Immortals joins other esports orgs, postpones game in protest

Immortals has postponed its match in FLASHPOINT’s Pop Flash series to bring awareness to protests against racial injustice, according to a tweet from the organization’s official Twitter account.

The Immortals organization followed up the announcement encouraging its employees to use the time during which the match would have taken place to consider the country’s ongoing discussions around racial injustice and inequality. Immortals’ match in the tournament will instead take place one day later than was scheduled.

“Instead of watching today’s match, we are encouraging Immortals staff and our fans to reflect on how we can all make our communities more inclusive and equal,” Immortals said.

In addition to the postponement, the organization pledged to try to have all Immortals employees registered to vote. It concluded the announcement by encouraging Immortals’ followers to register to vote as well.

The Immortals’ announcement came just a day after Chaos Esports Club postponed its ESL One Cologne semifinal Counter-Strike: Global Offensive matchup for similar reasons. That match was played the next day, with Chaos being swept 2-0 by Team Liquid.

Esports’ organization’s attempts to bring social justice issues to the forefront followed the holdout that took place in the NBA playoffs earlier in the week. Pro basketball players refused to take to the court after the shooting of an unarmed black man Jacob Blake in Wisconsin. Since then, several esports organizations have postponed their games in solidarity, including Chaos, Team Liquid, and now Immortals.