Chinese Overwatch League teams boycott Seoul Dynasty player after controversial comments

Overwatch League’s Chinese teams have boycotted any interaction with fellow OWL squad Seoul Dynasty’s DPS player Jong-ryeol ‘Saebyeolbe’ Park following controversial comments.

As the Overwatch League begins its 2021 season with some shocking results, it turns out that there’s some serious issues lurking on the horizon.

While the OWL regular season usually sees Eastern and Western teams battle it out among themselves before each region is unleashed upon the other, it appears that there’ll be some complications this time around.

Four of Asia’s biggest teams have chosen to boycott any activities involving Seoul Dynasty’s iconic player Saebyeolbe due to controversial comments.

Robert Paul

Saebyeolbe is one of OWL’s most famous faces.

Chinese OWL teams hit back at Saebyeolbe

After the Seoul Dynasty player made comments regarding the freedom of speech and the political situation in China, four of OWL’s most iconic teams have chosen to boycott any activity that involved Saebyeolbe.

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Chinese based teams Chengdu Hunters, Guangzhou Charge, Shanghai Dragons, and Hangzhou Spark have come together in their decision, posting their comments on Wiebo in the early hours of May 3.

Importantly, their statements clarify that they are boycotting Saebyeolbe himself and not Dynasty as a whole, therefore matches could continue unabated so long as the team front a different DPS player.

Syebyeolbe apologises

Despite releasing a handwritten apology for the comment back on April 14, it seems like the issue still remains between the teams.

There are only eight teams in the Eastern sector of OWL, and with four teams choosing to avoid Seoul if they field Saebyolbe, it’ll be interesting to see how the season progresses.

The recent matchup between the Hunters and Dynasty did not see Saebyeolbe play any of the maps, with FITS and Profit taking the DPS reins.

While Blizzard are yet to comment on the situation, we will keep this page updated with any further developments.