The Hearthstone player who was suspended from competing in professional tournaments after voicing support for Hong Kong protesters has released a statement regarding the situation.
Player Ng “Blitzchung” Wai Chung was punished after he said “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our age,” in Chinese during a post-game match last week. The two broadcasters who interviewed him hid under their desks to avoid being associated with his remarks, but were also fired by Blizzard Entertainment, which makes Hearthstone. Blitzchung was suspended from tournaments for a full year and his prize money was negated. Late Friday night, however, after an intense backlash, Blizzard partially reversed course by limiting Blitzchung’s suspension to six months and awarding him his prize money. The company also agreed to a six-month suspension for the two interviewers.
Now Blitzchung has released his own statement regarding the situation and Blizzard’s response. In a statement written in Chinese and in English, Blitzchung said he was “grateful for Blizzard reconsidering their position about my ban.”
“Earlier this week, I told media that I knew I might have penalty or consequence for my act, because I understand that my act could take the conversation away from the purpose of the event. In the future, I will be more careful on that and express my opinions or show my support to Hong Kong on my personal platforms,” he wrote.
He added that he “really appreciate[s]” Blizzard reinstating his prize money since he played fairly in the tournament and his comments were unrelated to his actual match.
“People from Blizzard had explained this to me through a phone call and I really appreciate that and I accept their decision on this part,” Blitzchung wrote.
He also wrote that he appreciated Blizzard’s “reconsideration” on his suspension.
“To be honest, I think six months is still quite a lot to me. But I also [am] being told that I can continue to compete in the hearthstone pro circuit which they mean the grandmaster tournament. I appreciate for [sic] this decision they made because grandmaster is currently the highest level tournament in competitive hearthstone,” he wrote.
He also said he wished Blizzard would reconsider “their penalty on the two casters involved.”
Blitzchung then addressed questions about whether he would continue competing in Hearthstone tournaments.
“Honestly, I have no idea on that yet,” he wrote. “Since my next tournament is very likely to be the grandmaster tournament of next season, it’s probably at least a few months from now on. I will take this time to relax myself to decide if I am staying in competitive hearthstone scene or not.”
He closed by saying that Hearthstone had changed “the way I live” and that he really loves the community.
While Blitzchung may have accepted his punishment, critics are still angered by Blizzard’s swift action against the player. The company released a lengthy statement from President J. Allen Brack announcing the lightened punishment for Blitzchung that said the company strongly encourages “everyone in our community to share their viewpoints in the many places available to express themselves.” Those places do not, however, include the official broadcast of the tournament because the company wants “to keep the official channels focused on the game.”