After Blizzard Entertainment’s punishment of Hearthstone player Chung “Blitzchung” Ng Wai who addressed the Hong Kong protests on stream, many former fans have started boycotting the company’s products. Most have been spamming the usual Hong Kong messages in the chat of various Twitch live streams. However, some of them are being unreasonable, and this is showcased in Brandon “Seagull” Larned’s recent live stream.
Seagull Charity live stream
Brandon “Seagull” Larned is a retired professional Overwatch player. He last competed under Overwatch League franchise Dallas Fuel during the inaugural season. On Oct. 11, the player started a charity stream as part of the Tip of the Hats event. While streaming, he happened to play Overwatch because he was a former professional player and enjoys playing the game. However, people came into the stream and left messages that didn’t seem reasonable. Many consisted of something around the fact that they would be unfollowing him because he was “supporting Blizzard” through his stream.
“I’m sorry, but you’re just f***ing crazy. I just feel so disgusted. I don’t want that in my stream, (so) I’m just going to ban you. Like this is about charity. No offense to the people who spam by the way. The people who spam, you guys can spam (and) I don’t give a sh*t. I just think it’s funny… I just like the banter,” said Seagull about the situation.
“But if you come in and you’re like ‘How dare you support Blizzard by running a charity stream for kids with cancer?’ it’s like it’s so weird to me — this has nothing to do with Blizzard. We’re just playing a game.” Seagull then stopped his stream after this unreasonable behavior by fans and proceeded to host the official stream with his Twitch account.
Blizzard boycotting
This same situation happened in Hearthstone streamer Amaz’s live stream. The player was playing a game of Hearthstone shortly after the Blizzard Entertainment ordeal and viewers asked similar questions. Amaz responded to this with a comparison to ramen. This example has the ramen creator as a sexual harasser to represent Blizzard. The Blizzard boycotters are then represented by protestors who go up to people eating ramen and ask these diners why they support him by consuming ramen.
This Tip of the Hats charity event originated from the Team Fortress 2 community and helps raise money for various causes. It has raised over $1 million for Children’s Oncology Services, Inc. In 2019, it has raised over $80,000 for Camp One Step, a nonprofit that helps children going through cancer treatment. While people protesting against Blizzard can choose to do so, they shouldn’t interfere with another person’s life simply because of their personal hobbies. What do you think about this situation? Let us know about your opinion, and keep up with Daily Esports for all of your Overwatch coverage.
