Some players speculate that poor network performance is behind Evolution Championship 2021's decision to ban some Philippine Internet providers from the tournament.
Evo 2021 has banned players using Globe Telecom, SKY, and Converge ICT Solutions Inc. from the tournament, the organizers announced a day before.
Sky, Converge ICT Solutions and Globe Telecom Photo by Opinyon
Evolution Championship Series 2021, or Evo 2021, is one of the biggest fighting game tournaments in the world. This year, it will be held online on two separate events.
For Asia, the games include Tekken 7, Guilty Gear Strive, and Street Fighter V: Champion Edition starting August 6 to 8 and from 13 to 15.
However, for some participants from the Philippines, additional restrictions were announced earlier today.
The staff in the official EVO 2021 Discord server has clarified that players using the three mentioned ISPs will be disqualified from their tournaments.
Fans speculate the ruling seems to be in place for every fighting game in the event and not just with Tekken 7.
“Fighting games have oftentimes experienced connection difficulties between providers. This may be the reason behind the ISP ban,” wrote Tekken Philippines in their announcement.
Players who will have to disqualify themselves because of the new ruling will have to send a removal request through the removal channel in the EVO Discord server.
The news saddened many Philippine players especially after the last Ookla report that internet speeds in the country have improved from 23.46 Mbps in June 2020 to 66.86 Mbps in June 2021.
Globe’s President and CEO Ernest Cu then wrote to the press about the improvements of network upgrades and infrastructure development.
In July, Converge disclosed upgrade plans to increase download speeds and preparations for fiber-optic networks to support next-generation technologies.
Now that all esports tournaments are being held online and connectivity is of utmost importance, competing gamers are now relying on local ISPs to continually improve service and avoid disconnection problems and game lags.
Tags: #Evo2021, #onlinegames, #gametournament, #Internetservice