There was an intense Call of Duty battle among FaZe influencers during Call of Duty League weekend in Atlanta, at the Scuf Gaming booth in the atrium of Gateway Center Arena. There was plenty of fun trash-talking and players popping off, and dozens watched. Team 1, which included one player not officially signed to FaZe Clan, wasn't doing so well in the early game. About midway through, Rand Smith was asked, "Why don't you switch up the teams?" Rand's response? "No way. ... I can't leave my team like that!"
Rand, a 16-year-old Calgary, Alberta, native, was in attendance thanks to the efforts of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Almost a year ago, Rand was diagnosed with a particularly rare form of lymphoma. The cancer had formed in the cells of the bones in his leg, as opposed to the lymph nodes. It was only the third such case recorded.
Rand is a typical teenager: He loves basketball and video games. Those are his two biggest passions.
"I play as much [video games] as I can," Rand said. "Fortnite, CS:GO, some Call of Duty, Apex Legends."
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It's not uncommon for his father, Dallas Smith, to check in on him and ask when he'll stop playing because he has been at it for five hours. Rand will respond with a puzzled, "What?" and go right back to playing.
Dallas, an oil and gas technology entrepreneur, is amazed by not only the amount of time his son plays games, but watches others play games online.
"I don't let him take his phone to his room at night anymore because he'd be up until 2, 3 a.m. watching Cizzorz stream," he said. "Otherwise, he won't get any sleep or schoolwork done."
Rand began experiencing pain in his left leg several years ago. Doctors were unable to determine the cause. Rand continued playing on his high school basketball team as much as he could, until the pain became so severe that it cut down his playing time considerably and left him unable to join the team this season. Cancer was discovered and his first session of chemotherapy flushed it out.
"All the pain went away," his father said. "It was the first time in 2½ years that [Rand] had no pain."
Since then, Rand has been attending regular checkups -- every month at first, then every three months. In May, if his tests return negative, he will be considered a "survivor" and continue with checkups only once a year.
While in the hospital as Rand received treatments, the Smith family was approached by Make-A-Wish.
Since its inception in 1980, Make-A-Wish has granted almost 500,000 wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses around the world. The organization now has over 100 offices globally, with 60 chapters in the United States. For Rand's wish, there was coordination between the Southern Alberta chapter and the Georgia one, with FaZe hosting the Atlanta Call of Duty homestand.
"[Rand]'s first wish was to meet LeBron [James]," Dallas said.
Make-A-Wish explained that at the time, James was taking a break from these types of requests because of the sheer volume and his need to focus on the NBA season. The same response came back for Kyrie Irving, who had an injury and was adjusting to life on a new team.
Rand's next choice was an easy one: He wanted to meet Cizzorz, a prominent streamer for FaZe Clan.
FaZe Clan has honored around 20 Make-A-Wish requests in the past, including bringing wish kids, along with their friends and families, to the FaZe mansion in the Hollywood Hills for a day that includes a tour, games, meet-and-greets, lots of pizza and activities. One of the more recent days included a shopping spree at GameStop, for which participants were escorted to the video game retailer in luxury sports cars.
"We really try to make it an over-the-top experience [for the kids]," FaZe director of talent Vera Salamone said.
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FaZe currently has several other requests from Make-A-Wish that they are working on and plan to fulfill. Cizzorz is among the most requested influencers representing FaZe.
Rand was presented with options: wait and see when the next mansion tour could be organized, or travel to Atlanta for the Call of Duty League homestand, where Cizzorz was scheduled to appear. The decision was an easy one.
Rand, his sister Sophia and Dallas arrived in Atlanta last Friday. The next day, they spent a considerable amount of one-on-one time with Cizzorz, talking about gaming and life.
"This is what it's all about. I loved meeting Rand face to face. I love seeing his passion for games," Cizzorz said.
Cizzorz explained that he meets with wish kids about once every four months. He never thought that people would be requesting to meet him.
"Definitely when I was starting out, no," Cizzorz said. "I never thought I'd have this much of an impact. It's really heartwarming. I try and make sure that they have a fun experience. If I'm having fun, they are having fun. Hopefully I don't choke [this game]," he said with a laugh as he and Rand picked up controllers to play Call of Duty.
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Cizzorz said that he told Rand he wants to play games with him at a later date, perhaps even on his stream. Rand was thrilled at the prospect.
At the Scuf Gaming booth, other FaZe influencers joined in an impromptu FaZe CoD battle. Rand was front and center, at least for this moment an honorary member of FaZe Clan.
"Yeah, that was pretty up there in terms of highlights [of the entire weekend]," Rand said.
Dallas, a proud papa, watched from the sideline.
"Rand is a quiet kid. Not shy, quiet. The fact that he's talking about [this weekend], it's amazing, that's a big statement," he said. "He won't ever forget this."
For FaZe, who hosted two Make-A-Wish families during the Atlanta Call of Duty homestand weekend, it was a resounding success.
"I thank our talent every single time for doing this and taking it seriously, and they come back to me and say, 'No, thank YOU for organizing it and please book the next one as soon as you can,'" Salamone said. "It's just as exciting for them as it is for the kids. They get to give that to someone and it must feel awesome. To make someone that happy."