October 6
Original Post
This is disgraceful bullshit.
The casters are also fired.
- Inciting Incident:
- During a post-game interview, Hong Kong Hearthstone player blitzchung calls for the liberation of his country.
- Blitzchung shouted in Chinese: "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our age!"
- The casters interviewing him, not wanting to be associated with the statement made by Blitzchung, hid behind their desk.
- In immediate response, Blizzard scrubbed the entire day of VODs from their site.
- Blitzchung provided a comment to Inven Global, regarding his action on stream:
- "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."
- During a post-game interview, Hong Kong Hearthstone player blitzchung calls for the liberation of his country.
- Blizzard Punishes Blitzchung and Casters:
- Blizzard's response:
- Blizzard cites Official Competition Rules as justification:
- 2019 HEARTHSTONE® GRANDMASTERS OFFICIAL COMPETITION RULES v1.4 p.12, Section 6.1 (o)
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 will result in removal from Grandmasters and reduction of the player's prize total to $0 USD, in addition to other remedies which may be provided for under the Handbook and Blizzard's Website Terms.
- 2019 HEARTHSTONE® GRANDMASTERS OFFICIAL COMPETITION RULES v1.4 p.12, Section 6.1 (o)
- Blizzard disables comments for the news post.
- Blizzard does not have a record of disabling comments with any other news posts.
- Community / Social Media Response:
- On Twitter, Blizzard is a top trending topic worldwide with over 200,000 posts. Many posts are stark criticisms.
- #BlizzardBoycott is a Top 10 trending hashtag within the United States.
- /r/worldnews post reaches the top of /r/all (with 53,000+ upvotes), before subreddit moderators delete the post.
- /r/hearthstone responds vehemently(52,000+ upvotes in primary thread).
- The Subreddit as a whole strongly denounces Blizzard's actions throughout the day. The vast majority of upvoted posts are strong criticisms of Blizzard and announcements to cease using Blizzard products.
- /r/hongkong calls for playersto stop buying Blizzard products (38,000+ upvotes)
- Pro Hong Kong Mei Memes are born (47,000+ upvotes).
- /r/overwatch reacts (39,000+ upvotes).
- /r/wow reacts (19,000+ upvotes).
- /r/classicwow reacts (84,000+ upvotes).
- /r/diablo reacts (4,000+ upvotes).
- /r/blizzard temporarily shuts down due to backlash.
- Mods later reopen the subreddit and explain why the subreddit closed (0 upvotes).
- On Twitter, Blizzard is a top trending topic worldwide with over 200,000 posts. Many posts are stark criticisms.
- American Political Response:
- "Blizzard shows it is willing to humiliate itself to please the Chinese Communist Party," Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) said. "No American company should censor calls for freedom to make a quick buck."
- "Recognize what's happening here. People who don't live in China must either self censor or face dismissal & suspensions," Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) said in a tweet on Tuesday. "China using access to market as leverage to crush free speech globally. Implications of this will be felt long after everyone in U.S. politics today is gone."
- News / Media Coverage:
- Ars Technica: Blizzard bans pro Hearthstone gamer for statement supporting Hong Kong
- Bloomberg: Gamers Call for Boycott of Blizzard After Hong Kong Protest Ban
- CBS News: Blizzard bans video game star after he supports Hong Kong protests
- CNBC: Blizzard strips pro gamer of tournament earnings after his support for Hong Kong protests
- CNET: Blizzard pulls Blitzchung from Hearthstone esports tournament over support for Hong Kong protests
- CNN: Esports player banned from tournament after calling for Hong Kong 'revolution'
- Los Angeles Times: This gamer's punishment over Hong Kong protest shows China's sway over U.S. companies
- NPR: Blizzard Entertainment Bans Esports Player After Pro-Hong Kong Comments
- Reuters: Hearthstone Player Suspended Over Hong Kong Comment
- The Verge: After Hearthstone player's ban, Blizzard is in hot water with lawmakers
- Vice: Blizzard's Hong Kong Screw-Up Is Officially an International Incident
- Several Blizzard Employees Express Dissatisfaction:
- Outside Blizzard HQ, both the "Think Globally" and "Every Voice Matters" company values are covered.
- Small scale "Umbrella"-style protest is held.
- Additional Official Hearthstone Stream Protest:
- At the end of a Tespa tournament match—a collegiate tournament trying to help students make a living from esports and bring them into the spotlight—the American University team holds up a sign reading: "Free Hong Kong, Boycott Blizz".
- Twitch Chat for the official Hearthstone channel is effectively taken over by calls to protest.
Original Post
This is disgraceful bullshit.
The casters are also fired.
Last edited:
