World Axe Throwing League

This day (13 June) was created by the World Axe Throwing League to celebrate, and raise awareness and unify the sport of urban axe throwing. Though primarily celebrated with affiliates in the WATL, it is also celebrated by anyone with a passion for the sport around the world.[5]

An example of WATL targets with the points shown in their respective zones

Scoring is a match system where ten axes are thrown per match. The player with the highest points of their ten thrown axes wins the match. In case of a tie, a "Sudden Death" throw is made for the highest score. Sudden death throws are done until one thrower scores higher than the other. Scoring is determined by where you strike your axe into the target. The WATL targets have a red bullseye ring, followed by five empty rings, and then a blue ring. The scoring is 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 point respectively. Additionally, there are blue dots in the 1 point ring, known as "Kill-shot," and can only be used when called, twice per match for 8 points. Point designation is based on the highest point value the axe touches when it lands and sticks.

In 2018, WATL started working on a tournament format to help include any throwers who couldn't regularly participate in the WATL axe throwing seasons. This started off by working with Columbus Axe Throwing, to bring Urban Axe Throwing to Columbus, Ohio, for the Arnold Sports Festival (also known as the Arnold Classic or just "the Arnold" and named after Arnold Schwarzenegger)[7] Currently, there are plans to move forward with more tournaments in more locations but currently have only announced three annual tournaments: The Arnold, the U.S. Open, and the Canadian Open.

US Open Results

Year	Champion	Location	2nd Place
2018	John Bradley	Chicago, Illinois	Eric Enriquez
2019	Mike Kump	Des Moins, Iowa	Sam Carter
2020	Canceled	Canceled	Canceled
2021	Mike Philabaum	Atlanta, Georgia	Michael Theadorou
2022	Mark Tishko	Minneapolis, Minnesota	Lucas Johnson

World Axe throwing Championship trophy

The World Axe Throwing Championship takes place once a year in December. The format has slight changes from year to year, to be announced before the beginning of the yearly competition. 2018 marks the first time in the sport of axe throwing's history that a Championship has been presented on ESPN.[8]

Axe Throwing World Champions

United States	World Champion	Location Represented	Country	2nd Place	3rd Place
2017	Chris Morning	Far Shot Recreation	Canada	Jon Miller	Michael Moore
2018	Benjamin Edgington	Bad Axe Throwing Denver	United States	David Cycon	Paul Gammon
2019	Sam Carter	Tap That Axe Throwing	United States	David Cycon	Straun Riley
2020	Ryan Smit	Tribal Axe	United States	Mike Kump	Nick Rich
2021	Mike Philabaum	Mountain Man Axe throwing	United States	Garrett Gneiting	Robert Young
2022	Dylan Teets	Axe On Axe Off	United States	Colby Dean	Lucas Johnson/Mike Philabaum

The World Axe Throwing Championship added duals as a discipline in 2019. Duals is where two throwers are working together to throw a combined score.

The Commissioner of WATL heads the direction of the World Axe Throwing League.

WATL Commissioners

Years Active	Name	Country
2018 - 2020	Evan Walters	United States
2020–2021	Mario Zelaya	Canada
2022–Present	Mike Morton	Canada

• Official website