AGDQ 2026 SPECIAL THANKS

I started speedrunning in 2011, and the first GDQ I saw live from start to finish was AGDQ 2013. It was an incredible watch and I already knew I wanted to be there. But I was very young, so the first one I actually went to was AGDQ 2016 in Herndon, Virginia. Since then I've been to AGDQ 2018, 2019, and now 2026, and honestly.. This might be the best AGDQ I've been to, in fact it might be the best winter event I've ever attended. And below are some of the people that made the trip special:

 

____________________WITH LOVE FROM RICKY____________________

 

Skitz - Dude, I cannot thank you enough for literally everything that you do for me. Our trip to NYC is gonna stick with me for a while for sure. I'm so glad that you at least got two weekends at the event to bool. That final night where we all hotboxed was the fucking shit man. It was such a vibe squad in there. I will most likely see you again at ESA Summer. It'll be a fuckin blast man

 

Marathonman - The backbone of the event. In a world where people love to yap, marathonman listens. You're just the best bro, I feel safe around you, I trust you with my life, a true lover of speedrunning and everything surrounding it. How much you've decided to just turn your life around with no alcohol and all that is inspirational man. I'm tryna follow in those footsteps, love you bro

 

Stevenmkwii - Not one tame moment with you around bro, you're hella witty, spontaneous, you speak your mind and I'm here for it. You're also super giving, very social so happy I finally got to meet you man. You brightened the event big time. The glue keeping us all together

 

Trace - You were easily the coolest new person I met at this event, I barely knew you, so to me you gave off this cool mysterious aura and when I finally spoke to you, you were somehow into all the things I was into. Thanks for getting me to play Bob the builder, I now have new stream content lmao

 

Derek - If there's one thing I love about you Derek it's your passion. I can hear it in your voice every time you talk. Especially about the things you appreciate, even if you've had a crappy day you somehow manage find the light within you to view things on the bright side and that's NOT a skill many can say they have. Massive respect for that. Glad to have met you, and thanks for being a great roomie

 

Maeve - Hard to find a person who's smile and positivity rub off more than you. You just light up the whole group in an instant. I got to speak to you a bit about goals and lifestyle and stuff this event and it was super insightful. Thanks for being a great roomie too and I'll cya at ESA winter!

 

Toro - Absolutely love your willingness to just do anything at any time. Very spontaneous, fun to hang around, and just nerdy about whatever you're into which is sick. You're also super selfless, no matter the situation, you always seem to put yourself second. And just like with Maeve and Derek, thanks for being a great roomie.

 

Kara - I noticed our taste in food is pretty different so every time there was a food run happening, we'd never be in the same group, which is a shame! Cause I would have loved to hang around you a bit more this event We had the previous events to make up for it I suppose but I really wanted to come ice skating with you and the gang. It seemed like you had a great time this event, cya at ESA Winter :)

 

Tara - FIRST of all. Thank you for the nice shirt! I'm definitely gonna wear that on stream. Secondly, thank you for organizing things and just being a Pittsburgh big brain. It was nice to finally meet you, it seemed you had a superb time, and I hope you are able to come back to an event some day. I know your schedule is very busy, so I'm glad that we all got to see you at this one at the very least :>

 

Kongman - I didn't really know a whole lot about you heading into the event, but when I met you I just got this warm aura from you, very welcoming and super generous, so glad you showed up bro. Thank you for the super generous gift, I cannot wait to try it out.

 

Kaspi - Didn't get to hang out with you too much this event, but your presence was always felt :). It was nice to have a fellow Scandinavian with me there so I didn't feel completely stranded. Your fits were always fire, we'll link up again at ESA winter!

 

Joester - It sounds corny but thank you for just being Mr. Ol' reliable. You're always helpful towards others, you know how to have a good time, you appreciate good food, good sports, you'll gladly drive people. And T/O'ing for the mystery tournament with you, Cane, Caveman and DB was an amazing time. I'll get you back!.. When it's not Frogger.. Can't wait to see you again man, I wanna get into football more so I can watch a proper game with you and understand everything

 

Wed - Always great to see you again Wed, After my run, I honestly feel like you said the most relatable sentence of them all, and it was "It was honestly just funny that you got rolled." And it's just true

 

Jazz - Never change bro, you're just a vault of random quotables. But stick to your word! I remember, I wanna see some All Flies Low Collectables

 

Aslov - Can you stop being so smart, handsome and charming literally all the time? Leave some for the rest of us bro lmao - For real though, it was nice to meet you again, I'm glad you got warmed up at the Oceanside meet and now that you've come to a real big speedrun event you had a wonderful time. Hope to see you again goat

 

Mohaf - ALWAYS trust the local 🙏 - Thanks for showing us all the great places my guy. You're super respectful, was nice to get to talk to you a bit at Noodlehead at the end :)

 

Potty - Honestly dude you're such a good speedrunner man. People don't appreciate the practice and patience it takes to get as good as you are at Crash. The time you got was incredible, and I'm glad we got to hang a bit in the practice room and at the waffle place. Hope to see you again

 

Bin - It brings me so much joy to see that you had such a life changing first event. I knew you'd fit in right away and just have fun with the whole gang. So many fun moments together, hope you are able to translate this moment into some fire and drive into your life. It honestly feels surreal that you're telling me I'm a big inspiration to you. Thanks for that, I just try to be myself, and if that inspires you then I'll just keep being me.

 

Xyphles - I feel like you really got the whole experience man. You were on the GDQ stage multiple times for running, commentary, taking part in a relay, you were in the tournaments, yea again I'm just stoked you had a great time. The final hotbox sesh was extremely fire and the monsters inc movie night was total madness LMAO, you're a real one man, keep hustlin out there, we all love what you do and wanna see you succeed.

 

bigCHICKENATOR - I will keep saying this till I die. The world would be a better place if we had more people like bigCHICKENATOR! It's hard to put into words how special of a person you are to all of us. I can't think of a sweeter person than you. You're funny, you have a great laugh, nice hugs you brighten everyone's day with all of it! :) Your spontaneous chaotic side is fun too 😈 - I hope you had a safe trip home, we both had long ways to get back but I know I would make the trip back in a heartbeat cause the week was so special, and you played a huge part in all of that.

 

Symphony - Didn't get to talk to you too much, but it seemed like you enjoyed your first event! It was nice to have you for cards against humanity

 

Padges & Swift - Really only got to know you guys by invading your room LOL, but you two were super nice and down to earth. I heard about you two from previous GDQ attendees so I'm glad I finally got to meet you both! Padges, you being so good at cards against humanity will forever blow my mind

 

June - It was super nice to talk about random passions with you at various restaurants. I feel like you really got me in my yap zone, was super nice meeting you!

 

Nick Astalos - Nick you had the most cozy friendly aura out of anyone at the event, I think a part of it was your absolutely fire outfits that gave me a ✌️ peace & love ✌️ kinda vibe. It was nice to hang out with you, I'm glad you came to the event, I need to come to your stream more in general. Hope to see you in the future

 

TJ - WELP you got your smoke sesh with me KEKW - It was awesome meeting you TJ, you're such an all around great dude. Hope you got home safe and sound and I hope I get to see you again bro

Syn - Bro you have to be the most chaotic guy I know LMAO. Somehow you look like the most normal dude but is easily the craziest drinker at the event, but you're also super supportive of other peoples runs, always showing up to support, you're a super goated runner yourself, ALL in one big package. You always got some cool ass stories to tell, overall it was nice to hang out with you on the final day bro, hope to see you at a future event, but take care of yourself man! Your body is gonna hate you if you go too ham

 

Cane - Much like Joester, I just respect how down to earth you are Cane, it's nice to see someone who just genuinely enjoys the simple parts of life. Like Simple 1500! I gotta play more of those games that you got hahaha - The mystery tournament was fire, congrats on the big run through the bracket and TO'ing with you was great

 

Anne_chovy - Glad you could come to the event anne! I only saw you at a few events like the pool, gym, or cards against humanity, but you always bring a whimsical vibe to everything you attend. Glad you could attend, but submit vortex next time, I have a good feeling they want it in :)

 

Mio - Always good to see you again Mio, I feel like you're extremely good at explaining *very* american things to my european brain without being judgmental about it and I really appreciate you for that. Glad to see you still attending these, I remember how hooked you were for ESA. Btw remember how you gave me seven american dollars? I gave 6 of those to skitz and kept the last one as a souvenir

 

Novaspell - I'm so glad you had a great time at the event Nova!! I dunno if Anne and Mio dragged you or what but it was super nice to see you, glad we got a photo in at the end, and holy f r i q u e you're tall..

 

Blake - So nice to finally meet you Blake, I feel like you've been going to GDQ for ages and you've just always been at the ones I HAVEN'T been to. But things finally lined up, it was nice to see you

 

Kylie - Having cool introspective conversations with you this event was not on my bingo card but an extremely welcome one. Was cool how many smaller events this GDQ we both ended up being at. I loved nerding about videos with you too, hope I get to see you again sometime, and thanks for the kind message you sent me!

 

Bdud - Glad we got to talk a little bit at the pizza place at the very least Bdud, you've inspired me to try some newer games instead of being so stuck in my ways hahaha. You're such a pure, nice guy at heart man. That's hard to come by these days, keep being you bro

 

Barg - BARELY got to see you this time around bro, at least we got to chill a bit at Oceanside but man I could have used a few talks with you this event, next time my guy

 

Dylan - First things first man, incredible showcase for Spyro 2. You're honestly one of the very best showman we have in the Nation, and it just keeps improving every time you're on a big stage. You're full of heart, you love the community and speedrunning, and I can see that in your eyes. To the point where I can even see that sometimes you wish you could do more. Your love for this hobby transcends many others, love you big dog

 

MrZachguy - I'm not sure how long you were around for Zach, but it was nice to meet another Jak runner I had never met before, would be cool to have you come back so we can talk a bit more :)

 

Sadge Bean & Chloe - I'm so glad you two could make it to this event, it's been LONG overdue and boy did you pick a good one. Great run on the stage Sadge, I had to get up early for it. I'm glad I can inspire you, and I love that you both watch my videos together and such, it's super sweet :D. Hope you both come back, with or without me, the event is better with you two there

 

WiiSuper - Another bingo square I never expected, talking about speedrunning and content with THE WiiSuper. It was awesome honestly, you seem very confident in your direction and career and in the moves you're making to try to grow your channel. Hope we can have another convo at a future event

 

Whit - Was nice to see you again even though we just saw each other at ASM. You're so generous with the support you show to the nation and the charity man, thanks for everything you do

 

Chaimy - Oh shy chaimy. It was fun to meet you! I know things can get a bit much but we honestly love having you around. I hope I get to see you at another event. Also your outfits are super cute!

 

Bytez - Didn't really know you super well heading into the event, but you seem super down to earth. Your commentary for Xyphles run was really informative and chill, great job on that, let's talk some more next event for sure

 

Fuzion - Fuzion my fuckin yappin son of a mafioso boss, it was SO nice to meet you and to hear how hooked you were on the whole culture. Already day 1 of being at GDQ you're like "oh i gotta go to ESA." And yes you have to! ESA Summer is about to be STACCED, and you don't wanna miss it. Much love man, keep working on your mods and improving your times, you're going somewhere bro

 

Dayo - With every event that goes by you just seem to be more and more in your element and I love to see it man, because we love seeing you at the event too. Kickin it with you in the arcade was fun, a shame you had to leave early but I get it man. At least I got to meet you again :) - I'll definitely see you at a future event my guy

 

yopie - Was good to see you again bro, thanks for the THTD card as well! I actually have Megamorph as well in my collection, so i can finally combine both B)

 

MGSC - My fuckin dog. TCB pulled up big time this event. It was so fucking good to see you man, you get funnier and funnier every time I see you man. Was nice to hear some updates on your life, and watching Monster's Inc was the funniest shit ever man

 

McHooper - Glad you showed up man, to me it seemed like you were going through a lot of the first event emotions, just the disbelief that everyone is real and that everyone really there. It's magical and it was cool to see you live in it. Hope you enjoyed your time and wanna come back again!

 

Jhay & Nukie - Basically didn't talk to you guys this event at all, but you guys are always at ESA so i'm sure we'll catch up :D

 

I WILL BE GOING TO ESA WINTER 2026 AND ESA SUMMER 2026, IF ANYONES GOING CYA THERE - ALSO IF I MISSED ANYONE IM SO SORRY