To the CC BROS

Post-speech cry fest.

Note: I wanted to release this on August 19th (or whenever my last day of playing League was), but a lot of things came up recently (including the birth of my son), so I am finally sharing this with you guys.

My intention was never to sound like a broken record player, but here is where the track finally ends. I am officially quitting/retiring (or however you want to phrase it) from League of Legends. It's time for me to move onto more important things in life. It only took me to have a child for me to quit for good, haha.

It's been over 10 years of playing League together. 10 years ago we were silly teenaged-altar servers who saw each other every weekend and spent summers together. After every in person CC event, we seemed to always gravitate to logging onto our toasters and playing a few games of our "favourite" game, League of Legends. We used to log on everyday after highschool, too. We've gone from Skype to Raid call to Discord. From Season 3 League to whatever the current season is (I think Season 13). It was quite the journey.

I recall writing you all a personal letter during my birthday... I think it was in 2017? I don´t remember every single word that I wrote, but just know that it was from the heart, and this post is too. This is the type of material that we can come back to when we are all old and fathers... haha. CC FATHERs.

Over the years, here are some things that I really appreciated (in no particular order):

• Oli
• Your TLDRs. I always looked forward to receiving an email from "Oli Young" and reading his latest rant on how bad we are and how we can play more efficient champs with better statistics to make up for our sorry-ass gameplay. I appreciated the time, effort, thoughts, and calculations that you put behind each TLDR. It inspired me in an unintended way, probably motivating me to try to play pro or hit diamond... or something. It also helped me with my argumentative skills and showcased my stubbornness for wanting to prove the world wrong.
• Your "positive attitude/comments." Coach, you were one of the key factors to hold CC Bros together. We almost never vocally expressed this, but I can speak for the boys that we appreciate you. We hope that you don't actually hate your life, and that you enjoyed all our sillyness over the years. Thanks for putting up with my BS. I will buy an Aegis. Oniisan.
• Phil
• You were definitely one of the more skilled players in the team and we relied on your game sense and skill. I appreciate you re-installing League various times just to be able to play with us after quitting this unbalanced & unfair game.
• Thank you for always keeping it real. You are never afraid to call someone out and set things straight. Over the years you helped resolve some tense situations between the CC bros. I also really appreciate all the deep conversations that we have shared over the years and talking about the memories. The good old days, I sure do miss them. Nightlife. TR3 coming soon.
• Jed
• You were the one who always had to have an intro and outro song whenever you logged onto Raidcall and I found that hilarious. I really appreciate your videos and I watch them from time to time to remember the CC glory days. It was a great initiative to record our games and conversations, they serve as memories that we can look back at in the future and have a great laugh at. Thank you for making a lot of sacrifices for the best of the team. We all know that if we need a first win, we need you on Syndra. You are still the best Lulu on the team, by the way.
• Your personality & humour are unique. Who cares if people think you are weird, in order to be number one, you have to be odd. I have seen you grown over the years, and I really respect what you currently work as - it is not an easy job and don't ever let anyone tell you that. 
• John
• Whenever we wanted to have fun and not tilt, you were the guy. You had your other friend group that you played with but we were a close second. We were also better, by the way ;) , just more toxic.
• I may have said this in the speech when you were going away to live in Toronto, but I did look up to you almost like an older brother figure. It´s funny that we coincidentally grew up together from Corpus Christi to Notre Dame, living in the same neighbourhoods at the same time and just constantly seeing each other until we became good friends. You always showcased a positive attitude which was infectious and was great to be around. I hope that you are truly happy now with your life and that we keep in touch.
• Russ
• We haven't heard a ukulele concert in awhile but it used to be on a nightly basis. I didn't care that we were in a middle of a game, it was nice to hear as I was playing to help me remember that it's just a game and that it's for fun. You helped ground me. Your presence and company were always felt and appreciated in our calls.
• My little brother. I sincerely hope you're doing well, I know that you've grown up to be your own man ever since you and your family moved to Surrey. I'm happy for you, and I cherish the brotherhood that we built over the years. Even if we don't speak for awhile, I know that we can have a normal conversation as of we just spoke yesterday. You know that your kuya is here for you.
• Bryan 
• I appreciate you opening up your mind and trying out League of Legends back then. I remember that you used to swear to never play it and you made fun of people who played it. You struggled at the start, trying to find a role and a champion that you could master. I remember that we kept trying to get you to play Vi, but you found your own way by playing top lane. You did it your way, and it worked. You kept up with the top lane meta and you fulfilled your role better than what we could have asked for.
• I'm grateful for all the years that we've known each other and played different games together such as GTA, SWTOR, a bit of Runescape, and League. I'm also grateful that you let me use your spare laptop during the pandemic so that I didn't have to go to the internet cafe and spend money. I really learned from when I was super intense about practicing and winning a Clash and I want to thank you for that lesson. Now I wish that I could see the old videos that we recorded together when you first became a YouTuber!
• Alex 
• Your mastery and un-ending knowledge of the game is unmatched. Whenever my clueless self had a question about League, you'd always have an answer for me. Your usernames were always entertaining and you were probably the biggest troll to our opponents. You are a jack of all trades as you seemed to be the only one who didn't have a main in any given point of time. You picked up the game quickly. I felt like the TMNT master while you, Bryan, and Matt were the ninja turtles.
• I do miss the days when I would get a random text at 11:00PM from you or Phil saying that you are outside my house and we drove around and hung out. I respect how you´re not afraid to say what is on your mind, you speak with no filter and you don´t give a f what others think. I hope that whatever you choose to do in your life, you dedicate that same energy and learn about it in a profound manner as you did with League. 
• Dan
• Dirty Dan, Commander Dan, Dan Strats, only you and I can play Vayne. Your competitiveness, and willingness to grind inspired me over the years. Everyone knew that when you were part of our 5, it was going to be a gongshow and a hell of a fun time. 
• Whenever I think of going out and spending time with people with good vibes, you are at the top of this list. A few moments come to mind such as bopping to ¨3005¨ on the way to a funeral, dancing like crazy in a restaurant to the drop of that Phil Collins song, and driving around downtown with the boys, just vibing. My respect to you for being the first CC Bro to buy their own place and live independently. I imagine that it has been quite a learning experience and time for growth. I know that your competitive nature and grind mentality will bring you whatever you want in life, just don´t forget about our Creator.
• Neil
• Neil, you were one of the greatest additions to CC Bros. No one else could play Annie Top like you, and you carried quite a few games playing mid and ADC. Whenever we entered tournaments back then and I knew that you were playing, I felt more confident. Your quick quirky remarks were always appreciated.
• Sincerely I hope you´re doing well, it´s been awhile. I recall encouraging you back then to follow your heart and that you´ll make more friends down the road - something along those lines. It seems like you may have taken my advice, haha. Just remember that you are always a CC Bro, and you are always welcome, it doesn´t matter how long your absence has been. You are one of us. 
• Matt
• It's always you Matt! I still remember introducing LoL to you and you liking Jax and a few other select champions. Your Thresh was legendary, but you didn´t stop there as you expanded your champion pool and roles. You went from Jax to Kat (I wish for this penta denial...), to Thresh, to Warwick, to Sona, Nami, etc. You became one of the best CC bro League players. You were given the nickname Plat Matt for a reason.
• Looking back and especially these recent years, you were the glue to CC bros. You kept us together by constantly inviting us to play, taking the time to text us individually and you spent who knows how much time and money at the cafe. That is the definition of dedication. Moving on from League, we hope that you dedicate yourself to whatever your passion(s) is as much as you did to keeping us together and playing the game that we once loved playing.

If you're wondering what some of my most memorable moments are with CC Bros, here they are, again, in no particular order:

• Russ Sion TP from behind
• Let's be honest, Russ didn't play LoL as much as the rest of us did, and for him to make the decision to TP behind the other team and initiate a fight in a desperate moment when we were down makes this play one of the most memorable moments in CC Bros LoL history. I'm glad that this is on Jed's channel and that it captures its epicness in the moment. We had several comeback games over the years but this is the most memorable one because of that one play. Kudos to Russ.
• CC Bros & Grills??
• It was always funny whenever grills got involved within CC Bros, considering that we all come from a history of being altar boys. There were a few girls that became affiliated with this group, such as H20 Brndl, Alison + other girls from VanLoL, and Domi.
• Alison, I don't know if you will read this, but meeting you was awesome. I didn't expect much when we had the idea of going to a VanLoL meetup, but I'm happy that we did. I can't remember exactly how we met, but I'm glad that we did as we became great friends. It was always fun buying you Church´s chicken and dropping it off at your house and chatting. We also got to be your test dummies for your styling projects. You must be so pro now at what you do, you were already so good when we met you! I hope to have you there at my wedding, haha.
• I´m not going to send this to Brindele nor Domi, but if they find this, they find it. Looking back at both experiences now, I find it hilarious how I had flings / some sort of relationship with females by playing this game so much. 
• Something that I can brag about is my Vayne gameplay attracted Domi enough during a ranked solo queue game for her to add me and become duo partners. We exchanged Snapchats right away and that´s how that started haha. Of course, we can´t forget about first win with Drunk Russ. I remember when our fling ended, I wrote a TLDR about love afterwards. Props to whoever still has a copy of it.
• With Brindele, it was some sort of puppy love thing which most of you got involved with and were putting on your trench coats. It ended a bit ugly but it was a great experience. No hard feelings for her, we talk so often just to catch up.
• CC Bros 5s Silver
• After the consistent weekend grinds, scrambling to get 5s, and remaking of the CC Bros 5s team, we finally hit Silver which felt so good to accomplish as a group.
• CC Bros Dinners + Hangouts
• Honululu with Adam
• No specific memory here, just good times seeing each other in person after so much time spent behind our screens communicating via headsets. Phil and Alex always bought Adam cheap gifts from London Drugs of things that he would never use... or did he ever end up using them? Also, RIP to Honululu, I already miss that chicken steak.
• John´s Farewell Dinner, when we all broke into tears after I gave some sort of heartfelt speech which I don't remember what I said
• Birthday dinners + karaoke
• I made it a point to go out for dinner then karaoke for my birthdays. I either got tipsy or high but had a great time.
• Random hang outs
• See Alex, Phil, Jed pick me up at my house at midnight to go for a cruise.
• Movies with Alison and co.
• VanLoL
• Drifting in the snow with Thomas
• CC Dan
• I don't remember what started this event, but we all became "Dan" for a moment. I was "Gosu" Dan just because I only played Vayne back then. I remember this being during the Brindele days.
• Yasuo Tournament Pentakill
• Amongst many other pentakills, this one has to be my favourite for the weight that it carries and all the countless hours and games that we´ve been through together. On paper, it is an individual achievement, but in the moment it felt like a team achievement as CC BROs often dominated their opponents... then got dominated after

If you guys can think of more moments I would love to hear them. Again, this post is for historical purposes and for us (or probably just me) to look back at in the future to remember the good old days. I may come back and edit this post from time to time, I´m not sure yet. I´ll be sure to write in ¨edit notes¨ if I do, though. Perhaps I´ll add more photos so that it´s not just a big block of text... though it wouldn´t do its job in honouring Oli´s TLDRs. We´ll see what the future holds. I´m just thankful for you guys and for the memories. Thankful to be alive.

A message to myself:

Thank you, Mctrixx, In Vayne Game, MLC, smurf, for accepting all challenges, trying to solve curse of the bot lane, adapting to the new jungle and trying out new roles to try to impact the game more, gaming on a Macbook, trying to get 5 on before assigning Matt to do it, for being so stubborn (or persistent) on trying to reach my goals, and for trusting the process, following your heart, and growing. Ultimately, thank you for your time on League of Legends, thank you for quitting. It´s time to move on.

One piece of advice for whoever reads this. Do everything with intention. When we start to be conscious of our words and actions, we start to evaluate our choices. We start to ask why we do certain things and dedicate our time and energy towards it. Be aware of this and see if whatever you´re doing is something that is worth repeating and is helping you to be a better version of yourself. If not, you could probably make some adjustments and take a different approach. Fight for what you love. Trust God, be thankful for where you are. We´re so lucky here in Vancouver, British Columbia. We´re also so distracted in our daily lives. Focus on you, on who you are, and your identity. You already have the answers, they´re there for you to discover.

-MIC