The reigning Call of Duty world champs are defending their Dallas Open title at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center this weekend, hoping to earn a big chunk of a $200,000 prize pool.
The gaming team, OpTic Gaming, took home an $80,000 prize in March when the won the 2017 CWL Dallas Open. The team followed that with fourth and 7th/8th place finishes in two other CWL opens in May and June before taking first, and a $212,500 prize, at the 2017 CWL Global Pro League Stage 2 event in July.
If you think that prize is a lot -- the team went on to win another $600,000 when they won the 2017 Call of Duty World League Championship in August.
This weekend's CWL Dallas Open, the first open Call of Duty® World League (CWL) tournament of the season, features the game, Call of Duty®: WWII. Players from North America, Europe and Asia will compete in Dallas in more than 200 teams, the most at any open event in CWL history, each fighting head-to-head.
“Call of Duty World League player participation saw tremendous growth last season, with teams vying for a piece of the largest prize pool in Call of Duty Esports history,” said Call of Duty Esports Director, Kevin Flynn. “This season, the prize pool has increased to $4.2 million and a record number of players at a Call of Duty World League open event will compete in Dallas.”
The top four teams from the open winners’ bracket Friday will join pool play Saturday for the next round of competition. Those winning teams will then compete on Sunday in the championship bracket, for a $200,000 event prize pool and the title of the CWL Dallas Open Champion.
“The CWL Dallas field is set. This is going to be an amazing competition and a great start to the CWL tournament season,” said executive vice president and general manager of Call of Duty, Rob Kostich. “The team at Sledgehammer Games has delivered an incredible experience with Call of Duty: WWII. Our team passes for the event sold out in minutes. We cannot wait to see who emerges from the pack starting in Dallas this weekend.”
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So, teams are sold out and the brackets are set. Want to watch the action? CWL Dallas Open general admission passes for the event are available for $59.99. A Premium Pass for the event is also available for $89.99 and includes an event T-shirt and one month of MLG GameBattles Premium. A $299.99 VIP ticket is also available and includes an event T-shirt, event jacket, one-hour early entrance to the venue, access to the VIP Lounge and more. For tickets, visit MLG.com/CWLDallas.