Overwatch Team Hangzhou Spark Drops MCD Due to Xenophobic In-Game Behavior

Overwatch player, Lee “MCD” Jeong-ho has been dropped from Hangzhou Spark due to comments made towards a Chinese player during a ranked Overwatch game. Hangzhou Spark released an official statement, revealing that the player has been removed from the staff because his actions were not consistent with the expectation of the team’s players and staff. The suspension was announced shortly after a clip was posted to Weibo where the player was seen talking to his teammates in a ranked game and MCD ended up hurling a xenophobic comment. The Korean player is likely to be replaced by Tong “ColdEst” Xiaodong who is a substitute support player for the team.

Hangzhou Spark’s statement on MCD

The organization put out a public statement which stated that it was “made aware of an incident involving MCD’s in-game behavior. MCD’s actions and comments has broken the stipulation of the player contract. It also goes against the Hangzhou Spark’s team value. His action was not consistent with the expectation of the Hangzhou Spark players and staff.” As stated, MCD’s contract has already been terminated and he will no longer serve the role of Hangzhou Spark’s flex-support player.

The incident that led to the ban is likely due to a recent incident where MCD, in a ranked Overwatch game, had Zhou “XRAY” Xiyan in his team, who is a Chinese player under the Chengdu Hunters’ academy team. After a failed teamfight, MCD told XRAY in English, “Chinese, f*** you.” A clip of the incident is available on Weibo.

MCD’s team has multiple Chinese players and his team is owned by Chinese streaming platform Bilibili, which further complicated matters for the Korean player. Spark will be competing against Philadelphia Fusion in a bid to qualify for the Overwatch League playoffs. Substitute flex player, Tong “ColdEst” Xiaodong will most probably replace MCD. MCD has not made a public statement about the incident.