After a slew of recent server outages and DDoS attacks during official League of Legends broadcasts, Riot Games and the LCK have decided to take some significant measures to avoid any more problems for the foreseeable future.
To ensure better security against such attacks, the league has introduced an offline server that will allow players to compete at the LoL Park in Seoul without having to worry about any external factors. Officials have already checked the server’s compatibility with the current event infrastructure, and it should be able to broadcast live in the coming weeks.
These decisions were made after a whole day of the LCK was delayed last February when the servers were overwhelmed by a significant DDoS attack. It forced the league to broadcast pre-recorded matches for the rest of the week, while they moved to find a solution for the rest of the season.
“Despite the many benefits of using the online server, it goes without saying that it was our fault that we did not fully consider the risk of DDoS attacks,” LCK secretary general Aiden Lee said. “As we reflect on this decision, Riot Games’ global team, as well as relevant departments and experts in Korea, are currently working together to devise short and long-term improvements.”
These improvements include implementing an offline server for the current competition, while a stronger security system is being developed for the league as a long-term solution to the ongoing DDoS problems that have been plaguing the league and the Korean gaming scene as a whole.
Unfortunately, this also means that while the league will slowly move back to live broadcasts, there will still be no audience in the crowd at LoL Park in case there are any issues that arise during a game day. The league wouldn’t want fans to wait an extended amount of time if another attack does affect the schedule, so having no live crowd will cut down on any possible problems while the new systems are applied.
