The LoL Worlds are currently taking place. However, it seems that the casters are no longer allowed to say the word “Hong Kong.” An official statement from Riot Games admits to mistakes, stating that while they did not prohibit the word, the League of Legends casters were not sufficiently prepared for the difficult situation.
This is the incident: The casters and analysts at the LoL Worlds no longer say the word “Hong Kong.” However, one team is named “Hong Kong Attitude” – their name has consistently been shortened to “HKA.” The names of all other teams are fully pronounced.
There are even some instances where casters first say “Hong Kong,” but then correct themselves and turn it into an “HK.”
For someone who doesn’t know what’s happening pic.twitter.com/1j10cjHiOh
— 滝沢ガレソ (@takigare) October 10, 2019
Strange behavior of the casters leads to censorship suspicion
How players react: This has caught the attention of many users on reddit. They considered it censorship and thought the Chinese from Tencent were behind it: The huge Chinese corporation owns Riot Games.
The politically tense situation between China and Hong Kong leads to the theory that Riot does not want anyone to say “Hong Kong” in a livestream to avoid angering the Chinese.
Additionally, interviews are not live but pre-recorded. Apparently, Riot Games wants to be able to cut out things that might go off the rails and upset the Chinese.
Riot admits mistakes – Confirms that interviews are not live
This is what Riot says now: The Communications Lead of Riot Games, Ryan Rigney, has addressed the allegations in a series of tweets:
- No caster has been forbidden to say “Hong Kong” – on the contrary, they want all teams to be called by their full name. They do that on their own channels as well.
- Apparently, there was confusion among the casters, who then abbreviated the word “Hong Kong” themselves – but that is not their fault, but Riot’s.
- Riot Games failed to give the casters clear internal instructions on how to deal with the highly sensitive situation – now they want to discuss this with them.
- A large part of the interviews are pre-recorded – in some cases, this is indeed due to the need to watch out for content (as in this case). In other cases, it’s simply more convenient.
“Blink twice if you want us to send you help”
How players react: It is mixed.
- Some people do not believe Riot. They think this statement is just damage control. There are many remarks like, “Blink twice if you want us to send you help.”
- Others can understand Riot’s reasoning. The casters may have confused themselves. In any case, this is a response from Riot that can be dealt with, unlike the responses Blizzard is currently providing.
