ALGS Split 2 Playoffs disrupted by on-site technical issues

The ALGS Split 2 Playoffs kicked off on July 13, but proceedings were seemingly disrupted by a series of technical issues, culminating in a server disconnection during the first game of the day. These issues included stream stuttering, in-game issues, and a lack of team comms on the ALGS Command Centre stream.

For viewers, the issues have meant poor stream quality, and missing features from the popular Command Centre stream, although most stream-based issues seem to have been resolved at the time of writing. Additionally, the start time for the stream was delayed as problems with the broadcast were resolved.  

But for players, the issues caused much greater problems, as the first game of the day had to be restarted. This was due to player's computers crashing, or the game lobby itself breaking. This resulted in the game being replayed.

It’s unknown the reason for the technical issues and disruptions, but it was initially thought to be a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack. The event is being played on a pseudo-LAN environment, with the games being played on online servers, rather than locally hosted machines. Online servers are vulnerable to these types of attacks, and one of the reasons competitors often prefer true LAN conditions — although they are rare in the modern esports landscape.

However, on-site EA officials forwarded a response from the company to esports.gg. According to EA “There were on-site technical issues and no evidence of a DDoS.” 

Unconfirmed reports suggest that these technical issues are hardware and logistic based, rather than networking issues. As a result, it’s hoped that these issues will be resolved as the event continues. 

The ALGS Split 2 Playoffs run from July 13 to July 16, at the Copper Box Arena in London, England. Esports.gg will be reporting live and in-person from the event for the duration. Keep your eyes peeled for more coverage, interviews, and news!