My Best Friend

The below is a post written by Conan’s League of Legends friend, Dylan. Here’s his original post, which he generously allowed me to share with you all here:

In 2014 my buddy Conanimoose introduced me to League of Legends. It was shortly after we had reached out and started talking to each other again after I left boarding school where we had met. I’ll be honest, at that point my most played game was Call of Duty followed by Halo. I really didn’t play much outside of shooters cause that was all my dad played. So the first time I tried League, I hated it. However, I kept playing because it made Conan happy. At the time he was recovering from surgery – he had cancer and just got his tumors removed. So I kept playing it. After about a month or two though, I stopped and we went back to playing things like Diablo or console games like CoD.

Then, in the fall of 2014, Conan linked a music video for Warriors by Imagine Dragons on his facebook, and tagged me. After watching it, I was actually feeling super hyped. I gave League another try and was starting to have fun. I watched the World Championship that year, and I was hooked. From there I actually started a college team at my university and we played competitively for two years. During this time, I was constantly playing League with Conan, as he helped me level up and get prepared my first ever placements.

I played my first placement matches in the 2015 pre-season. I remember it very vividly because that was the year they updated the visuals for Summoners Rift. I had a blast. I also sucked, and was placed in Bronze V, where I would stay for almost a year. No matter how me and Conan tried, we couldn’t get me out of Bronze V, I was hardstuck and super bad at the game. However, with the help of some friends I made at college along with simple practice and dedication, I managed to end my first ranked season of League of Legends at Silver V.

The next year we kept playing together and kept douing together. Conan was alomost done with his physical therapy from his surgery. Then the cancer hit again, with multiple tumors across his body. Luckily, he just had to go back into chemo and get them removed again. He did it, and was on the fast road to recovery. We played so many games since then – League of Legends, Dark Souls, Halo, Diablo, and dozens more.

A couple months later he told me he got engaged to his girlfriend. I was shocked. Back in boarding school he seemed like the kind of guy who was gonna be a ladies man, never tying himself down. Yet somehow he managed to be the first one to get engaged out my group of friends. I was super happy for him.

Since then we had kept playing games together and having a blast. Then earlier this year, he broke the news to me. The doctors couldn’t do any more for him. His cancer was terminal. Despite this, he and his fiancee decided to get married anyway, and pushed up the date of their marriage. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it, but I saw the photos come in and it was amazing. He was the happiest I’ve ever seen him.

He was super busy since that day, and we didn’t get to play a lot of games. We talked every now and then, and when I would ask if he knew how much time he had left he would say he didn’t know. I didn’t think much of it, figuring he would tell me when he was ready. We never got that chance. Today, my best friend passed away.

Conan was one of my best and oldest friends. Normally I wouldn’t post on forums, but today is an exception. He got me into League, a game I play religiously now. He watched me go from Bronze to Gold. I just…as much as people can be assholes in this game, there are good people. Conan was one of them. The League of Legends community has lost a good man. I have lost a friend. I’m not sure why I wanted to write this out, but it has helped me feel better, putting some of this into words. Sorry for the negative news, but I feel like its fitting to tell his story here, on the forums of the game we played the most together.

Conan, you introduced me to this amazing game, one I have based a lifestyle around. For that, I am eternally grateful. Rest well, friend. I miss you.

EDIT: On an added note, I just want to say thank you to Riot Games. Thank you for making this amazing game. With it Conan and I created many amazing memories playing it. For that I will always be grateful.