Hello, PUBG Esports Fans.
As the return of the PUBG Nations Cup fast approaches, we wanted to inform you of an issue we've run into with one of the teams. As excited as we are to get back into the thrills of an in-person tournament and after exhausting every way to have everyone on-site, Team China will, unfortunately, participate in PNC 2022 remotely.
Over the last couple of years, PUBG Esports have had to adjust quite a bit in the wake of the pandemic. From full-on remote tournaments to hybrid ones, we’ve had to compromise in certain aspects to keep the show running.
In Shanghai, where most of the PCL PUBG Esports teams are located, teams are facing ongoing pandemic challenges and even had to convert PCL Spring to an online tournament during the middle of the season. While we all hope to get back to some semblance of normal soon, the reality is that we must respect each nation’s local policies.
How did we decide on this exception?
Our goal for PNC 2022 was an on-site event for both players and fans to enjoy. We reviewed every possible method we could think of to achieve this for the grand return of the Nation’s Cup. In the end, the pandemic-related travel restrictions forced us to have to consider online participation over in-person.
With this inevitability, we’ve put together the following prerequisites for Team China:
- All members of Team China participating in PNC 2022 must be present in one place.
- An assigned staff and referee must also be present in order to ensure a fair competitive environment.
- The provided PCs and equipment will be identical to that of the Bangkok arena.
- Team China's online participation should not interfere with or affect the Bangkok arena.
The PUBG Esports team has been diligent in finding a location that can accommodate all of the above requirements and has decided that Team China will participate online from Guangzhou city. This is a location close to Bangkok to reduce latency while still having the resources to make the competitive environment as close to the Bangkok arena as possible.
Over 40 test matches were played during an 8-day test period and the average ping in Guangzhou city during that time was 40-60ms as compared to the 20-40ms that players in Bangkok received. With Bangkok's ping maintaining a similar level of ping to our usual esports server, we are confident we’ve done all we can to ensure that latency won’t get in the way of the competition.
The PUBG Esports team has shared this information with Team China and the other 15 national teams in advance, to ensure everyone is in agreement and has all the details. We will continue to monitor the situation and will continue to do our best to ensure that all 16 national teams can perform in an equal and fair environment. It’s our hope to not have to make these exceptions for much longer, but thank you and the teams for your understanding as we continue to adjust in the wake of the pandemic.
PUBG Esports Team.