Players in the Pokemon World Championships tournament at the Hynes Convention Center breathed a collective sigh of stunned relief yesterday after learning police foiled an alleged plot of two heavily armed men who drove to the event from Iowa allegedly ?bent on committing violence against players they’d threatened on ?social media.

“I might have canceled if I had known about the threats sooner … I would have been really scared, I definitely would have had second thoughts,” James Eakes, 20, of San Jose, Calif., told the Herald. “I thought the people doing it were really dumb, to post it on Facebook like that. I guess I didn’t really believe it until I read the police article, but it reassures me to know they did a good job.”

Police announced they arrested Kevin Norton, 18, and James Stumbo, 27, on Friday and confiscated a rifle, shotgun and hundreds of rounds of ammunition after learning the pair allegedly threatened attendees on social media.

Both men are expected to be arraigned today in Boston Municipal Court on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition and other firearms charges. They could not produce a license to carry the guns, police said.

Former Boston police Commissioner Edward F. Davis said the weapons are high-powered and cause for concern.

“When we have a mass gathering like that, that kind of weaponry can do a lot of damage in a short amount of time,” Davis said.

BPD spokeswoman officer Rachel McGuire said of the case, “There does not appear to be a nexus to terrorism. But the ?motive is still under ?investigation.”

The Boston Regional Intelligence Center received information from security at the Hynes on Thursday of threats Norton and Stumbo allegedly made on social media, and stopped the pair as they tried to enter the event Thursday.

They were released while investigators waited for approval of a search warrant of their vehicle, which was executed on Friday and led to the recovery of one 12-gauge Remington shotgun, one DPM5 Model AR-15 rifle, several hundred rounds of ammunition and a hunting knife. An arrest warrant was then issued for both men, who were nabbed at a Saugus ?hotel with the help of ?Saugus police.

A woman reached at a home in Boone, Iowa, who identified herself as Stumbo’s mother, declined comment last night.

According to the tournament website, the Pokemon World Championships is an invitation-only event that began Friday and ran through yesterday. Players vied for a share of more than $500,000 in scholarship awards.

Justin Carris, 20, of Vineland, N.J., said he first thought all the security “had something to do with the marathon ?bombings.”

“I’m happy they were stopped,” Carris said.

“It’s nice to be able to feel like I can go to an event anywhere and to know they’ll take care ?of us.”