No regrets, says esports player banned for Hong Kong protest slogan

Hong Kong player Blitzchung banned for a year by Blizzard after wearing a gas mask to an interview following victory in Hearthstone Grandmasters

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Blitzchung wore a gas mask during the interview, commonly worn by Hong Kong protesters. (Picture: Twitter)

Josh Ye

Published: 10:15am, 9 Oct 2019Updated: 10:15am, 9 Oct 2019

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

Blitzchung knew he was taking a risk. He just didn’t know how much it would end up costing him.

The Hong Kong esports player, whose real name is Chung Ng Wai, was being interviewed on a live stream after winning a game at the Hearthstone Grandmasters. But he conducted the interview in a gas mask, often worn by protesters in Hong Kong. And if the symbolism wasn’t clear enough, he ended the interview by saying: “Liberate Hong Kong; revolution of our times!”

Blizzard acted swiftly. They removed him from the tournament, banned him from playing Hearthstone esports for a year, and stripped his prize money -- which he says totals US$10,000.

Blitzchung says the severity of the punishment means he’ll probably never play competitive Hearthstone again, ending his esports career at the age of 21. But he has no regrets.

“Personally, I don’t regret what I did,” the 21-year-old student told Abacus. “I understand why Blizzard would do that as it’s partially owned by Tencent. But I think its treatment has been unfair to me.”