· 6 min read
What it takes to broadcast a PUBG Mobile championship live
Sixteen teams, 64 players and twenty-plus live feeds. Here’s how we keep PMGO and PMNC broadcasts on air when anything can go wrong.
Ather IftikharTechnical Director
A 5v5 esports match is hard enough to broadcast. A 16-team, 64-player battle royale like the PUBG Mobile Global Open (PMGO) or the National Championship (PMNC) is a different level — dozens of video and audio feeds, all live, all at once.
What goes into one match
Map observers, action observers, player cams, the casters’ desk and tournament admins — that’s over twenty signals to coordinate in every match, with no second take.
Always have a backup feed
An internet drop or a crashed encoder can’t be allowed to kill the main stream. We run backup encoders and can switch scenes over in seconds, so viewers never see a black screen.
Graphics that keep up
Kill feeds, team standings and post-match graphics — made in Premiere Pro, After Effects and Photoshop — help viewers follow the action when it gets chaotic in the finals.
Running an event? Tell me about it.
Written by Ather Iftikhar. I’m a Technical Director who builds and looks after servers, software, stores and live broadcasts for clients worldwide.