By Christopher Sanchez

Reporter

Blizzard kicked off its first season of The Overwatch League on January 10.  Overwatch is a team based first person online shooter created by Blizzard Entertainment in 2016.  The game is known for its diverse characters, unique world, and the various styles of game play.

In the last three months, the new league has failed to quell some of the growing controversies surrounding the league.

The players are drawing the majority of the controversies.  The OWL is quick to discipline the players infractions.

While this is the first year for OWL, it’s seeing its fair share of player infractions.  March 9, the OWL handed out disciplinary actions against players.  Felix Lengyel’s second suspension came from this round of disciplinary action.

Lengyel of the Dallas Fuel, who’s gamer tag is “xQc” has repeatedly found himself in trouble.  In January, Lengyel received a four game suspension and a $2000 fine for homophobic remarks and insults towards Austin “Muma” Wilmot of the Houston Outlaws.

Lengyel was fined and suspended again in another wave of disciplinary actions from the OWL.  During a live stream, Lengyel said the reporter’s commentary was “cancer” during his Twitch streams and spammed a racist emote during times Malik Forte was on screen.

Twitch is a live streaming platform that many gamers use to create streaming content.  While the OWL does not police their Twitch streams, players can be disciplined if they break OWL’s code of conduct.

On March 12, Lengyel and Dallas Fuel parted ways.  He was released from his contract with the Fuel.  No teams have stated interest in signing Lengyel.

Dallas Fuel found itself in the spotlight again as Timo “Taimou” Kettunen was fined $1000 for his homophobic remarks on his Twitch stream.

Los Angeles Valiant player Ted “Silkthread” Wang was fined $1000 for account sharing.  Account sharing is logging into another player’s account and using it.  While it’s not illegal, the fine came from a violation of Blizzard End User License Agreement.

“It is unacceptable for members of the Overwatch League to use or distribute hateful, racist, or discriminatory speech or memes. It is important for all members to be aware of the impact their speech may have on others,” stated Blizzard and Overwatch on March 9 in a press release.

“We are committed to building a community around the Overwatch League that is welcoming and inclusive for all players and fans, and we hope that these disciplinary actions demonstrate our seriousness in that endeavor.”

“I’m glad they fired him.  I’m glad to see EGaming take a stance on intolerance,” said Ashley Allen a senior in psychology at CSU, Bakersfield.  “It gives me more confidence in the women who are now being signed.  Hopefully harassment aimed towards them won’t be tolerated either.”

OWL has another controversy with gender equality, since in ESports physical attributes do not matter.  Speed and strength are replaced by reaction time and strategy.

Women are not fairly represented in the OWL.  There was speculation whether a separate women’s league would be created.  Of the 12 franchises, no women were signed and drafted.

This drew a lot of criticism.  OWL is expanding their franchises in new markets.  Teams average 10 players and their speculation of five new teams joining next season.  There is more than enough room for women to be signed professionally.

The Shanghai Dragons officially announced on Feb. 14 that they would sign the first female professional player to their roster.  South Korean Kim “Geguri” Se-yeon was officially added to their player roster.

“I think it’s great they finally added a female player to the league,” said Cody Besinaiz, senior communications major.  “Women are just as capable of playing games at professional levels as men are.  They have the right to play professionally in the same league, regardless of gender.”

Kim was a top player in the no longer active Apex League in Korea.  She was also the first female player in that league as well.  Hopefully Kim can add the necessary muscle to the Shanghai Dragons.  The Dragons have yet to win a match.