Major League Gaming have delivered a major league announcement for players heading to Ohio later this month -- the cash purse for Mortal Kombat has been doubled!

MajorLeagueGaming.com revealed a total Kombat prize pool of $33.4 thousand dollars for the coming Pro Circuit Winter Championships, compliments of their partnership with PlayStation. MK officially joined the MLG lineup in February [full story], a decision that bolstered the tournament credentials of the 2011 fighter, already heading to Evo for a second year.

    Mortal Kombat Winter Championships Cash Prizes:
  • 1st Place: $12,000

  • 2nd Place: $7,200

  • 3rd Place: $4,800

  • 4th Place: $3,200

  • 5th-6th Place: $2,000

  • 7th-8th Place: $1,000

Current NRG Top 5 player, , spoke of the value of MLG and the cash prize to the tournament community, telling us in a recent interview, "Travelling for a tournament now is a huge commitment and it has to be for the love of the game. [...] With MLG's large prize pot, it's a motivator for everyone to go to these single big tournaments. We're even going to see the return of Perfect Legend at MLG."

Reigning Mortal Kombat Evo World Champion, Perfect Legend, was quick to embrace the MLG announcement, taking to YouTube and Twitter to support the inclusion. He will be one of the marquee attractions for Mortal Kombat fans enjoying spectator options available through MLG. Edit: Crossover sensation JWonggg has also confirmed his entry into the MK field [via twitter].

Edit Mar. 17: In a new update, MLG have delivered a slew of names for next week's Pro Circuit Winter Championships, including live commentators and players entering the fighting tournaments!

Ryan Harvey (@fubarduck), Timothy Fenessy (@BrewtusBibulus), Oscar Oyarzabal (@TheAnswerKOF), and Phillip Michael Siegel (@995Phil) of The Kombat Network, make up a bilingual panel of commentators with specialist interest in the fighting games featured.

Joining the already confirmed PDP and Evo Mortal Kombat Champions is Tom Brady and EMP KDZ -- a Soul Calibur 4 Evo Runnerup. Soul Calibur V and King of Fighters XIII will be featured at the MLG Pro Circuit Winter Championships, alongside Mortal Kombat.

The Pro Circuit Winter Championships take place March 23-25 from Greater Columbus Convention Center, Columbus, Ohio. Competitor passes are currently on sale for $50, with Gold Member discounts. For more event information and spectator passes, visit MajorLeagueGaming.com.

Mortal Kombat Online will be following the event as it unfolds across three big days of MLG action, later this month. Join the competitive scene discussion on the forums, where coverage of the Road to Evo is well under way. For direct updates follow @MK_Online.