This weekend, a digital festival unlike anything Dallas has seen before brought with it $450,000 in esports prize money, a hackathon, film screenings, live music,  a cosplay championship, film screenings, an expo, an “Indie Zone” for independently-developed games, panel discussions, and much more.

Attendees at DreamHack Dallas were seen carrying full-sized computers and suitcases to take part in BYOC (bring your own computer) tournaments. Others walked around the nearly 500,000-square-foot space to view everything from esports tournaments to cosplay competitions or to play the latest video games and arcade classics. 

Dallas-Fort Worth was represented locally during the festival from by esports teams from high schools, colleges, and professional esports teams like Dallas Fuel and Mavs Gaming. North Texas indie game developers also showcased their latest video game releases along with unreleased titles at DreamHack Dallas’ “Indie Zone.” 

READ NEXT DreamHack Hosts Its Largest U.S. Event Yet in Dallas

The biggest winners of the weekend were Team Liquid who clenched the CORSAIR DreamHack Masters tournament for a $250,000 prize pool. UNT Esports placed first in the DreamHack + AVGL Collegiate Series Rocket League tournament, while others competed in a variety of other games. All of the tournaments combined tallied up to over $450,000 in prize money. 

Justin Varghese, DreamHack’s North American Marketing Manager, told Dallas Innovates, “Dallas is one of those places where it really feels like it checks all of the boxes, where we have that opportunity with continuous floor space that we need as a show and the opportunity to continue growing and developing both as an event and as a brand.” 

Look inside DreamHack Dallas
Photos by Rachel Walters

Actor Jeff Goldblum was spotted mingling with fans at DreamHack Dallas. [Image: Twitter, @notiansans]

Streamer CatNaps plays League of Legends in the CLX Stream Studio at DreamHack Dallas.

Dreamhack Dallas hosts a Pro Circuit Rocket League match-up between G2 and Rogue.

The University of North Texas plays against the University of Oklahoma’s collegiate team in Dreamhack Dallas’s Apex Legends tournament. UNT won 66-57.

Commentators “Dazerin” Demar Williams and “Vodible” Nick Ambrozic give their take on the Dreamhack Pro Circuit Rocket League match-up between G2 and Rogue.

Team Liquid and FURIA face off in the DreamHack Masters semi-finals in Dallas.

The crowd at DreamHack Dallas roars as Team Liquid wins a round in CSGO during the Masters semi-finals.

The crowd at DreamHack Dallas roars as Team Liquid wins a round in CSGO during the Masters semi-finals.

Spectators yell in shock during the semi-final match between Team Liquid and FURIA at DreamHack Masters Dallas.

The crowd at DreamHack Dallas roars as Team Liquid wins a round in CSGO during the Masters semi-finals.

Jacky “Stewie2K” Yip bumps fists with his teammates as Team Liquid takes on FURIA in the DreamHack Masters in Dallas.

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