FunPlus Phoenix Terminated Their In-Game Leader After Stream Footage of Chat Mocking Southeast Asian Players
The organisation announced the decision on Weibo on 28 August following an internal investigation; the player apologised hours later.
FunPlus Phoenix terminated the contract of in-game leader Blendi "kovaQ" Kovaci on 28 August after an internal investigation into racially discriminatory in-game chat.
The messages were captured on stream. They mocked the Chinese language and East and Southeast Asian communities. FunPlus Phoenix announced the termination on Weibo. Kovaci had joined the organisation in March 2026 and issued a public apology hours after the announcement.
The timing matters. Valorant Champions 2026 is being held in Shanghai, with the group stage at the Jing'an Sports Center and the playoffs at the Mercedes-Benz Arena. Four of the sixteen qualified teams come from the Pacific region: Nongshim RedForce, Paper Rex, T1 and Global Esports. Four more come from China: TYLOO, JD Gaming, Edward Gaming and Xi Lai Gaming.
Half the field at the biggest event of the Valorant year is drawn from the communities the chat was aimed at.
FunPlus Phoenix is itself a Chinese organisation competing in EMEA, which is part of why the response was fast and public rather than a quiet roster change.