Blitzchung banned from Hearthstone esports, stripped of prize money after ‘liberate Hong Kong’ comments

Chung “Blitzchung” Ng Wai has been banned from Hearthstone esports for 12 months after he called for the liberation of his country during the Asia-Pacific Grandmasters broadcast over the weekend.

A report by Inven Global states that Blitzchung removed his mask before saying “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of the age,” during the post-match interview.

[BREAKING] Hong Kong Hearthstone player @blitzchungHS calls for liberation of his country in post-game interview:https://t.co/3AgQAaPioj

@Matthieist #Hearthstone pic.twitter.com/DnaMSEaM4g

— Inven Global (@InvenGlobal) October 6, 2019

Today, Blizzard released a statement on their website declaring that Blitzchung’s comments were a “competition rule violation,” and that “Effective immediately, Blitzchung is removed from Grandmasters and will receive no prizing for Grandmasters Season 2.”

The statement continued, “Additionally, Blitzchung is ineligible to participate in Hearthstone esports for 12 months beginning from Oct. 5th, 2019 and extending to Oct. 5th, 2020. the team will also immediately cease working with both casters.”

Blizzard declared that BIitzchung’s action violated the 2019 Hearthstone Grandmasters Official Competition Rules section 6.1 (o).