Valorant pro ShahZaM claims Sentinels picked shroud only for “hype”

It’s never a dull day in North American Valorant, where drama and beef is always brewing. This time around, former Sentinel skipper Shahzeb “ShahZaM” Khan is at the center, claiming shroud was picked merely for the “hype.” 

shroud had long ago stepped away from competitive play, switching to streaming as his full-time career. But, he returned to competition in a jaw-dropping announcement that set the Valorant community ablaze. In 2022, shroud joined Valorant ahead of the franchising, and while it seemed all fun and games on the surface, ShahZam is telling a different tale. 

Taking to Twitter, the G2 esports’ in-game leader ShahZam accused Sentinels of breaking their promise of getting him a franchising spot. The pro player further claimed that Sentinels cared more about the hype around their match than winning. 

The tweet came in response to Sentinel’s light-hearted comedy snippet featuring tenZ. The punchline is a spinning wheel with multiple “Tenz go kill” written on them. However, the wheel has now become meme fodder for different reasons. ShahZaM left a salty comment in reference to him being dropped out of the team after shroud joined. 

might have to give it a spin this weekend pic.twitter.com/oROJIHilfd

— Sentinels (@Sentinels) January 12, 2023

“Oh yeah, one time I spun the wheel and it landed on, ‘Please play with shroud, we don’t care if you win just make it hype. We’ll personally guarantee you a spot in franchising if you do,” ShahZaM said. 

Sentinels’ social media manager did pretty good damage control with an equally hilarious comeback but to no avail. Wheel memes are already all over the internet, and they may stay for a while. 

we just spun the VALORANT wheel and you’ll never guess what it landed on… pic.twitter.com/bObUQHFKlK

— NRG (@NRGgg) January 13, 2023

Sentinels’ CEO Rob Moore also responded to the former IGL, claiming that he lost his 2021 charm and acted like he didn’t want to be in the team. He also reprimanded the audience for believing everything on Twitter. 

“Do you believe everything that people post on Twitter? He also found out while streaming that he wasn’t being offered a new contract from GeorgeCGed, did you believe that also?? LOL!!,” Rob Moore said. 

ShahZaM’s Tweet about shroud stirs drama in Valorant community

Whether ShahZaM’s claims are true or not, shroud’s addition to Sentinels didn’t change much — but it did cause a massive stir on social media. shroud has made a name for himself in FPS esports and is often included in the list of the best-known Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players in North America for his outstanding performances. As a member of Cloud9, shroud led his team to victories against some of the world’s top CSGO teams and a championship at ESL Pro League Season 4.

So, his return to competition was one of the defining esports moments of 2022. Unfortunately, shroud’s performance on the server was nothing to write home about. 

For now, the esports side of the internet is flooded with memes. It’s also worth noting that G2 versus Sentinels rivalry existed way before this, and the Twitter war will only add fire to the flame.