Activision Blizzard suspended a professional player from an esports tournament and stripped him of his earnings after he made a statement over the weekend in support of protests in Hong Kong.

In a post-match interview on the Taiwanese stream of Blizzard Entertainment game Hearthstone, Chung "Blitzchung" Ng Wai wore a gas mask and goggles and appeared to shout a slogan often associated with Hong Kong protesters: "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our time."

On Saturday, a ban on face masks went into effect after Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam invoked emergency powers. The global financial center has been slammed with four months of protests, which periodically degenerated into violence. The destruction of property and infrastructure has taken a toll on the embattled city and its trade-reliant economy, which has already taken a hit from the ongoing U.S.-China tariff fight.

In a statement to esports blog Inven Global, Chung said that the incident "was just another form of participation of the protest that I wish to grab more attention."

"I know what my action on stream means. It could cause me lot of trouble, even my personal safety in real life. But I think it's my duty to say something about the issue," Chung said in a statement to Inven Global.