S. Korean gamer faces ban after playing with foot

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South Korean gamer Lim Hong-gyu, known by his gamer ID “Larva”, faces ban by e-sports sponsor Zotac’s Chinese branch, after his showmanship during a recent StarCraft competition outraged e-sports players and fans in China.

On Sunday, computer hardware manufacturer Zotac and Blizzard Entertainment co-hosted the annual Zotac Cup Masters Showmatch in Los Angeles, in which six top players competed for the championship of the game StarCraft: Remastered.

Photo from Zotac official website

In the finals, Lim was confronted with Chinese player Luo Xian, or “Legend”, a professional gamer who made a name by defeating South Korean star gamer BoxeR.

After Lim took the lead, he started playing with his hands crossed, with one foot pressing the keyboard or with his eyes closed pretending taking a nap.

Screenshot of Lim playing with eyes closed. /Zotac Photo

Though the gamer won the grand final, his actions during the game, which was broadcast live, received mixed reviews and met with heavy criticism among Chinese gamers.

“This person doesn’t know basic etiquette. I assume he’s not used to professional e-sports competitions,” @FLYluweiliang commented on Chinese social media Weibo.

“He should be banned forever. He doesn’t even know the basic respect for another human being,” @qiandaixiRebecca commented.

Screenshot of Weibo comment by @FLYluweiliang

Luo Xian learnt about his opponent’s taunting actions only after the game. “What kind of joy could you get from doing this?” Luo shared his feelings later on Weibo. “I used to respect you for the achievements gained through your effort, but I guess I’m blind. In real life you behaved like a clown.”

Chinese gamer Luo Xian. /Photo from huanqiu.com

The competition’s sponsor Zotac’s branch in China reacted on Monday by declaring a permanent ban of the Korean gamer on Weibo.

“We apologized to Luo Xian and all e-sports fans for the uncivilized behaviors Larva carried out during the game,” the Weibo post reads, “We decided to ban Larva for participating any future events held by Zotac and we will not invite any gamers who have records of such behavior.”

Lim later posted a video on Youtube under his personal account to explanation of the incident. In the video, he claimed that Luo refused his apology when he said he would apologize. At the same time, Lim said that he had issues with Zotac China for releasing the ban statement.

Screenshot of Lim's responding video via Youtube.

According to Lim, it was Zotac China's independent decision to release the ban, but Zotac’s branches in US and Korea were not in accordance.