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Magic: The Gathering Pro Lee Shi Tian Showcased on Instagram, and Here's Why It Matters


Hong-Kong based Magic: The Gathering Hall of Famer and Magic Pro League member Lee Shi Tian is one of the best MTG players in Southeast Asia, and Wizards of the Coast just showcased a photo of him on Instagram and Twitter with the following caption:

After a narrow miss at MC III, Lee Shi Tian said, 'I was once aiming at only staying in the MPL, but now I can try to qualify for the World Championship. "He's in the running to qualify for the World Championship" by earning a Top 4 Point Finish in the MPL but has a gap to make up!

The photo features him playing Magic: The Gathering Arena in one of the recent Mythic Championships.

While this may seem like a typical post for Magic pro players, this holds more meaning thanks to the recent controversies in Hong Kong with the protests and Blizzard recently banning Hong Kong-based Hearthstone player Ng Wai "blitzchung" Chung for violating the 2019 Hearthstone Grandmasters Official Competition rules after he expressed his support for the Hong Kong protesters by shouting "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our age!" and wearing the same kind of mask the protesters wore during the official livestream interview. Wizards of the Coast didn't mention "Blitzchung" in any of the posts but showcasing Lee Shi Tian in their social media posts is a good sign they're acknowledging one of Hong Kong's greatest collectible card game players.

Lee Shi Tian also publicly expressed support for Hong Kong in the past. Back in 2014, Lee joined Hong Kong's previous Umbrella Movement protests in 2014, and named his Pro Tour Khans of Tarkir deck "Umbrella Revolution" in honor of the protests, CoolStuff Inc reported. Although Wizards of the Coast did not use the deck name during the coverage of the MTG event, Lee was not punished by Wizards.

It's a classy yet sublte move but it makes a great move from Wizards of the Coast. Lee Shi Tian is not just one of the greatest MTG players from Asia, he alsoused his Hall of Fame induction speechlast year to express his hopes that more MTG players from the Asian Pacific region will get the support they deserve and also be recognized, saying that "it's worth contributing resources to this region".

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