Kripparrian issues statement on Blizzard’s Hong Kong censorship

Octavian “Kripparrian” Morosan, a long-time Twitch streamer with 1.3 million followers, has released a statement regarding Blizzard’s punishment of a professional Hearthstone player for protest related to Hong Kong.

Chung Ng Wai, whose in-game name is Blitzchung, vocalized his support for pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong in a recent post-game interview. As a result he was banned, removed from Season 2 of Hearthstone’s Grandmasters series, and forced to forfeit any prize money earned this season.

Several people from around the esports and gaming communities have released statements, and Kripparrian has now chimed in with his own.

Kripparrian speaks against Blizzard, in favor of Hong Kong

He started by acknowledging that wading into such an issue was out of the norm for him.

“You know I generally don’t get into serious non-gaming issues on stream, YouTube, or socials. This isn’t because I don’t have opinions, it is because I try to create chill and entertaining content, and give you guys a place to relax and feel comfortable,” Kripparrian tweeted. “I want to be clear that I support those protesting in Hong Kong.”

He went on to say that, even though he hasn’t been involved with competitive Hearthstone for a few years, he knows the game is more than just its competitive community.
Part of his statement was a direct plea to Blizzard.

“I invite Blizzard to reconsider their position,” Kripparrian said. 

He went on to say that Blizzard is in the entertainment space and they want to keep anything that isn’t about Hearthstone out of their official broadcast, but he was clear on his stance and his call to action for the company whose games play a large role in his professional growth and popularity. 

“…the penalty on Blitzchung and the casters seems just too over the top. All of us who have spent the best part of our lives on Battle.net expect better from our Blizzard.”

While Kripparrian’s sentiment has been echoed by many in the community. Blizzard may not change course even though more high-profile streamers and content creators are speaking out in support of Blitzchung and the people of Hong Kong.