'Smite' pro David 'Allied' Hance dies after year-long fight with cancer
Professional Smite player and caster David "Allied" Hance died Wednesday after a fight with cancer that lasted over a year.
Hance's friend and manager LeafreTV announced his passing in a Reddit post Wednesday.
"I was one of the only people to visit him in the hospital so I have seen his pain, his scars (his entire stomach was messed up due to constant surgeries), how he had to walk with a cane in his 20s," LeafreTV wrote. "He didn't deserve to go through all that pain, to constantly be depressed. Even though he was one of the strongest guys out there, I'm glad he's no longer in pain."
Hance's sister Devin shared some photos of the two of them over the years.
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An active member of the Smite scene, Hance played under Luminosity Gaming, CompLexity Gaming, and Team EnVyUs. He casted events under Hi-Rez Studios (the team that developed Smite), and streamed regularly. Before getting into Smite, Hance was also a competitive player in the Super Smash Bros. Brawl scene.
After Hance first announced that he had cancer last April, Hi-Rez Studios created an Allied Strong avatar in Smite (which is back today) and hosted a charity stream that brought in over $100,000 in donations. Luminosity Gaming is currently selling Hance's jersey with all proceeds going to the Cancer Research Institution.
Fellow players, friends, family, admirers, and more have paid tribute to Hance online over the past couple days following Hance's announcement that he was signing a do not resuscitate.
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People in the Smite community said that he was an inspiration to them. Hance was a pillar in the community and touched a lot of people's lives.
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Reddit user OhHighDro said his appearance at the Spring Fling charity stream despite his illness was something that really stuck with them.
"His appearance at Spring Fling meant so much," they said. "I said it before but you could tell he wasn't comfortable. He could've been relaxing at home and recovering but instead he showed up to be a part of a charity that helped him out when he needed it. That really impressed me."
Some even shared gameplay highlights, remembering just how good Hance was at Smite.
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Creators of Smite offered their condolences as well.
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Members of the Super Smash Bros. community paid their tributes to Hance on Twitter and Reddit. Hance made an impact on the scene that is still remembered years after he last competed.
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Hance was 25.
