How SK Gaming Transformed Esports Audio with LAMA Connect & NDI Audio

Customer

SK Gaming, Cologne, Germany

Event

League of Legends, Valorant/Valorant League German, Brawl Stars, Clash Royale

Industry

Esports

Key Numbers

20 staff & freelancers, 2 production locations, 9 key sponsors, including Deutsche Telekom and Mercedes-Benz, +7M Followers, 8.7M Monthly Hours Watched, 320M monthly impressions, set up includes 80+ audio channels & 20 NDI sources

German Esports pioneers SK Gaming simplified their audio production workflow of over 80 channels and 20 NDI sources by using LAMA Connect to more efficiently produce Broadcast-Quality media for their +7M Followers.

Overview

SK Gaming is a hallmark of the esports world, originating in 1997 when a group of friends united to play the Quake game competitively. Since then, it has grown into one of the trailblazers of global esports, managing professional teams and hosting major competitions for games such as League of Legends, Valorant, Brawl Stars, and Clash Royale. Their growing reputation has positioned them not only as key contributors to gaming excellence but also as pioneers of high-quality production for in-person and online audiences.

With operations running out of two key facilities—its headquarters in Cologne and bespoke gaming spaces at the nhow Hotel in Berlin—SK Gaming produces globally acclaimed game tournaments, streamed to audiences worldwide. From securing sponsorships with Deutsche Telekom and Mercedes-Benz to developing state-of-the-art technical setups, SK Gaming has cemented its position at the heart of esports innovation.

The Challenge

Esports production operates much like traditional broadcasting—but typically with tighter budgets. For SK Gaming’s production manager, Bastiaan Brands, the rising complexity of managing multiple audio streams became a pressing technical challenge.

With a setup largely built around advanced tools like the Waves eMotion LV1 mixing console, Dante AoIP, and NDI (Network Device Interface) protocol for streaming, the team was ready to deliver broadcast-quality coverage. But routing and processing audio via the vMix video system proved inefficient, adding unnecessary steps to the process, increasing equipment demands, and complicating workflows.

“We needed a solution that allowed us to de-embed and route audio seamlessly between systems—without requiring overly complex setups or breaking the budget,” explains Brands.

Additionally, esports audio comes with its own set of complexities. These include managing gameplay audio, remote contributor feeds, operator-specific mix-minus feeds, and multiple communication lines—all while maintaining impeccable flexibility and quality.

The team at SK Gaming had one clear objective in mind: simplify their audio management while enhancing flexibility and staying within realistic budget constraints.

Solution

Worlflow

After evaluating several technologies to tackle their broadcasting hurdles, SK Gaming selected LAMA Connect—a software-based audio patchbay and protocol converter. From the outset, LAMA Connect offered SK Gaming exactly what it needed:

  • Simplified workflows by decoupling audio routing from video systems
  • Cross-platform compatibility for routing audio sources across Dante, NDI, Windows Audio, and more
  • Cost-efficiency compared to competing solutions

“We chose LAMA Connect because nothing else offers the same functionality at this price point,” says Brands. “The installation was straightforward, and the smooth connectivity we experienced exceeded our expectations.”

Designed specifically to address modern audio production issues, LAMA Connect bridges the gap between traditional audio hardware and IP-driven formats like NDI and AoIP. Its features—such as virtual routing, clean feed outputs, and format conversion capabilities—are ideally suited to dynamic, multi-channel setups required in esports broadcasting.

“LAMA Connect became the Swiss Army Knife of our production chain,” says Brands. “It handles everything from routing NDI audio to embedding clean feeds for virtual systems.”

The Setup

SK Gaming’s audio systems, which already leveraged powerful gear like the Waves LV1 console and Dante AoIP infrastructure, were enhanced by the integration of LAMA Connect.

Key components of the setup include:

  • Waves eMotion LV1 Mixer and Soundgrid hardware for audio mixing
  • Multiple NDI cameras and video feeds
  • LAMA Connect routing audio sources between systems
  • ioversal Vertex Play system for live program outputs

Here’s how LAMA Connect fits into the ecosystem:

  • Routes NDI audio streams in and out of SK’s Waves LV1 mixer
  • Enables clean feed creation and streamlined mix-minus configurations
  • Decouples audio workflows from vMix video processing for greater flexibility

“With LAMA Connect, our sound engineer can instantly access separate audio streams—this was impossible under the old setup,” says Brands.

The Result

By implementing LAMA Connect, SK Gaming experienced a total transformation in its production workflow.

Key Benefits

  • Simplified Audio Management

LAMA Connect provided a direct solution to audio connectivity issues, removing unnecessary steps and consolidating multiple workflows into a single, streamlined system.

  • Enhanced Flexibility

The team gained the ability to route return feeds and de-embed sources easily, offering greater operational control over production environments.

  • Cost Savings

As an affordable, software-based tool, LAMA Connect eliminated the need for costly additional hardware, fitting within SK Gaming’s budget without compromising performance.

  • Broadcast-Quality Output

Despite the budget constraints typical of esports, SK Gaming maintained the high production standards required to engage global audiences.

“LAMA Connect gave us configurability, usability, and—most importantly—stability that was missing in our previous setup,” says Brands.

Competitive Advantage

With LAMA Connect, SK Gaming now operates a cutting-edge broadcasting pipeline, ensuring their events meet the demands of both in-person audiences and global viewers. These enhancements have fortified SK Gaming’s reputation as an innovator in the esports industry.

Final Thoughts

The integration of LAMA Connect has enabled SK Gaming to overcome long-standing challenges with elegance and efficiency. By uniting disparate systems under one scalable, software-driven framework, LAMA Connect has redefined what’s possible in esports audio production.

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