Latency significantly affects online gaming performance, leading to delays between player actions and game responses. This lag can result in a poor gaming experience, causing players to miss critical events, suffer from desynchronization with other players, or experience unresponsive controls. High latency can be exacerbated by network congestion, distance from game servers, or the quality of the internet connection. Competitive online gamers often seek low-latency connections to ensure smooth gameplay, reduce the risk of losing matches, and improve their overall performance and enjoyment.