Mortal Kombat Tournament

The featured fighting tournament and namesake of the Mortal Kombat series of fighting games, Mortal Kombat was originally thought to be a solely human conception, until later retcons revealed it to be universal among the series' featured Realms, created by the Elder Gods as a way for other realms to defend themselves against Outworld after it grew too powerful.

Rules of Mortal Kombat
The rules of the tournament are simple:


 * 1. Every generation, competing realms would send their best fighters in to a single-elimination martial arts tournament; the victor of the tournament is crowned Mortal Kombat Grand Champion. If a realm can garner ten straight victories via their Grand Champion or another representative of theirs, they earn the right to invade the opposing realm. The Grand Champion him/herself is granted stunted aging until the next tournament. This is the ONLY way for a realm to invade and conquer another. Whichever realm loses the current tournament at the time may declare a rematch, and - if they win - that win willbe added to their previous winning streak.


 * 2. Mortal Kombat, once declared, cannot be refused by either party.


 * 3. Special powers cannot be used in the tournament (Mortal Kombat: Conquest only, although it is entirely possible this rule was in place prior to the first game, storywise).


 * 4. Any violation of the above rules is considered an act of treason against the realms and the Elder Gods themselves, and will be dealt with accordingly and swiftly.

Notable tournaments

 * 1000+ BMK-500 BMK: The first known Mortal Kombat tournament, created when sorcerer Shang Tsung, under orders by Outworld emperor Shao Kahn, took control of an Earthrealm Shaolin tournament in a bid to upset the furies and invade Earth. In this time span, Shang Tsung held a 9-tournament winning streak, but was cut short in the tenth tournament by the Great Kung Lao.


 * 500 BMK-0 MK: The Great Kung Lao held his position as Grand Champion for only one generation, after which his title - and his life - was taken by Shang Tsung's newest warrior, Goro, who held the title for another nine victories.


 * 0 MK (Mortal Kombat): Liu Kang, a young monk, defeats Goro, thus breaking his winning streak and preventing Outworld's invasion of Earth. Shang Tsung challenges Liu to a battle, trying to salvage something from his champion's loss, but is defeated, as well. As such, he is forced to relinquish his hold on the tournament and flee back to Outworld.


 * 0 MK-1 AMK (Mortal Kombat II): A false tournament proposed by Shang Tsung to Shao Kahn, to lure Earth's warriors to Outworld, where Kahn's forces would have a distinct advantage. It also posed as a distraction away from Kahn's revival of his wife, Queen Sindel on Earth, which would force a merger of the realms regardless of the false tournament's outcome. No definite winner is declared, as Kahn's adopted daugter Kitana warns Earth's warriors of the tournament's nature before it could conclude.


 * 7 AMK+ (Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance): Although the main storyline does not involve a tournament for the main characters, at this time, there WAS a tournament, going on; one set up by Shang Tsung and his partner, the necromancer Quan Chi to give the Outworld native Li Mei a chance to free her people, who were currently enslaved by the two sorceres in order to build a temple over a soulnado, a means of which they could achieve their goals of ultimate power and immortality. This tournament has not been expressly stated as a Mortal Kombat tournament, and it is highly debatable among fans whether or not it can be called such, but regardless, it was as fake as the one set up by Shao Kahn in Outworld, with the sorcerers having no intention of keeping their word, regardless of the outcome.