Hearthstone Grandmasters — Blitzchung ban causes controversy for Blizzard

Just 24 hours after Blitzchung made his comments following a Hearthstone Grandmasters win, Blizzard have moved to penalise the player.

These sanctions are final — Blitzchung will not receive any payout for his Grandmasters Season 2 matches, he won't participate in Season 3, and is now banned from Hearthstone competitions for a period of one year.

Similarly, Blizzard will no longer use the two casters involved in the stream. According to Chua Zhihong, "they encouraged Blitzchung to say what he said in Mandarin. They said, "say the words you plan to say, and then we cut the interview immediately. Then they hid under the desk."

This is a version of events to which Rod "Slasher" Breslau — a particularly well-informed esports consultant — does not agree. According to him, the casters were not aware of what was to be said.

What happened?

Events transpired during this weekend's Hearthstone Grandmasters play. We won't mention here the game or the matches we saw, but rather the last few seconds of Blitzchung's match.

He participated as usual in the post-game interview, except that it did not go as usual.

Wearing ski glasses and a gas mask, Blitzchung clearly evoked a slogan used by Hong Kong demonstrators.

As you can see in the screenshot above, the two casters hid behind their desks. The production team, taken aback, then cut the live feed to an advertisment, and then to the other matches.

The subject then ran rampant on Reddit, with the Twitch clip eventually being deleted — as was the VOD for the entire day of Grandmasters play.

Following events, Blitzchung offered a statement to Inven Global in which he referred to the interview.

As you know there are serious protests in my country now. My call on stream was just another form of participation of the protest that I wish to grab more attention. I put so much effort in that social movement in the past few months, that I sometimes couldn't focus on preparing my Grandmaster match. I know what my action on stream means. It could cause me lot of trouble, even my personal safety in real life. But I think it's my duty to say something about the issue.

Chung "blitzchung" Ng Wai on his post-match interview (Source)

Blizzard justified its decision to ban Blitzchung by highlighting following clause in the Grandmasters ruleset, and avoids taking any position on what was said by the player.

It is clearly specified that if one of the competitors discredits Blizzard by offending all or part of the public, or damages Blizzard's image in any way during an official stream, then he will be removed from the Grandmasters and his payout reduced to zero.

Not an isolated case

Many controversies are taking place in these troubled times for Hong Kong — something not lost on sports fans.

Daryl Morey — manager for Texas-based NBA organization Houston Rockets — provoked strong reactions in China a few days ago by publicly supporting Hong Kong's cause on Twitter.

This team is even more sensitive to the subject, since they had recruited Yao Ming as a pivot in 2002.

The Chinese market is fundamental to the NBA's financial health, and many players have expressed their passion for the Chinese public.

Despite this, some Chinese sponsors immediately announced that they were breaking their contracts with the Texans, and NBA match broadcasts have been suspended.

The Grandmasters Season 2 is now over, and the Playoffs will soon decide which players will qualify for Blizzcon! Wondering which players you should support? Well, you cand find the complete standings — just below.

Hearthstone Grandmasters Season 2 — Playoffs are coming!

The Grandmasters Season 2 is now over, and relegations are now confirmed! Playoffs start in a few days but only three players will qualify for Blizzcon 2019 — which?!