SVG Rewind: How Riot Games Pulled Off Its First LCS Event in Over a Year With Mid-Season Showdown Final Remote-production workflow relied on the public internet By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Wednesday, April 28, 2021 - 1:07 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
It has been quite a year for Riot Games Esports' broadcast-engineering team. It deployed a trailblazing cloud-based-production ecosystem early in the pandemic for remote League of Legends tournaments, debuted a state-of-the-art extended reality (XR) experience at LoL Worlds 2020 in Shanghai, and launched a brand-new set at LCS Arena in Los Angeles last month. And, this month, Riot's North American esports operation made its biggest move yet with the first in-person LoL tournament since the pandemic began: the LCS Mid-Season Showdown Finals at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.
Although the event (held without an audience) marked Riot's first return to onsite events, the North American broadcast-engineering team continued to leverage the remote-production workflows it had cultivated over the past year-plus, including use of the public internet for transmission.
Having done so many shows [remotely] at this point gave us the confidence to know that we could pull this show off using the public internet as well, says Riot Games Broadcast Engineer Kris Johnson. We've been doing many shows over the public internet and took a lot of those lessons with us to Mid-Season Showdown.
Although the return to IRL (in real life) events was months in the making for Riot, Johnson and company faced an extremely tight timeline to develop the production plan. Typically, an event of this size could require six months or more of planning, but the Mid-Season Showdown plan had to come together in a matter of weeks and was further complicated by the constantly changing safety guidelines in California.
The LCS Mid-Season Showdown Grand Finals took over the Greek Theatre on April 11.
We're used to a lot of challenges on a normal REMI production, says Johnson, and we know how to get over those. But this gave us a whole new set of hurdles, primarily around COVID-safe production and how to make sure everyone was safe.
In the end, the production was split between the Greek, where the Opening Ceremony and gameplay took place, and the LCS Arena studio, where casters called the action and analysts broke down the gameplay. All camera feeds and desktop feeds from each player (totaling more than 40 livestreams in all) were sent to Riot's production facility in Santa Monica, CA, where a limited production crew was located. Crew members were also scattered around the country.
Riot deployed a custom-built transmission kit featuring an Evertz router along with encoders and decoders.
Because we had been leveraging all the stuff we learned, Johnson explains, our VC [video-control operator] was shading the entire show from his house, the robo ops were in our [production] facility, and the physical cameras were at the venue. Talk about social distancing - we've got ops all over the place. And our VC was ecstatic about being able to shade studio cameras completely remotely. It worked out great.
With the remote-production workflow, there was no truck onsite at the Greek for the livestream (available on Twitch, YouTube, and LoLEsports.com), and the broadcast crew was located either at the LCS Arena studio or at home. However, given the large size of the Opening Ceremony production (which included a performance by League of Legends in-game heavy-metal band Pentakill), two trailers were onsite, housing the team responsible for that show: one for audio and one for the producers/graphics operators powering the LED boards.
The LCS Mid-Season Showdown Opening Ceremony was headlined by a performance by League of Legends in-game heavy-metal band Pentakill.
Normally, we likely would not have that big of a footprint onsite, says Johnson, but, because of COVID and social distancing, we can't have everybody in the same room sharing the same monitor. So we had to build out a little bit more infrastructure just to keep everybody safe and spaced out.
Riot deployed a custom-built transmission kit featuring an Evertz router along with encoders and decoders for the various feeds coming in and going out. Typically, for a high-profile in-person event like this, Riot would use a point-to-point circuit on its Riot Direct dedicated network. However, after using the public internet to produce dozens of tournaments over the past year, Riot opted for a 10-Gbps DIA (dedicated internet access) public-internet connection (with a secondary line for backup) and heavily used SRT video-streaming protocol.
For safety, host and caster James Dash Patterson ran a one-man show at the Greek Theatre while other analysts and casters operated from the LCS Arena studio and from home.
We had been doing [shows over the public internet] for a year but not at this scale, notes Johnson. We had the confidence that we were going to pull this off, but, until we actually did it, we couldn't be 100% sure. We definitely had a lot of lessons learned there, and I think, overall, we were very happy with the entire show.
Riot deployed 34 cameras - 31 at the venue, three in the studio - for the Mid-Season Showdown, including a multitude of PTZ and robotic systems to reduce the onsite headcount.
Beverly Hills Aerials provided a heavy-lift drone outfitted with a Grass Valley LDX C82 compact camera.
Everybody's safety is very important to us, says Johnson, so we leveraged a slew of PTZs and robos on the show. In places we would normally have camera operators with handhelds, we put robos to help increase the social distancing, especially for our players. Because we had the robos, we didn't have to put any camera people on the actual deck
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
06/05/2026
Gravity Media Chief RF Communications Engineer Glenn Willems uses Wisycom RF over Fiber and wireless solutions across major cycling events and international mar...
06/05/2026
A Sennheiser Spectera module is now available in Bitfocus Companion and Buttons, enabling direct integration of Spectera with the two software platforms. The mo...
06/05/2026
Ted Turner, the visionary media entrepreneur whose appetite for disruption helpe...
06/05/2026
Peacock is going all-in on the beautiful game - streaming all 104 FIFA World Cup...
06/05/2026
New pricing tiers for vocal/dialogue restoration tool
NoiseWorks Audio's AI-powered vocal and dialogue processing plug-in is now available in three diff...
06/05/2026
Popular mixing & routing software overhauled
Following a recent public beta test, RME have launched the final release version of the powerful mixing and rou...
06/05/2026
New SOS Video Feature
Focusrites ISA C8X is a milestone product that brings together the companys analogue heritage and their expertise in digital audio. Yo...
06/05/2026
Polands Miecznik-class frigates are part of the largest contract in Polish shipbuilding history. (Image Credit: PGZ Stocznia Wojenna)...
06/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/05/2026
Riedel Communications today announced the expansion of its leadership structure as part of a strategic initiative to strengthen both its operational management ...
06/05/2026
For nearly three decades, Veteran Production Sound Mixer and Five-time Emmy Award Winner Dirk Sciarrotta has helped define the sonic identity of the long-runnin...
06/05/2026
ZEISS CinCraft LensCore: Cinema Lens Looks for Compositing
Brie Clayton May 6, 2026
0 Comments
ZEISS announces the launch of CinCraft LensCore, a nove...
06/05/2026
Wisycom Solves Extreme RF Challenges Across Miles of Live Action for Gravity Med...
06/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/05/2026
Narrative Entertainment has partnered with Encompass to deliver high-quality subtitling of its Great! network content using the Altitude Intelligence AI assiste...
06/05/2026
SipRadius, widely recognized for making content processing and connectivity secure and seamless, is proud to launch a dramatic new approach to AI content creati...
06/05/2026
When the broadband and media industry gathers at ANGA COM in Cologne from May 19 to 21, Big Blue Marble will be at the forefront. The international broadcast an...
06/05/2026
Cinegy GmbH, a leading developer of software-defined television technology, is proud to exhibit at MPTS for the first time. Visitors to the stand will discover ...
06/05/2026
Val Jeanty Receives 2026 Doris Duke Artist Award Jeanty, a composer, percussionist, and turntablist, is the fourth Berklee recipient of the prestigious award ...
06/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/05/2026
When live cycling races and international marathons stretch for miles across cities and countryside, there is no margin for RF failure in live broadcast. As Chi...
06/05/2026
Oberkochen/Germany, May 5, 2026
ZEISS announces the launch of CinCraft LensCore, a novel solution for creating physically based cinematic lens looks for visual...
06/05/2026
06 May 2026
VEON's Kyivstar Authorized to Resell Starlink for Businesses & ...
06/05/2026
UKTV has secured the exclusive rights to the early back catalogue of iconic Australian drama series Neighbours, following a landmark content deal with Fremantle...
06/05/2026
Wednesday 6 May 2026
Sky commissions feature documentary to mark 10th anniversa...
06/05/2026
Wednesday 6 May 2026
Sky and Formula 1 agree long-term partnership across UK, Ireland and Italy
Sky in the UK & Ireland to remain the home of Formula 1 until ...
06/05/2026
Sky Zero Footprint Fund-backed TV campaign launches nationwide, supported by new...
06/05/2026
Wuppertal May 6, 2026
Riedel Expands Leadership Structure, Appoints Marc Engro...
06/05/2026
SAN JOSE, Calif. - May 6, 2026 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced its latest broadband innovations for ANGA COM 2026, highlighting its vision for a new e...
06/05/2026
Statement from Rupert Murdoch, Chairman Emeritus, Fox Corporation on Ted Turner&...
06/05/2026
Friday 8 May on RT One and RT Player
Meet the NSPCA team caring for and protecting animals in need in this six-part series
Fly on the wall, six-part series...
06/05/2026
The race to build the world's most powerful AI factories demands networking ...
06/05/2026
How changes to proteins can alter drug interactions for new precision therapies Scripps Research team maps how chemical modifications to proteins affect drug bi...
05/05/2026
Experts from the world of academia, tech, business, politics and media convened for a Thomson Talks at the Cambridge Disinformation Summit in April. It's th...
05/05/2026
Three phones were hardwired for power and transmission to the truck; camera feat...
05/05/2026
The creative studio behind campaigns for the NBA, Fanatics Sportsbook & Casino, ...
05/05/2026
Nielsen has announced results from a co-viewing pilot program covering February&...
05/05/2026
viztrick AiDi, an on-device AI solution developed by Nippon TV, delivered global...
05/05/2026
ARRI has announced Omnibar, a battery-powered, IP65-rated multi-color LED linear...
05/05/2026
Imagine Communications has announced that France T l visions is the first broadc...
05/05/2026
The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and Bell Media today announced a multiyear agreement to broadcast and stream WNBA games in Canada beginni...
SVG Rewind: How Riot Games Pulled Off Its First LCS Event in Over a Year With Mid-Season Showdown Final Remote-production workflow relied on the public internet By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor 
