Professional streamer Michael “shroud” Grzesiek advises against players counting on Valorant ranked to prepare for pro play. Shroud has an extensive history of competitive gaming. Notably, shroud was a member of one of the most iconic Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO) Cloud9 rosters. Now that he’s a streamer, the gaming community typically turns to him for his opinion on all things FPS.
Valorant‘s highly anticipated release happened, and the hype hasn’t settled since. Players from games like CSGO and Overwatch are scrambling to jump on the competitive bandwagon. There’s been a massive influx of esports organizations of all levels, developing teams for the budding competitive scene. As a result, players hoping to make a name for themselves are taking to Valorant‘s in-house ladders.
“Ranked doesn’t matter.”
In a recent YouTube video, shroud shares his take on why Valorant players shouldn’t rely on ranked to get better. He says he’s heard several complaints about Valorant‘s in-game competitive structure but says “the ranked system will never be good.” As a word of advice, the former CSGO pro says “if you truly want a competitive nature — you go do customs, you go do 10-mans.”
As an example, he points out that TSM’s Valorant team was inside a custom server practicing. He says this is a perfect example of excellent practice. Shroud explains, “If you truly want to go anywhere, you want to be anything, that’s what you do.” Whether it’s scrimming against other teams or going over things as a team, shroud says it’s necessary to take practice outside of the ranked system.
Shroud’s statements are sentiments shared by many professional players. There’s always been a stark difference between a game’s ranked ecosystem and league play. Since Valorant is still in its early stages, players are at a point where they can start training early. With shroud’s advice in mind, players should look into finding a community of players with the same goal of amplifying their overall skill.
