Ng Wai “blitzchung” Chung, the Hearthstone player who was banned from professional play for one year by Blizzard, has released a roughly translated statement regarding Blizzard’s decision to reduce his ban and reinstate his prize winnings. Chung thanked his fans for their support over the last week, and expressed gratitude towards Blizzard for its decision to reduce his punishment.

“For tournament prizing, I quoted what Blizzard said on the official website, they mention that I played fair in the tournament and they believe I should receive my prizing,” Chung wrote. “This is the part I really appreciate. Blizzard also said they understand for some this is not about the prize, but perhaps for others it is disrespectful to even discuss it. People from Blizzard had explained this to me through a phone call and I really appreciate that and I accept their decision on this part.”

Check out our complete explainer on how this Blizzard-China controversy came to be:

The Blizzard China Controversy Explained 12 IMAGES

Chung was previously banned from the professional Hearthstone circuit for voicing his support of Hong Kong’s pro-liberation movement during a post-game broadcast on October 6 after blitzchung’s victory in a Hearthstone Grandmaster’s match. Blitzchung wore a facemask meant to draw attention to China’s anti-facemask law for protestors. Blitzchung also shouted "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our age!" before the stream was cut to commercial.

Blizzard had initially banned Chung for one year and revoked his $10,000 worth of prize winnings. After extensive criticism from the video game community and beyond, including two U.S. senators and some of Blizzard’s own staff, Blizzard released an official response of their own, reducing Chung’s punishment but decidedly not apologizing for their decision.

Check out our news video for a visual breakdown of how blitzchung became a controversial figure:

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In his TwitLonger post, Chung stated he appreciated Blizzard’s decision to reduce his ban from one year to six months, but that he felt six months was still abnormally long. Chung also expressed frustration that the two casters who interviewed him were similarly punished.

“To be honest, I think six months is still quite a lot to me,” Chung said. “But I [am] also being told that I can continue to compete in the hearthstone pro circuit which they mean the grandmaster tournament. I appreciate for this decision they made because grandmaster is currently the highest level tournament in competitive hearthstone. However, I wish Blizzard can reconsider about their penalty on the two casters involved.”

In a letter to Blizzard’s community, Blizzard Entertainment president J. Allan Brack said that the two casters involved would have their bans reduced to six months as well.

Chung closed out his comments by saying he was not sure if he would continue to compete in the Hearthstone circuit.

“Since my next tournament is very likely to be the grandmaster tournament of next season, it's probably at least a few months from now on,” Chung said. “I will take this time to relax myself to decide if I am staying in competitive hearthstone scene or not. Hearthstone changed my the way I live, I really love this community. Blessing to all the players out there, and blessing to Blizzard.”

How has the Blizzard community reacted to blitzchung's ban? See for yourself in our explainer video below:

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In his letter to the Blizzard community, Brack stated that blitzchung used Blizzard’s platform to make a statement that was “in violation of rules he acknowledged and understood, and this is why we took action.” Brack reiterated Blizzard’s “Every Voice Matters” saying, and said he strongly encourages the community to continue expressing itself, but that Blizzard wants to keep their official channels focused on their respective games.

Brack also stated that Chung's views on Hong Kong liberation were not a factor in their decision to ban him.

“I want to be clear: our relationships in China had no influence on our decision,” Brack wrote.

Speaking to IGN earlier this week, Chung said "I expected the decision by Blizzard, I think it's unfair, but I do respect their decision. I'm not [regretful] of what I said. I shouldn't be afraid of these kinds of white terror," which Chung describes as "anonymous acts that create a climate of fear."

If the entire controversy surrounding Blizzard and its decision to ban blitzchung seem confusing, you can read our exhaustive breakdown of how Chinese and corporate politics of resulted in such a controversy.

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.