WoW cash tournaments announced, instant level 70s promised

Blizzard just confirmed the formation of a new type of tournament in World of Warcraft's Arena System to "take place on special realms" and which will "allow competitors to instantly create level-70 characters with epic equipment, placing the focus on tactics and execution rather than normal adventuring."

The tournaments will start in April with two rounds of online qualifiers in Europe, South Korea, North America, and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. You have to pay to play: 15€/£12 in Europe; 20,000 won in South Korea; $20 in North America; and NT$450 in the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.

The tournaments will "run for six weeks. During this time, teams will play 3-vs.-3 matches on the tournament realm in their region, with the top four teams from each round advancing to the regional finals to compete for more than $27,000 in cash prizes. Winners from each region will then be invited to a global championship event to compete for $120,000 in cash prizes, including a $75,000 grand prize."

Keep an eye on this for more details.