After the Evo Championship line-up announcement was made in early February , some fans were disappointed to see that Mortal Kombat 9 had been removed from the line-up in favor of Injustice and Killer Instinct. Brant Mccaskill , a well-known Mortal Kombat 9 pro player who goes by “Pig of the Hut,” and Troy Lightfoot, who goes by "ClaudeVS," took things into their own hands and organized a side tournament for the fighting game that has garnered over $1,600 USD in prizes through registrations and sponsors at the time of publication.

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Side tournaments aren’t a new concept at Evo and other fighting game community events, but it’s not often that you see a side tournament bring in prize money that rivals that of the smaller FGC tournaments. Most of the prize money has come from registration signups ($10 pre-reg, $20 at the door) and donations, but they also managed to get Frequency Gaming (FRQ) to donate $400 as a sponsor for the tournament, adding to the overall pot.If you’re interested in participating — or watching the stream — the tournament starts at 6PM PST on Saturday, July 12, and will be streamed on Twitch at StreamOfTheHut Additionally, if you’re interested in contributing to the pot, you can do so via the tournament’s GoFundMe page The biggest fighting game tournament of the year, Evo 2014 is right around the corner and IGN is bringing you the action live. We'll also archive every single match so you don't miss a single moment or epic comeback. To watch simply join us on https://www.ign.com/events/evo

Alex Rubens is a video game journalist and critic who likes Star Wars and Fast and Furious far too much. You can talk to him about them on Twitter