Blitzchung Banned From Hearthstone By Blizzard Following Hong Kong Comments – NPR, Npr.org

      

   

Blizzard Entertainment, the game developer behind hugely popular titles such asWorld of WarcraftandOverwatch, has banned a professional esports player from competing and taken away his prize money after he expressed support for Hong Kong’s protest movement.

Ng Wai Chung, who lives in Hong Kong and plays under the nameBlitzchung, is one of the top players in the Asia-Pacific region for the online card deck gameHearthstone.

Blitzchung made the comment on an officialHearthstonebroadcast on Twitch, the video streaming platform, after his last game in the (Hearthstone Asia-Pacific Grandmasters Tournament)

Blitzchung wore a gas mask and dark goggles during thatinterviewlast Sunday, evoking the gear activists have worn during months of street protests. Toward the end of the segment, he shouted the popular protest chant, “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times!”

       

In anannouncementreleased Tuesday, Blizzard Entertainment said the player’s statement violated a tournament rule that prohibits any acts that “brings you into public disrepute, offends a portion or group of the public, or otherwise damages Blizzard image

Blitzchung, a Hong Kong native who started playing (Hearthstone) in 2015, was banned from participating in Blizzard esports for a year. He told several media outlets that his tournament winnings, said to be $ 10, 00 0, have been rescinded. Blizzard also announced they will no longer work with the two Taiwanese streamers who interviewed the esports player on Twitch.

After his punishment was announced, Blitzchungspoketo his fans on

“Today I lostHearthstone, it’s only a matter of four years, “he said, referring to his years playing the game. “But if Hong Kong lost, it’s a matter of a lifetime.”

The gaming community has largely denounced Blizzard’s actions, accusing the California company of caving in to China . Some of them also note that Tencent Holdings Limited, a Chinese conglomerate,ownsa 5% stake in Blizzard’s parent company.

       

Hearthstoneis not the only piece of pop culture embroiled in Chinese political controversy. Yesterday,South Parkwas scrubbed clean from Chinese internet after the episode “Band In China” criticized the communist government censors.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of the animated show, responded to the ban with afaux apology.

“Like the NBA, we welcome Chinese censors into our homes and into our hearts. We too love money more than freedom and democracy,” Parker and Stone wrote. “Xi doesn’t look just like Winnie the Pooh at all. Tune into our 300 th episode this Wednesday. Communist Party of China! May this autumn’s sorghum harvest be bountiful. “

       

Parker and Stone’s comment referred to yet another Hong Kong-related controversy, which surroundsDaryl Morey, the Houston Rockets’ general manager. Morey posted and quickly deleted a tweet supporting Hong Kong protesters, prompting the Chinese Basketball Association to announce it will suspend cooperation with the Rockets.

After the team’s owner and an NBA spokesman denounced Morey’s statement – prompting a separate backlash in the U.S. – the league’s commissioner clarified Tuesday thatthe NBA supports free speech.

As part of the fallout of that controversy, Tencent – which is a media partner of the NBA in China with a deal worth $ 1.5 billion – said they won’t be airing Rockets games.

NPR’s Jingnan Huocontributed to this report. Paolo Zialcita is an intern on NPR’s News Desk.