Bomb scare forces Faceit evacuation during ECS NA qualifier

The Esports Championship Series’ North American qualifiers stream had to continue without Faceit’s broadcasting staff because of a potential bomb threat that was later proven to be a false alarm.

Just as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive squads Team Liquid and eUnited were set into a heated match, casters and staff at Faceit in charge of broadcasting the games had to evacuate their premises. According to Santa Monica Police Department, this was due to a bomb threat aimed not directly at the crew, but based around a suspicious package left on their street.

“The SMPD is investigating a suspicious package left in a trash can in the 1400 block of the 3rd Street Promenade,” the department said on Twitter. “We are asking everyone to stay out of the 1400 block of the Promenade while we wait for investigations to arrive on the scene.”

One of the commentators, James Bardolph, shared on stream that the crew might need to evacuate as the bomb squad was on its way. He later confirmed the evacuation over Twitter, where the fans wished for them to stay safe.

The ECS NA qualifiers stream continued without commentary. A few hours later, SMPD announced the investigation had been completed and that there was no real threat.

“Officers have determined there is no threat to the public from the item placed in the trash container near the 1400 block of the #3rdStreetPromenade,” the police tweeted.

CSGO fans were thankful to the police for taking care of everyone’s safety and were happy to hear the situation passed as peacefully as it had. 

Even though there’s often no actual bombs in cases such as this one, due to increased levels of domestic terrorism including bomb threats in the United States and abroad, it’s important for the police to approach every possibility with great care and not to take any risks when people’s lives are potentially in question.