[Pandan]

Umm there needs to be zero distance. You just give the players the adequate headsets. That is all the solution needs to be. Every IEM has done this for a decade and almost every EU LAN has done this for longer.

You can even ghetto out and just get -40dB or -80dB ear muffs and make players use in-ear (which is pretty standard) on stage.

Putting the players further from the audience or removing them completely is a huge drop in quality and will lower your ability to portray the 'storyline' of players and the event(s).

Quick Comments

mGGDaedalus:

These are not a definitive answer, though they do help