August 13, 2018 Overwatch pro player and streamer xQc has been suspended from the game for abusive chat.
Former Overwatch League player Félix “xQc” Lengyel has now been suspended from the game itself for “abusive language.” His 15-day suspension could mean that Lengyel won’t make the Overwatch World Cup, where he’s scheduled to play for team Canada next month, though the team’s coach is confident that won’t be the case.
Lengyel racked up multiple behaviour infractions in Overwatch League earlier this year, leading to a series of fines and suspensions and his eventual dismissal from the Dallas Fuel. He became a full-time streamer afterward, and it doesn’t seem that this suspension has hurt his schedule any, since his Twitch channel is currently live with Overwatch play.
He found out about the ban live and showed the report email to the stream, as captured by Rock, Paper, Shotgun. “Abusive Chat” is listed as the violation, and the suspension reads “Your fellow players reported you for abusive language multiple times.”
At the time, Lengyel wondered aloud if that would prevent him from playing in the Overwatch World Cup for team Canada. The team’s first game is set for September 7, some time after the suspension lifts. “I’m going to assume that xQc’s ban is temporary and account-based,” team Canada’s coach says on Twitter, “and will not affect his chances of playing for team Canada. At the very least, there will not be any internal changes or roster adjustments at this time.”
“It is never my intention to harass or use in-game chat in an abusive manner,” Lengyel says on Twitter. “Banter is fun and 100% of the time I type something to someone I know they are playing along and won’t be hurt. If I ever typed something and you we’re genuinely hurt, I am sorry. I will be better.”
Lengyel hit the news last week when he commented on his time with Overwatch League. After his release, Lengyel says “The orgs didn’t like me anymore. They cut communication with me. Twitch didn’t like me – at all.” He adds “Everyone was scared of me. I was like a monster. I was just streaming, and nobody would talk to me. It was like I was like a leper.”
Immediately following his turn to full-time streaming, Lengyel saw a significant boost in viewer count (roughly 1,000 extra sets of eyes), but the benefits didn’t last long-term. “Even though we might have had more viewers – for like a month we had plus one figure or something like that – it was really hard to come back from there.”
Lengyel comments that “people say ‘Overwatch League jump-pushed my career.’ That’s not true at all.”
These comments come from Lengyel’s Twitch stream, as noted by Dexerto. You can watch Lengyel’s statement for yourself on Twitch.
Back in January, Lengyel was fined $2,000 and suspended for four games after a homophobic insult against an openly gay player on an opposing team. Lengyel apologized via Twitter immediately afterward, but landed back in hot water two months later when he made use of a Twitch emote with strong racial connotations. That led to a $4,000 fine and further suspension – until two days later, when Lengyel was released from the Fuel.
