Does DDR5 latency matter for esports gaming?

No, DDR5 latency is mostly irrelevant for esports. The higher CL numbers (e.g., CL30 vs CL16) are offset by double the frequency, so actual latency in nanoseconds is similar. Your 1% lows in games like Valorant or CS2 depend on CPU core speed and cache, not RAM timings. Benchmarks show DDR4-3600 CL16 and DDR5-6000 CL30 trade blows within 1–3% on minimum FPS — smaller than run-to-run variance. If building new, buy DDR5 and don’t worry; if you already have DDR4, upgrading for esports alone is a waste.