Hong Kong-based Ng “Blitzchung” Wai-chung said, “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times,” a well-known pro-democracy chant, during a weekend stream of the Asia-Pacific Grandmasters tournament. Blizzard Entertainment, which hosts the competition, suspended him until next October 5 without any prize money, saying he had violated its rules. “I expected this to happen and I respect Blizzard’s decision,” Ng said in response, though he found it unfair. (Hong Kong Free Press)

Talking point: According to its rule book, anything that “brings [players] into public disrepute, offends a portion or group of the public, or otherwise damage’s Blizzard [sic] image” is against the company’s guidelines. In this case, offending China represents a tremendous loss for the firm. The Chinese giant Tencent owns a five per cent stake in its parent company Activision Blizzard, and about 12 per cent of its second-quarter revenue came from the Asia-Pacific region. In addition, the e-sports market in China is expected to reach US$1.9 billion this year, according to Tencent’s Penguin Intelligence. The news comes as the NBA faces continued fallout after Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted in support of the Hong Kong protests. On Monday, league commissioner Adam Silver said Morey “was supported” in his “freedom of expression.” In response, China said it won’t show preseason games played in the country.