- ESL is bringing Network Next to help bolster connection and network experience and give players the best competitive opportunities
- With demand for stable connection growing, Network Next finds itself in a position to assist one of the largest names in esports event hosting
- The first events to benefit from Network Next's offer are ESL's upcoming Counter-Strike: Global Offensive competitions
Network Next will step in to improve network connection during esports events hosted by ESL, starting with CS:GO.
ESL Ups the Ante on Hosting Events
ESL is bringing Network Next onboard to help the world's best-known esports league improve its performance and sustain growing demand for online play. With in-person events on a temporary hiatus, cranking out more juice out of Internet connections is as vital to the survival of esports as is the return of live events.
Network Next is coming at just the right time to provide esports with the necessary infrastructure to carry on amid surging demand. Specifically, Next is going to make sure that players competing in ESL events will enjoy boosted performance to avoid any network hiccups that could sour the experience.
ESL VP for ESL Trevor Schmidt confirmed the company's commitment to providing the best possible gaming conditions, adding:
“We want to ensure that the growing fanbase continues to enjoy the best possible gaming experience, and we believe Network Next can help make that happen.”
He acknowledged that the pandemic had caused significant changes in the landscape, forcing companies' hand to adapt. The pandemic already took a bite out of competitive events in 2020, postponing Dota 2's The International and forcing no live audiences for League of Legends Worlds.
Improving Network Experience for All
Yet, Network Next was formed in 2017 to address just that and give esports hosts and production companies, among others, the means necessary to access premium network performance without the need to suffer through packet loss, high latency, or network jitters, and all of this at an affordable rate that makes the solution sustainable.
Network Next will deliver its first product for the upcoming CS: GO events hosted by ESL and then move the solutions to other game events down the line, adapting to player and organizational needs.
Company CEO Glenn Fiedler highlighted the problem so far being that the Internet was not designed to be kind to games. This issue is experienced on a daily basis, Fiedler explained, and he has a point.
Many events had to be postponed not just for fears of dishonesty but also because it would be impossible for people to play from halfway across the globe and compete on equal footing. However, Fiedler feels confident Network Next brings just what it takes to fix this, “not just for games, but for all applications that need better network performance than the internet can provide today.”
More details about this strategic partnership will be coming in the weeks to follow, with possibly new games added to the list of supported titles.
