Cisco is the newest partner of Riot Games in developing League of Legends esports. Through this collaboration with Riot, Cisco wants to improve the quality of the internet network in the League of Legends esports match. To realize this, Cisco will do several things, such as building network infrastructure and providing servers and other hardware needed for holding esports tournaments.
In addition, Cisco will also provide hardware upgrades for The Realm, the private server used by Riot Games to host three League of Legends tournaments. The three tournaments include the All-Star Event, the Mid-Season Invitational, and the League of Legends World Championship.
“Esports is very dependent on technology. Therefore, we must ensure that League of Legends esports is supported by a trusted internet network. With Cisco as a partner, we will be able to build the network infrastructure needed to provide the best esports match experience, both to fans and esports athletes around the world, “said Scott Adametz, Esports Technology Lead, Riot Games, quoted by Esports Insider.
As part of the partnership with Riot, Cisco will provide the network infrastructure for 12 Riot broadcast centers. Not only that, Cisco will also host more than 200 new servers in Riot’s regional studios. These servers will be managed through Cisco’s Intersight software as a service (SaaS) solution. Finally, Cisco will also assist Riot in content distribution and global content archiving. Unfortunately, Riot Games has not announced the value of the partnership with Cisco, according to a report by The Esports Observer.
“Cisco wants to redesign the internet in the future. And esports has an important role to play so that we can realize our vision, ”said Brian Eaton, Director of Global Sports Marketing, Cisco. “Nowadays, there are many people who use the internet for work and entertainment. Therefore, there must be a secure and flexible network infrastructure to ensure that the internet speed supports this. “
In the midst of the corona virus pandemic, Riot Games changed the format of the League of Legends esports tournament to online. Even so, they insisted on holding the League of Legends World Championship in Shanghai, China. They have even collaborated with Universal Music to make the soundtrack for Worlds 2020.
