As Blizzard clamps down on modding, botting, and other rule breaking in Hearthstone, one pro player’s career is over after he was permabanned from the game.
Dan “Alchemisxt” Walton announced his retirement from Hearthstone April 7. The player, now formerly of CompLexity Gaming, was banned for undisclosed reasons. He did admit to breaking the terms of service, but claimed it had not been deliberate or malicious.
“I do understand why Blizzard has kept the ban,” Walton said in a statement on his former team’s website, “although I was hoping for some type of leeway given the situation. I always considered myself as one of the ‘Good Guys’ in the Hearthstone community.
“I do have the option to create a new account and go on from there but I just cannot see myself doing that after losing my account that I put so much time, money, and effort into.”
Walton declined to reveal exactly what activity on his account had led to the ban.
“I would prefer not to say,” he told the Daily Dot. “It isn’t a black and white type situation, and I would like to avoid misunderstandings.”
Walton had’t competed in a tournament since Feb. 28, when he reached the semifinals of the Hearthstats League. In 2014 he had his greatest success in China, reaching the quarterfinals of the World Esports Championships, and finishing in the top 16 at the World Cyber Arena.
CompLexity Hearthstone manager Soren “Fantasy” Vendsahm said that the team would be looking to sign new players in the near future.
“We’ve been looking into new talents,” Vendsahm told the Daily Dot. “even before we had to part ways with Alchemixt. We have a list of people we look into—and have also reached out to some.”
Vendsahm also said that while Walton would not remain in Hearthstone, he would stay involved in CompLexity in some capacity.
