Today's annual announcement for the Summer Evo World Championship has stunned fans with the shock omission of Mortal Kombat 11! The nine game lineup features an eclectic mix of tournament fighting games, but the most recent NetherRealm Studios title wasn't among them. Read on:

Not even a year old; Mortal Kombat 11 was expected to join other current iterations of the major fighting game franchises for a second year of competition. Instead, the lineup will feature a string of returning contemporary titles, and 2000's Marvel vs Capcom 2, which will celebrate its 20th anniversary at the event.

There was much fanfare when the Mortal Kombat reboot first brought the series into Evo contention in 2011. The admission began a nine year streak for NetherRealm Studios, who replenished their presence with regular installments of the Injustice and Mortal Kombat franchises.

Award winning eSports competitor Sonic Fox took last year's crown, defeating recurring arch-rival Dragon as part of the MK11 Pro Kompetition. The title was his third Mortal Kombat Evo World Championship, having dominated Mortal Kombat X in previous years.

Fully understanding the omission of Mortal Kombat 11 will take time. Announced seventh in last year's schedule, MK11 attracted a respectable turnout of 1,567 registered players, ranking fifth ahead of Dragon Ball FighterZ (1,191), Soul Calibur VI (742), and BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle (640). A meagre 362 players separated the game from rival Street Fighter V, but all games were wildly outpaced by Nintendo's uniquely accessible genre-buster Super Smash Bros Ultimate, which hosted a staggering 3,492 competitors.

Mortal Kombat die hards won't be starved for a place to compete. A total prize purse of $100,000 will be on offer this March at the recently announced Final Kombat. The event will be a culmination of the MK11 Pro Kompetition, with a Saturday tournament offering registrants a chance to compete in the final 16 event on Sunday.

What do you think of Mortal Kombat's shock exit from the Evo World Championship? Take us for a ride in the comments with your reactions and speculation and find more discussion in the Mortal Kombat 11 forum!