Hatchet Hangout to host 2026 Florida Throwdown WATL local tournament

Hatchet Hangout turned its Florida Throwdown into a tight points race by capping Hatchet at 128 entries and Duals and Big Axe at 64 apiece. The June 13-14 weekend in St. Petersburg, Florida sat inside World Axe Throwing League’s local tier, but it still carried circuit points in all three disciplines for throwers who cleared WATL’s participation thresholds.

The event was built as an official WATL Atlantic Regional axe throwing tournament, open to anyone rather than only current WATL members. That mattered because WATL-affiliated throwers were the ones able to turn results into seasonal circuit movement, and the league’s structure made the local stop more than a house event. Sanctioned tournaments are tiered as Nationals, Regionals or Locals, and WATL says every tier requires a WATL or WKTL certified Head Judge.

On the floor, the format was straightforward and unforgiving: best-of-three, double-elimination brackets in Hatchet, Duals and Big Axe. WATL’s tournament guide says sanctioned events in those disciplines use that same best-of-three, double-elimination setup, which puts a premium on recovery after an early loss and on staying sharp across multiple starts in the same weekend. The Florida Throwdown’s three-discipline design meant throwers chasing points had to prepare for individual, pair and big-axe work in the same trip.

The money side was just as specific. Hatchet Hangout listed entry fees of $100 for Big Axe, $75 for Duals or individual entries, $75 for Amateur Hatchet and $100 for Open Hatchet. The venue said all entry fees included WATL software and processing fees, and it returned 50% of registration fees to contestants. WATL’s 2026 rules updates added another layer of pressure: each division or discipline needed at least 8 competitors or 6 teams to count for bids or Circuit Points. That is why field depth mattered as much as the top seeds.

The weekend package went beyond the brackets. Hatchet Hangout advertised a Friday meet-and-greet and practice session, plus a VIP bracelet for throwers who registered for all three events. The venue’s 2026 calendar also pointed to Axes in Paradise and Endless Summer as additional WATL local stops, a sign that the Tampa Bay area was being used as a repeat stop in the circuit rather than a one-off showcase. For throwers trying to stack momentum without jumping straight to nationals, Florida Throwdown fit the exact shape of the climb.