World Knife Throwing League
Governing body for commercial knife throwing venues.
The World Knife Throwing League, or WKTL, was established in 2021 as a companion organization to the World Axe Throwing League. Founded by venue operators from Canada, the U.S., and the U.K., it seeks to govern commercial knife throwing. The WKTL includes five member nations and over 30 affiliate companies. It runs international competitions like the U.S. Open and the World Knife Throwing Championship, and certifies judges to enforce its Code of Conduct.
Quick Facts
- Champion
- Shane Funke
- Sport
- Knife throwing
- Founded
- 2021
- First
- Spring 2021
- Countries
- 5
- Commissioner
- Evan Walters
Facts from the source article.
Did You Know?
- The World Knife Throwing Championship takes place once per year, with slight format changes announced before each competition.
- In 2024, the WKTL added Knife Duals as an official discipline for league and tournament play.
- International Knife Throwing Day is celebrated on September 8th.
Scoring
A match consists of ten knives thrown per player, with the highest total points winning. Ties are broken by sudden death throws, where throwers alternate until one scores higher. The WKTL target has a red bullseye worth 6 points, followed by rings scoring 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 point. Blue dots in the 1-point ring, called Kill-shots, may be hit twice per match for 8 points each. Scoring is based on the highest point value the knife touches when it sticks.
Tournaments
The WKTL began developing a tournament format in 2021 to include throwers unable to participate in regular seasons. The first official tournament was the 2021 US Open, which also became the first knife throwing tournament featured on ESPN. In 2023 the league discontinued the U.S. Open and rebranded it as the Pro-Am Championship, designed to highlight both professional and amateur throwers and to introduce new gameplay styles called Skills Challenges.
History
The WKTL was founded in 2021 with inaugural representatives from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Evan Walters was announced as Commissioner. The first World Knife Throwing Championship was held at Billy Bob's Texas. The league released over a dozen new knives and partnered with Toro Knives to create league-approved knives, later publishing a list of pre-approved knives for competition. The inaugural WKTC Awards introduced Thrower Awards, Venue Awards, and Commissioner's Choice Awards. An advisory volunteer council of throwers and venue owners was formed. The first venue in Poland joined, bringing member countries to four, and later a venue in Mexico became the first member there, raising the total to five. The WKTL introduced Duals as an official discipline.
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