Hearthstone fans rip gaming company for suspending pro player over support for Hong Kong


Gaming giant Blizzard Entertainment just suspended a professional Hearthstone player over his support for the Hong Kong protests, and fans are livid.
The video game developer announced Tuesday it was suspending Chung Ng Wai, known as Blitzchung, from its Asia-Pacific Grandmasters tournament after he voiced support for the pro-democracy Hong Kong protests in a recent post-game interview. The company cited competition rules prohibiting "engaging in any act that, in Blizzard’s sole discretion, brings you into public disrepute, offends a portion or group of the public, or otherwise damages Blizzard image."
Blitzchung is now banned from participating in Hearthstone e-sports for a year, with Blizzard also rescinding his prize money, Kotaku reports.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Hearthstone fans, it's safe to say, aren't happy, with the game's subreddit now consisting of thread after thread from users saying they're quitting in protest. "If you're still playing, then you're sending a message: 'I'm ok with this, multinationals should help china get away with violations of human rights,'" one user wrote. A gamer who said they've played Hearthstone since 2014 posted that they've now quit, ripping Blizzard as "embarrassing" and "spineless." Another user commented, "I feel sick for supporting censorship and autocracy."
This outrage extended to other games published by Blizzard, with one user posting on the Overwatch subreddit, "I'm deleting my account with hundreds of hours of Overwatch, Hearthstone, [World of Warcraft], Diablo and StarCraft. I encourage you guys to do the same."
This comes days after the NBA came under fire for distancing itself from the Houston Rockets' general manager after he supported the Hong Kong protests. South Park also found itself banned on the Chinese internet over an episode critical of China, though it's safe to say its creators went in the opposite direction of the NBA and Blizzard. In a fake apology, Trey Parker and Matt Stone sarcastically wrote that like the NBA, "we too love money more than freedom and democracy."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
July 26 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include Joe Biden's memoir, PBS funding, and an Obama-Trump comparison
-
5 low ratings cartoons about the Late Show cancellation
Cartoons Artists take on early warning signs, the Gen Z stare, and more
-
Connie Francis: Superstar of the early 1960s pop scene
In the Spotlight The 'Pretty Little Baby' and 'Stupid Cupid' singer has died aged 87
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliable
speed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutiny
Speed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress code
speed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirement
speed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement
-
Trump calls Amazon's Bezos over tariff display
Speed Read The president was not happy with reports that Amazon would list the added cost from tariffs alongside product prices