Hearthstone Grandmaster, Zalae, is suspended from taking part in any Hearthstone event due to abuse allegations.
Blizzard has suspended Grandmaster Paul ‘Zalae’ Nemeth from all Hearthstone events after accusations of domestic abuse.
After unveiling Zalae as a part of the new Grandmaster circuit on April 7, Blizzard suspended the player the next day. The player is facing allegations of physically abusing his ex-girlfriend when they were together.
Allegations of Abuse against Zalae
The grandmaster’s ex-girlfriend first accused him of domestic abuse in a twitlonger in January 2021. She said he would repeatedly taunt/body posture like he was going to hit her.
I was very clear to him about how he was scaring me and repeatedly vocalized this and kept moving my position to give myself more space so he would realize how enclosed I had been, but he continued closing me in and backing me into the counters or walls.
She repeatedly told him to back away on 10-13 occasions because he was scaring her after he physically grabbed her wrists. He would apologize and then ‘simply do it again’ according to Rini. This led to Rini giving 2 open-handed arm slaps on the middle of his arm to convey the seriousness of her statement.
After the second slap, Nemeth snapped, physically picked her up, dragged her to the bedroom and threw her on the bed. He got on top of her and put a pillow on her face, nearly suffocating her. It was only when she managed to yell “I can't breathe!!" that he snapped out of it.
The next day he asked her to leave his house and even accused her of the one who was abusive. Rini claimed he was also emotionally abusive in their relationship.
Zalae suspended from all Hearsthone events
Zalae was to take part in the Grandmasters 2021 Season 1 - Americas. Blizzard has now suspended Zalae from Hearthstone events although the official statement does not define the duration of the suspension. However, Blizzard has confirmed to Invenglobal that the suspension will last for one year.
The Hearthstone Grandmasters will kick off on April 9 and continue for eight weeks.
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