Collegiate Hearthstone Championship match ends with call to 'free Hong Kong, boycott Blizz'

(Image credit: YouTube: Hearthstone tournaments)

Following Blizzard's removal of Chung "blitzchung" Ng Wai from the Hearthstone Grandmasters, the company is feeling the heat. Backlash is rife, and the Blizzard subreddit was temporarily closed today due to an onslaught of negative feedback. In the lead up to BlizzCon, it's looking like the backlash won't slow down.

During a broadcast of an American Collegiate Hearthstone Championship match today between American University and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, the members of the former team held up a banner reading "Free Hong Kong, Boycott Blizz". The message didn't last long: the view changes quickly, the American University team is pulled, and the Worcester team is left to grin and bear it out.

You can check out the video below. It should auto-play at the right time, but if it doesn't, hit 51:30 and watch from there.

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.