Just Stop Oil protestors arrested after interrupting Tekken 7 tournament

Demonstrators from the UK-based climate change group Just Stop Oil were arrested for criminal damage after disrupting a Tekken tournament and painting over monitors at gaming event EGX.

The details:

• The UK's largest gaming event, EGX, began on October 12, and members of Just Stop Oil appear to have seen it as an opportunity to spread their environmental activism. On Sunday, three activists took the stage during the final of a Tekken 7 tournament to cover the competitors' monitors with orange paint and give a short speech before being removed by security.
• Following the removal of the protestors, the tournament resumed as usual with new monitors, while those responsible were arrested by the Metropolitan Police for criminal damage. Spag, the tournament's caster, also revealed on X that player Kaneandtrench continued to play despite the paint on the screen.
• While the decision to focus on a relatively small fighting game tournament at the event appears odd, the group states that the protest is in response to Barclays' sponsorship of EGX, claiming that the bank has financed "around $167 billion in fossil fuels." Just Stop Oil has also blamed the action on Shell's recent promotional experience built inside Fortnite, despite Tekken having no connection to Epic's shooter.
• The majority of reactions to the situation have been negative, with many wondering why the group chose to cause problems at an event where many of its attendees are likely already aware of the cause and may even support it to some extent. Others have criticized the group for destroying property that may have even belonged to the young players, knowing that the tournament was much smaller than that of other esports.
• Just Stop Oil is known for using nonviolent resistance, vandalism, and obstruction to protest, with activists throwing soup at a Van Gogh painting, disrupting the Ashes cricket series, and blocking a number of roads and fuel stations throughout London by gluing or chaining themselves to the floor or difficult to move objects.

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