Two players from the Gulf region have been banned from competing in and co-streaming all future Overwatch events after making anti-trans comments during the OWWC EMEC qualifiers. Overwatch 2 players Majed “Alivelol” Alqudaibi and Mohammed “Legendary” Saif openly recorded themselves vocalizing anti-trans comments for all their viewers to hear.
The players-in-question called a trans caster an “animal” and a “pig” on stream, leading to their eventual ban by Overwatch’s esports league on June 26. The Overwatch Path to Pro event team said they’d “removed this co-streamer from all official OW esports programs moving forward” via a same-day tweet.
They also added they apologize “to any community members who were hurt by the language used.”
Alqudaibi and Saif’s comments surfaced on Twitter thanks to a June 24 tweet Team Poland’s Tank FORGOTTEN774. The video shows the co-streamers asking “why you have monkey” as an Overwatch 2 caster.
Alqudaibi previously played for Onyx Ravens and Saif for Triple Esports. Now, both are permanently banned from all OW2 competitions. The Overwatch 2 World Cup EMEC Qualifiers are still underway with the Saudi Arabian roster leading the charge 4-0.
During the qualifiers, various members of the Icelandic Overwatch 2 team changed their player icons to LGBT+ flags prior to their Saudi Arabian matchup as a form of protest. Now that these comments have surfaced, it wouldn’t be a surprise if more acts of protest arise.
Blizzard’s stance on these types of vile comments has been clear, but only for some countries. The Overwatch 2 developers brought a pride event for certain areas, all while locking the content from certain regions to ensure player safety, according to OW2 game director, Aaron Keller.
