probably streamed for a year with 1 viewer and that was me. And the reason I started streaming was because of Summit. And I was watching him play and he had a couple hundred viewers and it was how much he conveyed that inspired me, left his work and all that.

I just... wanted to do that." It was a long time before I saw anything. Shroud made his LAN debut with Cloud9 in 2015 at the ESL ESEA Pro League North America Season 1. Shroud and C9 won the NA group and then ended up in 2nd place Fnatic in International Finals (Casting) In an era where North America was considered the minor league of professional CS, reaching the C9 Pro League Finals was huge Cloud 9's summer run. 2015 was a big one for NA CS and Shroud was quickly building a reputation as one of the most talented players in North America." Cloud9 looked at Shroud and saw potential.

They liked his decision ma

king

, they liked his positioning. And they said, "Okay, if we can develop this guy if we give him more experience. We like how he's playing, but if we give him more time to develop with good teammates, those bits will come." The fragments are not the problem for them. They saw how stellar his aim was, how accurate and precise he was." "I love Shroud to death and I think he's one of the best players I've ever played with. Probably the best, the best pure shooter I've ever seen." "Shroud is literally the best shooter in North America, as I certainly feel when he's aiming." "Like you could see this guy in the current pull. of the most ridiculous 4ks and 5ks." After finishing the ESL Pro League in 2015, Cloud 9 and Shroud's next grand final was at DreamHack Bucharest in 2016.

They once again placed second, falling to another of the most ridiculous teams. strong in the world. on Virtus.Pro (Casting) During the second half of 2016, Shroud and Cloud 9 finally won a big tournament (Casting) C9 defeated SK Gaming in the ESL Pro League Season 4 finals, to give it a try. a major title to American Counter Strike. That fateful summer of Cloud9 ended with a bang and this team was single-handedly defending North America's potential to compete on the international stage by wowing the stage with its goal: " I'm trying to help those guys be the stars." I'm not the star of the game anymore.

For those of you who don't know yet. My role isn't to make plays and shit. It's to help you make plays. I'll die. for them, I'll shine for them, I'll smoke for them, I'll do anything for those guys." "I don't care how much shit someone is going to give me." With the injection of youth into the C9 roster, Shroud was heavily stalking the game and mentoring new players. The addition of Stewie2k and Autimatic to the classic C9 core of Shroud, Nothing, and Skadoodle proved that an American team could play at the highest level, but the real test was competing in a big CSGO event where all the top teams showed up. (Casting) Cloud9 barely made it to the knockout rounds at 3-2 after opening back-to-back. losses to Ninjas in Pajamas and Natus Vincere In the group stage there were three North American contenders: C9, Liquid and OpTic, but after Cloud 9 got revenge on NiP in the quarterfinals, they were Cloud 9's last hope. when they faced Na'Vi They showed up big and defeated Na'Vi in a 2-0 victory (Casting) A North American team was about to pit David against a Goliath in SK Gaming, and so it was.

A grand prize of $100,000 is at stake. (Casting) Cloud 9 may not have won it all. But they showed once again that they had what it took to compete at the highest level of the game. Shroud was instrumental in C9's run in Cologne, particularly in the group stage when it mattered most. Of course, after Shroud left C9, they became the first North American team to win a Major title. But his impact on that career in Boston is notable nonetheless. Shroud was a key cog in what would become America's CS:GO favorite and without his consistency, game intelligence and commitment they would not be the team we know today.

Even Stewie admitted that Shroud was one of the things that made him want to be a pro. "So when I watched streamers, I used to watch Mike play a lot. And I would see him aim a certain way, like a certain way of aiming, and then I would try to imitate him. I would try to steal people's playing style and add it to mine." Throughout his career as a professional player, Shroud balanced his career with the growth and development of his current. (Transmission) What could be better, right? Streamer by night, professional rifler by day. But Shroud was sometimes criticized by the Counter Strike community for his juggling act in his career. "Unfortunately for Shroud, he didn't have the best performance this weekend at the Summit.

And it seems like the community criticized him a bit because he streams other games." "Motherfucker." "He doesn't just play CS every hour of the day." When his performance declined or Cloud 9 struggled, fans wanted to see Shroudy practicing CS, not playing other live games. "Dude, mods, literally. My mods feel free to ban anyone who just cries about what other people say. I don't mind seeing that, I don't mind seeing any of that shit." "That?" "Do you still like to play Counter-Strike?" "No. Dead game." "When people criticize professional players for not just playing any field, sport or game all the time." "So right now, the case that really brought this to mind is the case where people are really criticizing Shroud for the fact that he's going to stream PUB Battlegrounds or whatever." "The idea that you know he's doing that instead of practicing and that's why he's not a top player or whatever." "You haven't seen CS

reddit

Shroud, I used to be all praise for you.

Now they hate you." That said, even at the peak of his career, Shroud was more popular as a streamer and personality than as a professional gamer. And after C9's presentation in Cologne in 2017, Shroud began to focus more than ever on streaming. And this lined up nicely with the explosion of one of the biggest games in recent years. PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds launched in March 2017, and by the time summer hit, it was taking the gaming world by storm. A few months before his decision to leave C9, Shroud jumped into PUBG. And well, he was incredibly good at it. (Streaming) And then in August 2017, Shroud stepped away from the team's initial roster and decided to focus entirely on his streaming. "I texted Jack and said, 'Hey, (by the way, Jack owns C9), I want to quit.' I'd love to be your guys' backup, I want to see where full-time broadcasting takes me." . "I felt like it was time to go, like this whole PUBG thing came to light, I've enjoyed PUBG so much and I'm kind of slowly losing the passion for competing.

I just want to relax, sit here and play." During that same August, PUBG had its biggest streaming month. The game was broadcast to an average of around 100,000 viewers at a time. When Shroud jumped into streaming and left the security of his professional career behind, he and PUBG were close, and both were growing in August 2017, the first month he streamed full-time. It averaged just under 20,000 viewers at a time. less and peaked in April 2018, averaging 40,000 viewers. "I'm literally like shaking." "Like this is crazy, I'm about to hit 7,500 subs." Guys... Oh my God, the submarines." "Oh my God, I look to my right and it's just a wall." "Oh my God." Professional esports and streaming have operated side by side for years.

It's not It's surprising that your favorite pro gamer is also dipping their toe into Twitch to help build their brand, but lately, we've seen streamers whose Twitch persona surpasses any fame or fandom they would achieve as pro gamers like Ninja and Dr.Disrespect has never been close. the vanguard of any major professional sport, but he has become one of the biggest stars in gaming and Shroud wanted to give himself the opportunity to be more than just a professional Counter Strike (Stream) player even While he was a professional player, Shroud. He was always known as the king of Reddit, but since his commitment to streaming full-time, he's earned that nickname tenfold. "Watch this..." (Streaming) Other top broadcasters fill your content. computer screen with music, tricks and bustling entertainment, but Shroud is simply a player.

And he is very good in every game he plays. (Stream) "I always choose Shroud's mind because I consider Shroud the best PC player on Twitch." "But when you want to talk about PC and PC precision, I think Shroud is way ahead of everyone." In many ways, Shroud has become a sanctuary for the old guard of esports fans to relax and hang out. He hasn't adapted to the overly boisterous style of other massive streamers like Ninja. Shroud is just a great player who streams every day and owns that brand. And it's that strong brand that he's built his community around.

Shroud has become the go-to place for esports fans,

reddit

ers, and anyone who wants to watch high-level gameplay and laugh. (Streaming) What further consolidates his style is his constant support for small streamers. He has found a way to create content by helping people. (Streaming) No matter the game, Shroud's viewership remains strong, something that is unusual for all but the biggest streamers. Shroud has recently streamed CSGO, PUBG, Fortnite, Realm Royale, and World of Warcraft. Somehow, he is excellent at every game he tries. Overshadowed by his growth as a streamer is the fact that Shroud has become one of the best Player Unknown's Battleground players on the planet. "But last night I was watching Shroud, playing Battlegrounds.

In first person." "That guy is a maniac." "He could be the best player in the game." Recently, in a team tournament, Shroud and another popular streamer, Chadd, took home 9 out of 10 winning chicken dinners at the event. (Streaming) In many ways, Fortnite's popularity has epitomized why Shroud's viewers are so loyal to him. He knows that he might give in to the news, but, in typical Shroud fashion, he has remained loyal to PUBG. He's not trying to be like Ninja or ride the Fortnite wave to mainstream success. Shroud has truly experienced the esports roller coaster ride. He has evolved from the golden boy of North American Counter-Strike to Reddit darling before our eyes.

There is no doubt that he has a long way to go in the esports fight to legitimize itself in the mainstream and offer optionslong-term professionals beyond the upper echelon of each game. But, if there's one benchmark to follow when it comes to staying relevant throughout your career in a world where new games are popping up left and right, it's Shroud. It is adapted. He has remained loyal. And he is still here, growing and leaving his mark on every aspect of this community we love. Thanks for watching. If you want more great content like this, be sure to hit that subscribe button.