In a statement on his blog, Brian Kibler has announced that he will no longer be casting the Hearthstone Grandmasters finals at this year's BlizzCon.
After Blizzard banned Blitzchung from Grandmasters and removed his prize earnings for a political statement made on the weekend during Grandmasters, Brian Kibler has dropped out of casting the grand finals. He states he is no longer comfortable casting the event and will not be casting Grandmasters in the future unless something changes.
This high-profile disagreement comes after American University held up a "Free Hong Kong" sign during the Hearthstone Collegiate tournament, resulting in disabled cameras for the rest of the matches (stream clip), and someone at Blizzard covered up the "Think Globally" and "Every Voice Matters" portions of the Orc Statue on Blizzard's Irvine Campus.
Read on for the relevant part of Brian's statement, with the full text available here.
Quote From Brian Kibler I won’t pretend to understand either the intricacies of the geopolitical situation in China and Hong Kong or the full extent of Blizzard’s business interests there, but to me this penalty feels like it is deeply rooted in both. The heavy-handedness of it feels like someone insisted that Blizzard make an example of Blitzchung, not only to discourage others from similar acts in the future but also to appease those upset by the outburst itself.
That kind of appeasement is simply not something I can in good conscience be associated with. When I learned about the ruling, I reached out to Blizzard and informed them that I no longer feel comfortable casting the Grandmasters finals at BlizzCon. I will not be a smiling face on camera that tacitly endorses this decision. Unless something changes, I will have no involvement in Grandmasters moving forward.
However, I want to make clear that not everyone involved in GM has this luxury. Do not take your anger out on the other casters, or streamers, or employees of Blizzard. This is not the kind of decision that comes from the rank and file. Most likely they’re just as angry as you are. I know I am.
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Comments
I’m decently sure they did that because after they lost that match they were effectively out of the tournament. Realistiliy you need about 5-2 record to move on from the Swiss tournament stage that is being streamed weekly now. I’m just hoping this dose not affect any future Tespa streams.
As a college student currently competing in this tournament, when we were streamed last week, it truly was an amazing experience getting to talk to the casters about our play style and strategy. It really upsets me that teams yesterday did not even get an interview or even get to see their face after that first match. I had family watch when we were streamed, watching because they knew I would be on stream that day, and it was a fun experience for me and them. By removing cams, they are effective digging even deeper into the problem, and it really frustrates me knowing that the players effectively were not recognized for their wins because blizzard can’t let anyone speak anymore it seems.
I love hearthstone as a game, and I appreciate the passion and work the hearthstone team has done to improve the game recently with events and free cards, but blizzard just had to throw it all away. I really hope they can fix this because I just want to be able to enjoy a game not having to feel bad about the company that funded it
Good to hear that news!
I mean, I play HS from open beta, spend much money on this game, like many people here, but believe me, if this will happen again and nothing change I believe we all find other source of entertainment. Me, for example, probably finally learn how to play MtG.
Brian Kibler...
The hero we needed.
Yes, that’s what we needed. Writing angry posts in forums is nice, but we need people who stand up and do something about this situation. I always liked Kibler, I like him even more now.
Good on you Kibler
The last paragraph is just so well put. Hopefully people have the attention span to read through to the end and follow that advice.
Kudos to Brian for taking a stand against Blizzard. They made a poor choice in siding with China profits over players.
I wasn't expecting less from Kibler to be honest, and he will not be the only one with this decision.
I'm sure this is just the begin of a very bad time for blizzard.
I highly respect Mr. Kibler for that decision.
Nothing more to add from my side.
first steps taken. many HS streamers should try to play other games as well and see if they can make a living with other games. i know it must be hard for some, cause not everyone can be like Toast and just quit and still be able to pull massive numbers.
Blizzard might be going down a path that isnt reversable and mainly HS will be the first casualty as i forsee many players dropping the game UNLESS Blizzard retracts or makes a the bans softer.
I mean the casters being banned as well is crazy and way to extremist even if u pull the "oh we dont deal with politics so our player was banned" SO WHAT DO THE CASTERS HAVE TO DO WITH THE PLAYER PROTEST?
Well, watching the video, I'd say they knew what was going to happen. And allowed it to happen.
I support any people who want to be free. The Catalans from Spain. The people of Hong Kong from China. The British from the EU. Heck, I want my own province of Brabant to be free from the tyranny of the Dutch government.
But Blizzard was damaged by abusing this interview for a political statement (either fans are angry or Chinese investors are). And the GM rules are clear; the ban is justified. Their hand was forced by Blitzchung, and they had no choice but to penalize him.
I respect Kibbler's choice, but I fear it won't contribute to the freedom of the people in Hong Kong.
Ppl never said that they shouldnt be punished. There are rules but there are fitting punishments too. This wasnt a fitting punishment which was clearly a move to apease china and not to apply the rules pre established. The caster banned for life even at OW. Thats not how a free and democratic country works let alone an american company like Blizzard known for their motto of freedom.
Good God... They did it twice.
Kibler is right, though. Most casters, streamers and probably even Blizzard employees are innocent (and this comes from a guy who loved to hate on Blizzard for the majority of 2018). There was a thread on reddit about demanding your personal information from Blizzard to overload them and give them expenses as protest, but I think that will just make some grunt's life miserable.
Personally, I think voting with your wallets is the way to go. Or with your time if your wallet is already not spent in HS.
Even if some cynics disagree, public shaming is also quite effective (the company, not the devs or streamers)
Good for him, and with him being the first to take this step I wonder how many others if any at all will also be stepping away.
I suspect we'll see some additional announcements from people. I half wouldn't be surprised at this point if one of the GM players pulls out just to really light up the fire under Blizzard.
I can't imagine we go much longer without some kind of statement from Blizzard. I'd hate to be in their PR department right now.
I'm waiting for someone prolific to start a boycott wave for the con. There's plenty of time for it to happen if Blizz refuses to reverse course.
BlizzCon is in 3 weeks. If they don't change their position, they'll have some very awkward moments there.
Awkward you say? They know we have phones ^^
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