shroud eyes CSGO streaming return with IEM Cologne co-stream

Fariha Bhatti Published 16/07/2021

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s first LAN tournament in more than 16 months is well underway. While fans can barely contain their excitement, it seems that Michael “shroud” Grzesiek is just as ecstatic about IEM Cologne 2021. 

Popular Twitch streamer and former CSGO pro shroud is mainly known for his top-notch Valorant streams these days, and is enjoying serious success with that. But a recent tweet hints that the streamer wants to watch IEM Cologne live with his fans. 

shroud was one of North America’s most popular CSGO players until he stepped away from the esports scene in 2017. Though he still returns to CSGO on occasion, most of his time since then has been as a variety streamer with a focus on shooters and battle royales. In the mix has been co-streams of major Valorant tournaments, many of which boasted more viewers than the official broadcasts. This has effectively made him the face of Riot’s shooter, which is a bit ironic given that his roots lie in Valorant’s main rival. However, his recent tweet suggests that he’s missing his old stomping grounds in CSGO. 

ESL’s annual tournament in Cologne, Germany has long been one of the biggest events on the CSGO calendar. The final stages of IEM Cologne 2021 are approaching with a number of top teams including FaZe Clan, Astralis, G2 Esports, and Natus Vincere in the running. It’s guaranteed that the event will be a success with that lineup, but having shroud in the equation will only make it bigger. 

Is shroud streaming CSGO?

shroud will likely need to open a direct partnership with ESL in order to freely stream the tournament, but there’s a strong chance he can make that a reality. The streamer has an incredible following in both the CSGO and Valorant communities, and his broadcasts will help the declining CSGO scene a great deal.

However, many fans believe that other streamers deserve co-streaming rights more than shroud. Other CSGO stars in Tarik “tarik” Celik and Erik “fl0m” Flom are also trying to get in on streaming IEM Cologne, which is somewhat strange as many co-streamed events have been smashing successes. 

Whether co-streams happen or not, it’s clear that shroud isn’t entirely out of touch with CSGO. Fans can only hope that shroud starts creating more content around Valve’s tactical shooter alongside streaming Valorant. 

The group stage of IEM Cologne wrapped up on Sunday and five teams remain in the hunt for the trophy. The finals are set to take place on July 18.

Fariha Bhatti

About Fariha Bhatti

Fariha Bhatti is a long-time gaming writer who loves competitive FPS games and slots with particularly fun themes. She got her start playing classic games developed by SNK, from legendary fighting game series The King of Fighters to challenging platform franchise Metal Slug. She now spends most of her time playing Valorant and Counter-Strike 2 while working her way through new slot releases to find her next favorite. Fariha has been published at PCGamesN, TalkEsport and ONE Esports.

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