Twitch superstar Michael ‘shroud’ Grzesiek is vocal on how he believes Valorant will “easily” surpass Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) as the number one FPS title especially in the competitive eSports scene.
Upon Valorant’s launch in June, many professional FPS players quickly took their in-game grit and skills over to Riot’s new 5v5 tactical shooter.
A number of eSports organizations wasted no time in forming a competitive roster of their own with pros from CS:GO, Overwatch, and other games.
For some, it worked out as they’ve been able to secure wins in online tournaments with their FPS knowledge and grow an audience on Twitch.
Since the game is Riot-backed, there’s an increasing expectation towards Valorant’s full growth in the eSports scene.
Even the FPS legend Shroud compared Valorant’s early stages to that of CS:GO and even League of Legends.
Valorant eSports
Shroud, a former CS:GO pro, recently discussed the landscape of Valorant’s esports scene in a recent stream.
To him, it’s worth noting that some of the best teams in Europe and North America haven’t had the chance to go head-on yet. If that finally happens and Valorant goes to LAN, Shroud is confident the title will pop off.
“Dude, Valorant is just going to hit and it’s going to hit hard. Like, it has the perfect recipe right now, right,”
“It’s just like, CS numbers are dipping, but to be fair CS strives on LAN so that’s why they’re dipping, obviously once LAN comes back, it’ll be a little different. “
It’s true, the CS:GO numbers are gradually declining. Shroud has even claimed the game is “undeniably dying,” especially on a competitive level, with teams like 100 Thieves pulling out of the scene.
“But still, if Valorant nails the timing of coming to LAN and tournaments are popping off, it’s going to blow the f**k up – even more than it already has.”
Someone in the chat suggested that Valorant will soon take CS:GO’s place as the number one first-person shooter in the eSports scene, which Shroud acknowledged:
“Oh yeah, easily.”
The growing player interest towards watching some of the world’s best FPS teams play against each other will only work in Valorant’s favor.
Now that Riot recently announced First Strike, the first major self-ran VALORANT esports tournament, the Valorant eSports scene is projected to grow further. The tournament has a $100,000 USD prize pool at stake.
However, it remains uncertain yet if the numbers can back Valorant at the top of the eSports world. For one, it’s not an easy feat to do so.
Plenty of games tried to claw their way to the top of the eSports scene, but CS:GO and LoL remained steady. It’s only a matter of time fans and gaming enthusiasts know.
Do you think Valorant has what it takes to become the next big eSports title?
