A bomb threat derailed Dallas' 'Call of Duty' tournament, but the $200,000 game is still on

Update on Dec. 9 at 12:45 a.m.: The Call of Duty World League kicked off in Dallas on Friday, and all was well. 208 teams from around the globe gathered in the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center to battle for a slice of a $200,000 prize pool. Players and spectators alike packed the event arena, and matches were in full swing.

Then the building was evacuated.

The Dallas Police Department received a call about a bomb threat on the building at around 4 p.m., after which security cleared the building. Along with the World League tournament, the convention center was hosting the BMW Dallas Marathon Expo.

This led to a lot of confusion and impatience on Twitter from World League attendees. Early on, the assumption was that somebody with a terrible sense of humor had simply pulled a fire alarm

As word of the bomb threat spread, the impatience lingered, but it was tempered with concern ... and frustration with whoever was responsible.

Because the World League is streamed to viewers over the internet and not tied to a TV network with a fixed schedule, many held out hope that matches would just be delayed by a few hours at most. It would mean extending the first day of the tournament until the late hours of the night (or early hours of the morning), but what video game player hasn't saying up way too late playing games?

Eventually, though, Major League Gaming (the company putting on the event alongside Call of Duty publisher Activision) announced that gameplay would not continue on Friday. Instead, the tournament will recommence Saturday morning at 10 a.m.

On Twitter, MLG's Adam Apicella said, "Let's finish the largest bracket in COD history in 2 days." A post on Reddit's CoDCompetitive group offered some more specific information for players, saying, "Due to time pressure, DQ rules will have to be enforced strongly in regard to making it on time to your match."

All that aside, though? The people behind the Call of Duty World League seem happy to be here.

"From [last year's World League event in Fort Worth], what we learned was that there are a lot of passionate fans in Dallas for Call of Duty," says Kevin Flynn, director of Call of Duty World League. The decision to come back to D-FW wasn't just about the fans, though. "Dallas as a city seemed really interested in having us back and were really welcoming," he says.

Barring any more delays, the tournament continues Dec. 9-10. You can see the action in person at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center (General Admission is $59.99 and is good for the entire weekend), or you can watch online for free at mlg.com/callofduty.

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Original story: OK, so the Dallas Cowboys aren't having the best year. The Stars could be doing better. The Mavericks, uh... Let's not talk about the Mavericks.

So if you're looking for a new sport to turn your attention to, you should know that this season's professional Call of Duty competition is kicking off at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center this weekend, Dec. 8-10. (Last year, the "Dallas" World League stop actually happened in Fort Worth.)

Teams from around the world will be competing for a prize pool of $200,000. They'll be playing the latest game in the franchise, Call of Duty: WWII, which, as you might have guessed, takes series back to its original World War II setting.

And that prize pool? That's just for this Dallas event. The World League series continues in other cities after the Dallas stop. The overall prize pool for the whole shebang is $4.2 million, culminating in a finals match that will take place in the summer of 2018.

Last year's Call of Duty champion team was OpTic gaming, which recently moved to Dallas. They defeated the then-defending champions, Team EnVyUs, which -- guess what? -- also just moved to Dallas.

So again, if you're looking for Dallas teams to support that don't deal in first downs or free throws, you should consider looking at Call of Duty. There is a lot of local talent to go around.

You can buy a three-day spectator pass for $59.99, which gets you general admission to the event. (Note that all spectators must be 13 or older, anyone under 18 will need a parental consent form, and anyone under 16 will need a parent or guardian to attend with them. The game is still rated M for Mature, y'all.) The general admission doors open at 11 a.m., but matches don't kick off until 2 p.m..

You can find the full match schedule at Major League Gaming's website.