Over the past several seasons, community members from both the WATL tournament committee and the WKTL council have been evaluating how competitors qualify for the World Axe & Knife Throwing Championship and areas of growth for that system. A consistent theme in community feedback has been the desire for a clearer, more transparent path to earning bids, along with defined benchmarks that competitors can track throughout the year.
Beginning in Season 1 of 2026, we are introducing an updated Path to WAKTC that simplifies qualification across disciplines, removes trickle mechanics, and creates realistic and tangible targets for earning bids for both WKTL and the World Axe Throwing League.
We acknowledge that making these changes now can feel sudden, because we do not typically make bigger changes once a year has started. We take our stance on that seriously, and that stance will not change. We are continuously committed to providing advance notice for any major updates whenever possible, as we see it as extremely important for participants to know what to expect going into their next league, or competitive year.
The reason this update deviates from that is because it does not remove bids, reduce access, or disadvantage any competitor currently pursuing qualification. On the contrary, instead it adds and improves circuit point opportunities in both league and tournament competition.
Rather than delaying improvements that increase simplicity and opportunity until next year simply for the sake of notice, we felt it was vital to introduce the system now so competitors can benefit from it immediately and throughout the competitive year of 2026.
Below is a breakdown of the updated structure.
Below are the milestones to meet on the global leaderboard, rewarded with a bid to WAKTC.
Pro Hatchet bids to WAKTC
*Pro division competitors must attempt at least 28 Killshots in their top performing season (the single season that gets added to the leaderboard) in order to be considered for a bid.
Am Hatchet, Big Axe, Hatchet Duals, Knife bids to WAKTC
Knife Duals bids to WAKTC
General
Below are the milestones to meet in the three tiers of sanctioned tournaments, rewarded with either a bid to WAKTC, or Circuit Points.
Nationals
Regionals
Locals
General
Qualifying Throws
The development team is working throughout the year to ensure the process will be smooth and seamless going forward, and the Rules Committee will be working on adjustments to this if necessary for WAKTC X (2027), and any changes will be announced in late 2026.
Discretionary Bids
These are used to recognize throwers from underserved areas and/or those who have made notable contributions to the community and merit an invitation to WAKTC events. Additionally, as they know their local communities and competitors better than anyone else, we open up the ability for Affiliates to nominate competitors for bids as we draw closer to the release of final bids for WAKTC.
These changes unify the path to WAKTC across the WATL and WKTL disciplines, and we can’t be more excited about the peace of mind it will give competitors this year. Venues will be able to celebrate bid winners, competitors will be able to lobby for sponsors earlier, and WAKTC attendees will be able to plan as soon as they know.
Some extra great quality of life changes that come with this new system apply specifically to WKTL! Any venue looking to host a tournament can host a WKTL tournament without having to apply for a limited number of bids, WKTL tournaments will only have to meet the 8 competitor/6 team threshold to be sanctioned.
Whether someone focuses on league, tournaments, or both, the benchmarks are now clearer, more attainable, and consistent across all disciplines. We at WATL & WKTL are looking forward to seeing how this improves the competitor and tournament host experiences, and how it sets the stage for a more engaging competitive environment.
Thanks to everyone competing in WATL leagues and tournaments in 2026!
