Öx Indoor Axe Throwing opens free season 3 open houses and league path

Öx Indoor Axe Throwing is rolling out free Season 3 entry points in Billings, with separate WATL pages for a free Hatchet Open House, free Big Axe Open House and free Hatchet Duals Open House, plus a Big Axe League listing. The venue at 119 Rhea Ln, Billings, MT 59102 is building a clean path from first throw to sanctioned competition, with scores feeding the World Axe Throwing League’s global leaderboard.

That progression matters because WATL treats hatchet, big axe and hatchet duals as sanctioned disciplines, not side attractions. Games are decided over 10 throws, and ties go to sudden-death killshots. WATL also says it runs four official seasons each year, with each season lasting eight weeks and Week 8 reserved for playoffs. Its 2026 Season 3 window runs from July 13 to September 13, giving Öx’s rollout a fixed place on the sport’s calendar.

The open houses are the first step in that ladder. A newcomer can walk into a free hatchet session to learn release and accuracy, move to big axe for the heavier feel and longer swing, or try hatchet duals, the team format that introduces communication and match rhythm. From there, the next stop is a league page, where scores are submitted and tracked against other sanctioned throwers instead of disappearing into a one-night novelty event. Öx also lists a Hatchet League for Season 3, widening the route for anyone ready to make the jump from sampling the sport to playing for points.

The structure fits the broader WATL model, which describes leagues as the backbone of an affiliated venue and the entry point to higher levels of competition. WATL says it has 300-plus affiliated venues across 20 countries, and it says venues may host more than one sanctioned league in a season. Only a competitor’s top-performing league counts on the global leaderboard, a rule that rewards throwers who keep improving across formats instead of settling into one lane.

The timing also reflects how far the sport has spread since WATL announced Big Axe League and Duals League in December 2019. By separating hatchet, big axe and duals into distinct pages, Öx is doing more than filling lanes in Billings. It is showing casual throwers exactly how to move from a free open house into a full Season 3 commitment, then on toward sanctioned tournaments and the wider WATL circuit.