Chinese Overwatch League teams Hangzhou Spark, Chengdu Hunters, Guangzhou Charge, and Shanghai Dragons are boycotting South Korean team Seoul Dynasty, especially Park Jong Ryol, who drew their ire in April when he criticized Chinese censorship in a Twitch live stream." End boycott of "Sebyolbe" players.

A video of Park's comments was shared on Twitter by Overwatch esports commentator Gatamchun, who also provided an English translation.

"You can't call Taiwan Taiwan," he said, "it's not a separate country. Taiwan is not a separate country," he said of the limitations he faces while streaming in China. 'Hong Kong is not a country either. Hong Kong is not a country either. You can't call it Taiwan or Hong Kong. At all. They don't recognize them as a country. I got in so much trouble for saying their names."

"So I was sad. That's why I was sad. What are you saying, 'One China'? So I was against it, but all the managers said, 'If you want to make money in China, be a dog of China.'"

Park issued an apology a few days later for his "inappropriate remarks," but it wasn't enough to calm things down. Earlier this week, Dragons general manager Yang Bang refused to apologize in a message on Weibo, stating (via Google Translate) that "a total boycott against the players will continue because they do not deserve recognition and acceptance." Representatives of other teams expressed similar sentiments in their respective posts.

This was obviously a big problem for the league. The Chinese team's boycott was technically only against Park, but unless Dynasty benched him in the rivalry (which seems unlikely), it was effectively against the entire team. And Blizzard, for obvious reasons, would be very reluctant to risk offending Chinese fans by forcing the team to play.

Fortunately for all involved, this issue has now been resolved. A spokesman for the league said in a statement, "The Overwatch League is a global community, made stronger by the diverse backgrounds and perspectives of our players and fans."

"We have discussed this matter with all teams involved and the lessons learned from it. In the spirit of sportsmanship, the teams have agreed to resume normal activities with each other in order to continue to provide great matches for fans around the world."

"We are pleased to announce that we will be resuming our normal activities in China," the league said in a statement.

Four Chinese teams also issued similar, identical statements.

"Our teams are very concerned about the outcry from our community and among our fans and respect the many sentiments raised by the previously expressed team views.

"With the active involvement of the Overwatch League and the cooperation of all teams involved, we have had numerous discussions recently and have finally reached an agreement on this matter. Meanwhile, all teams agree that providing the best possible competition for fans around the world is a top priority. We look forward to resuming our normal activities with each other, based on mutual respect and solidarity, and making our fans proud in the upcoming tournaments.

Soul Dynasty issued a similar, but more succinct statement:

"Our team cares deeply about our fans and community. We respect the many emotions that have resulted from recent issues. In the spirit of fostering healing, deepening our understanding of one another, and delivering a great game to our fans around the world, all of our teams look forward to resuming normal activities and making you proud at our next game."

Park has yet to comment personally on the matter.

Park is the second Blizzard esports player to cause major controversy with comments about China: in 2019, Hearthstone Grandmaster Chung 'blitzchung' Ng Wai, a Hong Kong protester, wore masks and goggles similar to those worn by protesters, and caused an international stir when he said, "Liberate Hong Kong, it's the revolution of our time." "In this case, Blizzard immediately suspended him and also suspended the two Taiwanese broadcasters he was talking to. Their response to this situation may suggest that they have learned a thing or two from this one incident.

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