Team Hong Kong confirmed to attend Overwatch World Cup

Olivia Richman Published 15/10/2019

Much to the gaming community’s surprise, Team Hong Kong has confirmed that they’ll be competing at the Overwatch World Cup.

Tension has been rising between gamers and Blizzard after the Overwatch developer banned Chung “blitzchung” Ng Wai from Hearthstone Grandmasters competitions for making a pro-Hong Kong statement during a post-match interview. Many have been calling Blizzard out for what they feel is unfair censorship and their punishing freedom of speech. 

It seems as though Team Hong Kong was feeling that rising tension themselves. The team released a statement regarding their decision to play at the Blizzard-sponsored tournament, explaining that the last few months were very challening for the team and they found it hard to stay focused after the company’s reaction to blitzchung’s statement. 

But after some deep discussion with the players, the Fire Dragons felt this was a chance to show Hong Kong’s “spirit and values” on Blizzard’s global stage, and that it was a valuable opportunity they couldn’t miss.

“While it could be more comfortable for us to shy away from this event, we believe it is more important now than ever to ensure that everyone sees the faces of players on our team; the faces of Hong Kong people proud of representing their community,” Team Hong Kong said.

Team Hong Kong heads for BlizzCon amid controversy

The press release went on to thank the team’s staff, who continued to work despite the understandably stressful circumstances. They also took time to thank the Overwatch community for their support from all over the world. 

“Your support has enabled us to travel without burden and we are incredibly thankful for it. Your support has helped us muster the courage to take on this journey,” the letter continued. “As they say in Overwatch, ‘the world could always use more heroes.’ Thank you for answering the call and standing with us.” 

The Overwatch World Cup will be taking place on November 5 at BlizzCon, where a number of gamers are staging a protest in support of Hong Kong. 

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

View full profile

Read Also

Twitch

Twitch Is Testing An AI Stream Coach — Here’s How It Works Khizar Mundia Amazon-backed livestreaming platform Twitch is testing a new feature that will act as an AI coach for streamers, giving them personalized feedback to improve. Twitch has been playing around with several experimental features to improve things for its users. One of these includes auto clips, which was a feature that would automatically generate clips from the best moments of a stream. Another is AI-generated summaries of what happened in a ...

Twitch

Kai Cenat Talks Streamer University, Vivet, and Streaming Future Khizar Mundia Kai Cenat recently sat down with The New York Times for an interview. In a wide-ranging discussion, the Twitch streamer talked about what he looks for in Streamer University participants, and also delved into both his Vivet brand, as well as what the future holds. Kai Cenat may have gone on a break following his massively successful Mafiathon 3, but the creator returned with with a bang in Streamer University ...

League of Legends

Riot Games eyes Polymarket and Kalshi for esports sponsorships Michael Hassall Riot Games, the creator of League of Legends and VALORANT is reportedly exploring the protentional of sponsorship deals with prediction market operators including Polymarket and Kalshi, as per reports emerging late last night (Sep. 10). First reported by Cecilia D’Anastasio of Bloomberg, Riot has started conversations with the two top prediction market operators, Kalshi and Polymarket, with a view to one or both of them becoming sponsors within Riot Games’ ...

Slots

This Is How Gates of Olympus 2500 Builds On The Iconic Series Ian John Since the first Gates of Olympus slot hit casinos in 2021, the series has evolved into one of the most recognisable in the Pragmatic Play stable. The combination of scatter wins, tumbling symbols and dramatic multipliers has established a formula that has been followed in a number of sequels and spin-offs. The latest in that series is the Gates of Olympus 2500 slot, but this game takes a slightly more ...

Dota 2

ESIC hand down ruling in EWC Dota match-fixing case: Lifetime ban for coach as DarkMago gets a nickel Michael Hassall South American Dota 2 player Gonzalo "DarkMago" Herrera will be banned for five years from competitive Dota 2, with his coach Juan "Vintage" Angulo banned permanently, following the results of an The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) investigation. ESIC handed down the findings and rulings from its investigation into match-fixing allegations leveled at members of South American Dota 2 team PlayTime during the Esports World Cup on Sep. 10, in a ...

News

Rams vs 49ers Preview — Who Will Win? Zachary Roberts The Los Angeles Rams open the season as Super Bowl favorites. Their first test? The division rival San Francisco 49ers. This game obviously has huge implications in what was the strongest division in football last year, sending three teams with 12 wins to the playoffs and hosting both NFC finalists. So, who's going to win? The Rams and 49ers face off tonight in the second game of the NFL season. ...

Twitch

iShowSpeed Livestreams Apple Keynote and Meets New CEO John Ternus Khizar Mundia Darren “iShowSpeed” Watkins Jr. became one of the first non-tech streamers to livestream an Apple event, appearing alongside the company's CEO at the keynote despite initial speculation from fans that he was using a green screen instead of physically being there. Speed has consistently blurred the lines between a streamer and mainstream celebrity in 2026. He collaborated with FIFA on a game and then performed at the World Cup closing ...