Hearthstone Esports announced today that it has suspended one of the game’s Grandmaster players, Paul “Zalae” Nemeth, following allegations of domestic abuse.
“Hearthstone Esports is aware of the accusations made against the Grand Master of America Paul ‘Zalae’ Nemeth. After further analysis, we suspended Zalae from the competition at all Hearthstone Esports events, ”Hearthstone Esports wrote in a tweet.
Blizzard confirmed via email at Kotaku that the suspension is for a year, but did not comment further.
In a TwitLonger posted in January, a former partner of Nemeth highlighted the physical and emotional abuse he says took place when they were together.
The answer from Blizzard, the developer and the editor behind it Hearthstone and his Grandmasters sports competition comes after nearly three months of silence about the allegations and a day before the start of the 2021 Grandmasters season. Sports site Inven Global reported that Blizzard told them it was “aware of the allegations and assessing the issue” when asked for a comment on April 7. Hearthstone fans have expressed relief that Blizzard seems to have taken action in the end.
Kotaku he held out his hand to Nemeth and to Nemethormer partner for comments, but did not receive timely responses for publication.