The organizers of The Evolution Championship Series (Evo) contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) after a Twitch user suggested a mass shooting will take place at this year's tournament on Aug. 3 to 5 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
PC Gamer reported that tournament director Joey Cuellar published a tweet in which he said he was aware of the mass shooting threat and that he had reported it to both FBI and Twitch. Cuellar said they have taken the threat seriously, promising a punishment "to the full extent of the law" for those responsible.
The tournament director failed to mention both the specific threat and the Twitch user who suggested the attack. PC Gamer reported that a screenshot of a Twitch chat was posted prior to Cuellar's tweet. The screenshot was posted in reply to Street Fighter player Chris Tatarian who talked about the lack of security during gaming tournaments. As seen in the Tweet embedded below, a Twitch user by the name of "quackquackhonks" said, "Mass shooting @ EVO18 see you there."
ESPN reported that Evo has been criticized for the lack of separation between fans and players on the stage during the event which questions the integrity of the matches as well as the safety of players. Apparently, in 2016, a topless fan ran onto the stage during the Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 awards ceremony to challenge the then-new champion Chris "NYChrisG" Gonzalez. In 2017, on the other hand, there had been a confusion after coaches jumped on the stage during a match between Juan "Hungrybox" Debiedma and Zachary "SFAT" Cordoni at the Super Smash Bros. Melee tournament.
Furthermore, Evo organizers probably took the threat seriously after what happened last October. A mass shooting happened at the same site, Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, where the upcoming tournament will take place. The suspect, Stephen Paddock managed to shoot and kill 58 people at the venue during a live concert on Oct. 1. Stephen Paddock shot and killed 58 people from a suite at the venue during a live concert Oct. 1, 2017. More than 800 concertgoers were reportedly injured.
