To offer some solace in this time of grief: We've learned that Geoff passed quickly and painlessly from a blood clot in his lungs. He was with friends. He always urged and led us by example to take care of ourselves to the best of our ability. Remember to do that for him today.
On August 22 2025 00:18 G5 wrote: Weird. I was literally just thinking about him (quite intensively) on my drive to work and then I see this at the top of the General forum. I've never publicly posted anything about Geoff. I've always kept it internal. However, I want to share a little bit about his impact on me.
Geoff was a really good friend of mine growing up throughout SC1. He was always someone I admired although I would never tell him that. He had a bit of Norm MacDonald in him, in the very best sense of that comparison - he was unapologetically funny. If he thought it was funny, he would go for it, no matter the risk. He was articulate as hell. He was sharp as a tack. He was a loyal friend that would look past angry SC-gamer moments and still be there for you if you needed him. He could be exceptionally thoughtful and nice and he could be a needly trolly dick - in the way only a true friend would feel comfortable enough to be. He had up times and he had down times. Although his life was short, he truly lived it and went for what he wanted.
He was also extremely brave; more so that I ever was, especially back then. For example: One time we were in Korea for IEF and I was asked to give a speech in front of some group of dignitaries or something and I declined out of fear. Geoff got up there instead and delivered the most professional and eloquent speech you could imagine. In fact, that same event, we had an opening ceremony where players walked to stage carrying their countries flag and the Canadians were still on their flights. So, Geoff volunteered and repped Canada for a the flag ceremony lol in true iNcontroL fashion (hilariously). I also remember him on WCG Ultimate Gamer, something I was offered to do the next season and I declined, again out of fear. He was always just so outgoing and brave and would constantly do things I theoretically would want to be able to do but never had the balls to do. Geoff, along with Nick (Tasteless) and Dan (Artosis) are the three friends I had growing up that I've always truly admired for their bravery, intelligence, and willingness to go after the life they envisioned for themselves, not one that others had planned for them. All three of them contributed to me being braver in my life and going for things I may have not gone for if I had never met them. For that, I am very thankful.
It's been a long time and what I remember the most about Geoff is his bravery, his humor, and how genuine of a person he was. I still think about him often. I miss him and many of my other friends from back then. I miss our daily gaming sessions, all of us on ventrillo group calls, playing and joking around until inevitably Artosis, IdrA, or myself rage-quit to end the late night - just to pick it up again the next day and do it all over. I miss the laughs. I miss those times. I miss you buddy. I don't believe in an afterlife but I know that if I'm wrong about that (and if there's any semblance of justice in the universe), you are without a doubt in whatever the good part of the afterlife is. Thank you for the good times buddy and the profound impact you had on me. My life is better because I had you in it, even for as brief as it was. Miss you. Love you. <3
Really thoughtful post G5. I really liked InControl as a personality in the scene but I'm really envious you got to be his friend. You're very lucky. I'm sure he would say he feels the same about you.
On August 26 2025 15:27 vTv.Marine wrote: Sorry I wasn't trying to make it about myself but Dan (Artosis) isn't who you think he is lol. We all school gamers know him. Dude a walking celery.
On August 26 2025 15:27 vTv.Marine wrote: Sorry I wasn't trying to make it about myself but Dan (Artosis) isn't who you think he is lol. We all school gamers know him. Dude a walking celery.
guy here talking shit about how someone used to be 20 years ago during ventrilo days. What a guy
Not sure if any of this has mentioned over the 60 some pages in here from related parties but I wanted to chime in on my memory of my very brief experiences with Geoff when I was getting involved with the scene back in 2015 or so.
It was the first Blizzard summit I was ever invited to; and just being an up and coming mapmaker I didn't expect anyone to really know who I was & ontop of the crippling anxiety disorder I have, flying in to LA was pretty nervewracking. I technically met Geoff in person here first, he was on the same flight as me. My dumbass forgot that I hadn't posted a selfie or anything so he had no idea who the hell was calling out to him, but he still just smiled and waved. When I landed and asked where people were as many had already landed as well. I didn't receive any response for quite a bit before ToD dm'd me; and told me to go to the sports bar across the street to meet Arty and Tasteless. Which, for someone who was just a typical SC fan who happened to get into making maps was a bewildering ask, to be able to meet three excellent casters before anyone else. I really cannot overstate that ToD, despite what many may think of his competitive nature and how it reflects upon him, really looked out for the little guy and is incredibly kind, incredibly funny. The four of us chilled for a while, I mostly just listened to their chitter chatter, can't remember exactly what it was because very shortly after Geoff showed up. And man, it was already fun and laughs in there but Geoff's personality just added so much for a brief time, before all of us sort of noticed that Geoff was carrying some weight upon his shoulders. I don't remember who broke the ice about it, but someone asked Geoff what was wrong; and he dropped that TB's cancer was back (this is months before the public would find this out). Obviously the mood changed, but the sympathy displayed from all of them was admiring. I won't go into what was said at this time, but it really emboldened within me how genuine these guys were, loving and supportive to the end.
A couple years later at my last summit & Blizzcon, we'd learn here that Blizzard was cutting SC2 into maintenance mode, a week before the convention. Most of us did not receive our paid flights and hotels like we normally did, except for the high-end casters/talent (possibly the players, which there were alot fewer than normal). So we were told "Games over guys" and then left to our devices for 4 or 5 days until Blizzcon started. One of those days alot of people were heading to Disneyland, I think it was the day after Halloween. I walked all the way from my shared hotel room to the park; and upon trying to find a group to hang out with, once again ToD came out for me and asked me to join their group with Tastosis, Kaelaris, Cobra and Geoff. I learned then that Geoff loved, loved Disneyland, he had "an optimal way" to visit every ride in the shortest amount of time whilst skipping the most lines. This proved completely true except for Haunted Mansion, which I suppose made sense seeing as it was still Halloween time.
We stopped for food a few times, at one instance some discussion happened revolving a certain topic that was quite hot-button at the time between those more in the know, and it was incredibly revealing just how people thought about the state of things and each other. I was directly asked, as the odd-one-out, to never discuss that discussion in detail so I'll respect that here. As a still early 20s guy, the way they acted left a lasting positive impression on me; even when making critiques Geoff would always find a way to stay polite, respectful and caring. It puts videos like that one posted above about arty into a specific perspective for me; that if he's grilling you that hard with a smile on his face, he must really love you.
Me being my anxious self was questioning how a lot of people felt about me during my last year fully immersed within SC2 space; I reached out to a couple people to set things right, and Geoff was one of them. I don't think its inaccurate to say in the community's eye, Geoff had an imposing presence, and it was hard to tell who he liked or not, such as the community's confusion between Geoff and Ravi during their WCS banters. I reached out to him at 11pm on July 19th, 2019; where he very clearly said we were cool, and that there were "no worries, much love".
He then passed a very short few hours later.
There was a public funeral; which pretty much everyone knows about since if I recall correctly it was streamed, but it was near my home at the time and I was able to attend. The outpouring from those who attended from all the walks Geoff participated in was both heartwarming and heartbreaking. I really hope he knew how loved he was and still is.
I still sometimes watch the holiday bash and StarCraft remastered event on YouTube. He’s damn funny and I really miss his humor and commentary. RIP brother.
On August 22 2025 00:18 G5 wrote: Weird. I was literally just thinking about him (quite intensively) on my drive to work and then I see this at the top of the General forum. I've never publicly posted anything about Geoff. I've always kept it internal. However, I want to share a little bit about his impact on me.
Geoff was a really good friend of mine growing up throughout SC1. He was always someone I admired although I would never tell him that. He had a bit of Norm MacDonald in him, in the very best sense of that comparison - he was unapologetically funny. If he thought it was funny, he would go for it, no matter the risk. He was articulate as hell. He was sharp as a tack. He was a loyal friend that would look past angry SC-gamer moments and still be there for you if you needed him. He could be exceptionally thoughtful and nice and he could be a needly trolly dick - in the way only a true friend would feel comfortable enough to be. He had up times and he had down times. Although his life was short, he truly lived it and went for what he wanted.
He was also extremely brave; more so that I ever was, especially back then. For example: One time we were in Korea for IEF and I was asked to give a speech in front of some group of dignitaries or something and I declined out of fear. Geoff got up there instead and delivered the most professional and eloquent speech you could imagine. In fact, that same event, we had an opening ceremony where players walked to stage carrying their countries flag and the Canadians were still on their flights. So, Geoff volunteered and repped Canada for a the flag ceremony lol in true iNcontroL fashion (hilariously). I also remember him on WCG Ultimate Gamer, something I was offered to do the next season and I declined, again out of fear. He was always just so outgoing and brave and would constantly do things I theoretically would want to be able to do but never had the balls to do. Geoff, along with Nick (Tasteless) and Dan (Artosis) are the three friends I had growing up that I've always truly admired for their bravery, intelligence, and willingness to go after the life they envisioned for themselves, not one that others had planned for them. All three of them contributed to me being braver in my life and going for things I may have not gone for if I had never met them. For that, I am very thankful.
It's been a long time and what I remember the most about Geoff is his bravery, his humor, and how genuine of a person he was. I still think about him often. I miss him and many of my other friends from back then. I miss our daily gaming sessions, all of us on ventrillo group calls, playing and joking around until inevitably Artosis, IdrA, or myself rage-quit to end the late night - just to pick it up again the next day and do it all over. I miss the laughs. I miss those times. I miss you buddy. I don't believe in an afterlife but I know that if I'm wrong about that (and if there's any semblance of justice in the universe), you are without a doubt in whatever the good part of the afterlife is. Thank you for the good times buddy and the profound impact you had on me. My life is better because I had you in it, even for as brief as it was. Miss you. Love you. <3
Thanks for sharing, G5. Those pics are little touchstones of a bygone era. I had a little taste of a similar vibe when I played Warcraft 3, but the old-school Brood War community is entirely its own. Geoff was unique and totally unafraid. Loved it a lot. Saying too much would feel reductive, but I was just happy to be a part of the early SC2 community, and consumer of State of the Game and even Geoff's silly EG content like the courtroom thing, as well as the SC Remastered events. It was a privileged time for all. I still sometimes wonder how Geoff would be impacting the scene today, the projects he would be working on, and how he'd likely be streaming Mechabellum on his chill days off.
I haven't posted here in years... but I actually was just watching an old episode of Roll Play with Geoff, JP, Gen and Ryan. The show used to be a companion on my commute to college. It's a shame that he died so young. But he will always be remembered.
EPT![[image loading]](https://fireflyathletics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Inc1.jpg)
![[image loading]](https://fireflyathletics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Inc2.jpg)
![[image loading]](https://fireflyathletics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/inc4.jpg)
![[image loading]](https://fireflyathletics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/inc5.jpg)
![[image loading]](https://fireflyathletics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/inc6.jpg)
![[image loading]](https://fireflyathletics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/inc3.jpg)
