Hong Kong protests lead to cancellation of Street Fighter V esports tournament

Capcom Pro Tour cancels Hong Kong leg as esports industry takes a hit from unrest that has roiled the city

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Capcom Pro Tour is a series of international fighting game tournaments sponsored by Capcom, which culminates in the annual Capcom Cup in San Francisco. (Picture: Capcom)

Josh Ye

Published: 7:40pm, 8 Aug 2019Updated: 9:10am, 20 Sep 2019

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

Hong Kong has been trying to set itself up as a world-class esports destination, but the fallout from the city’s anti-government protests are hitting the industry. Capcom announced on Tuesday that it canceled its premier Street Fighter V tournament in Hong Kong.

One of the stops of this year’s Capcom Pro Tour was scheduled to be at Esports Festival Hong Kong later this month. Capcom says it removed the stop from the tour because of the city’s “civic unrest,” which has grown more violent in recent weeks.

Over the last two months, hundreds of thousands of people have protested against a now-suspended bill that would allow fugitives in Hong Kong to be extradited to mainland China, raising fears of prosecution for political crimes. In recent weeks, the numbers have dwindled, but thousands of protesters still turned up in the streets each weekend, leading to clashes with police and alleged gang members.

As the violence has escalated, some countries have issued travel warnings, including Japan, Singapore, Australia and the UK. Capcom, based in Osaka, Japan, said it “takes the safety of our players and community very seriously.”

Hong Kong company Cyber Games Arena, which was supposed to host the event, said that it would still stage a Street Fighter event on the scheduled dates, but it wouldn’t be affiliated with the Capcom Pro Tour.