Riot Games announced a multi-year partnership with Cisco, the global technology leader, to work as the Official Corporate Network Partner for the League of Legends (LOL) Esports. The partnership will bring state-of-the-art network infrastructure to the five continents in three global events, taking both the competitive experience of the professionals and the audience to an even higher level.
Cisco's network solutions will also come on the scene with “The Realm”, which is the server used exclusively for competitive LoL Esports matches in the three major world events: the League of Legends World Championship, the Mid-Season Invitational and the All-Star Event. Cisco's state-of-the-art network technology will serve as the foundation for bringing the world's most popular Esport to the public by the time it reaches its second decade.
"Since League of Legends is a Sport that is totally connected to technology, it is extremely important that it runs on a reliable network," said Scott Adametz, Esports Technology Leader at Riot Games. "With Cisco, it is now possible to create and expand the infrastructure needed to bring the best possible Esports experience to the public and professionals worldwide."
“Cisco's goal is to rethink the internet of the future, and Esports have a big impact on that. With more people connected, both for work and play, it is important that the system infrastructure is safe and flexible, thus ensuring the visual quality and speed needed in the future, ”said Brian Eaton, Director of Worldwide Sports Marketing at Cisco .
Cisco will provide a mix of cutting-edge technologies to Riot Games, such as Cisco UCS → Shelf and Blade Servers and the Cisco Nexus Series Data Center Switches, bringing significant improvements to game performance and studio broadcasts. In addition, Cisco will also provide a flexible architecture for Riot's Remote Transmission Centers (RBCs), improving the competitive integrity of Esports worldwide for many years to come.
The Realm - update on the competitive Esports server
League of Legends is a Esport that requires quick strategic planning and sharp reaction time. Therefore, it is essential that professional players experience the least amount of latency possible on the servers. By implementing Cisco technology in “The Realm”, both companies are working together to make players have less than 1ms of latency in Summoner's Rift, meaning instant reaction times and uninterrupted matches. The new Cisco servers will offer up to 200% more raw performance compared to previous technology.
Worldwide Esports Network
In order to drive the next decade of Esports, Riot will implement a new collaborative network infrastructure. Cisco's global and regional reach provides Riot with the flexibility, accessibility and security necessary to produce worldwide Esports events in all parts of the world. Using Cisco's advanced networking technology, people will be able to watch LoL Esports broadcasts with more quality and less latency, making them even more involved in the game.
LoL Esports have become the most renowned in the world over the past decade, breaking the record average audience per minute (Average Minute Audience or AMA) with 21.8 million viewers in the 2019 World Championship Final. Cisco will join some of the most famous brands in the world, including Mastercard, Louis Vuitton, Unilever AX, Red Bull, OPPO, State Farm and Secretlab, known as the main sponsors of League of Legends esports.
"As we extend the success of the first decade of our sport, we look for partners who work with us to bring a worthy sports experience to our professional players and fans," said Naz Aletaha, Director of Global Esports Partnerships at Riot Games. “Cisco's products are the best on the market, and we look forward to having their technology and knowledge as we elevate League of Legends Esports to unprecedented levels.”
