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ESL to bring Mortal Kombat X into the Pro League lineup

• Maxwell Noir
• April 13th, 2015

The release of Mortal Kombat X is just around the corner, and Netherrealm Studios is making sure that you’re excited about it. They’ve trickled in character reveals, teamed up with System of a Down for the launch trailer, and even released a “companion app” to help tide us over until release day. The game plan for generating hype has been effective, but pretty standard fare. What’s planned to keep the Mortal Kombat hype train going after the release is a different story.

Yesterday, ESL hosted the first Mortal Kombat X tourney. Eight of the best professional Mortal Kombat players were invited to compete for a share of $10,000. The competitors were given just two days to get a feel for the game, and they certainly put on a show. The “Fatal 8” invitational brought us an in-depth look at what some of the kombatants can really do, but that certainly wasn’t all. ESL made sure to let the viewers know more about how they can get in on the Pro League. Starting on April 19^th, players who own a copy of the game on the Xbox One can sign up and compete in the preseason ladder. The regular season begins May 3^rd, where players play weekly for cash and seeding points for the global finals at the end of the season.

ESL is usually known for hosting major League of Legends, Counterstrike, and Starcraft. Mortal Kombat X will be the first fighting game in the Pro League lineup. The fighting game community has had some issues in the past blending in with the larger scale of eSports, but the introductions of events like this could be a huge step in giving fighters a boost in popularity. For those that are interested in watching the “Fatal * footage, the recap footage can be found on ESL’s YouTube channel. More in-depth details about the Mortal Kombat X pro league can be found on ESL’s website.