Most of us play World of Warcraft for fun, but there are some hardcore gamers out there who play Blizzard’s MMO professionally: both categories will get a chance to meet face to face and prove their skills in the just-announced World of Warcraft Arena Tournament 2009. And if you believe that simply proving your skills isn’t worth the trouble of paying 20 bucks to participate, have in mind that the total cash prize pool is of over $200,000!

Blizzard announced that every active player who has both the Burning Crusade and the Wrath of the Lich King expansions can register to the tournament for $20. Registration grants one eligible World of Warcraft account access to the tournament realms for the duration of the six-week tourney. Players will be able to create up to three new fully customizable level-80 characters on these realms and deck them out with a full set of epic gear. Then form your new 3v3 team and enter the Arenas, where a whole new level of competitive play awaits you

Apart from the cash prizes, participants in the WoW Arena Tournament 2009 can win the Vanquisher title (on regular servers) as well as an exclusive armored murloc pet. Sign-ups will be open on February 17 and if you’re interested in the competition, check out the game’s official website for more details.