2025 Urban Open

Join us at Urban Axes Baltimore for the 2025 urban Open!

It's that time of year again! The Urban Open returns August 1-3 as throwers from all across the IATF flock to Urban Axes Baltimore for our biggest tournament of the year!  So come crack some Natty Bohs and compete for your chance to wear the iconic Clutch Jacket!

The Urban Open will be a three-day event with a similar schedule to last year. We'll begin Friday with Jones Cup and Skills events, followed on Saturday by our Urban Rules Tiered Swiss tournaments, and we'll conclude on Sunday with the Premier Rules, double-elimination Urban Open! Click here to learn more about each event and its format!

Our tournament includes events for throwers of all skill levels, so we encourage everyone to visit Urban Axes Baltimore and experience all the fun and excitement of the Urban Open!

UPDATES

• We've added STANDARD and PREMIER MARATHON LEAGUES to Friday, August 1st of the Urban Open! Click here for tickets and more details!

  • DISCOUNT CODE: Throwers who also register for the Urban Rules Tiered Swiss tournaments and the Urban Open can use code GIVEME3 for $30 off when booking a Standard or Premier Urban Open marathon league!

• Our 2025 Urban Open Edgar Allan Throw t-shirts are now on sale! Pre-orders are available through Thursday, 7/17, so click here to view the sizes & styles available and buy yours today!

• The Urban Open After Party is now on sale! Tickets are $20/person and can be purchased in the booking widget below by using the calendar within to  navigate to Sunday, 8/3!

• Tickets for Friday's Jones Cup and Skills events, Saturday's Urban Rules Tiered Swiss tournaments and Sunday's Urban Open are on sale now! Tickets for the After Party are still forthcoming and will go on sale closer to the event.

1. Throwers 12 and up will now be allowed to compete in the 2025 Urban Open!

2. Urban Axes Baltimore is a licensed venue with a full bar. Only drinks served by the venue will be permitted at this event. Anyone found to be consuming outside alcohol anywhere on the premises, including in the parking lot of the venue, will be asked to leave and will not be allowed to participate in the rest of the tournament weekend.

Urban Open T-Shirt

We’re excited to reveal this year’s Urban Open t-shirt design: Edgar Allan Throw! This shirt pays homage to one of Baltimore's most iconic figures, the writer Edgar Allan Poe. His poem, "The Raven," is the namesake of the Baltimore Ravens NFL team, and he is depicted here sporting the iconic green Clutch Jacket awarded to Urban Open champions and accompanied by his titular raven! Click here to view all of the styles available and purchase yours today!

Our Edgar Allan Throw shirts start at $20 each and are available in sizes XS-5XL. We’re offering multiple styles including a unisex t-shirt, women’s t-shirt, women’s racerback, raglan, and a pullover hoodie. Shirts are available for pre-order through next Thursday, July 17th. A limited quantity will be available in person, but please pre-order to guarantee sizing!

 

Ticket Information

Tickets are on sale now for 5 events:

• Friday, August 1st: Marathon leagues, Jones Cup, & Skills events

  • Urban Open Marathon Leagues

    • We're adding marathon leagues to this year's Urban Open! We'll be hosting both a Standard Marathon AND a Premier Marathon on Friday, August 1st, with practice at 8:30 AM and matches beginning at 9:00 AM. Click here for tickets and more details!

    • Throwers must have a 12-month IATF Standard Average under 65 pts. to register for the Standard Marathon league, and the Premier Marathon will be open registration, meaning players of any average can register. This average cap allows us to offer two skill tiers and cater to more players.

    • DISCOUNT CODE: Throwers who also register for the Urban Rules Tiered Swiss tournaments and the Urban Open can use code GIVEME3 for $30 off when booking a Standard or Premier Urban Open marathon league. You must be registered for all 3 events (marathon league, URTS, & the Urban Open) to qualify!

  • Jones Cup

    • Mixed gender doubles teams compete in a Group Stage + Single Elimination bracket tournament. Each match is made up of two 5-throw Singles rounds and one 5-throw Doubles round. Matches are scored under IATF Premier Rules.

  • Red, Blue & White (Individual Skill)

    • First introduced at Red, White, & Bullseyes, this well-balanced Skill game allows players to choose between Normal Hatchet, 1.5 Rotation, and Underhand throws throughout the game. Each throw type offers a different scoring bonus based on its difficulty, and it allows players of different skill sets to choose the path that best suits their throw.

    • Players race to close three targets in succession: first the red line, then the blue line, and last the white Premier Clutch box. Each throw must "touch paint" in order to score, and players have 15 throws to progress through red, blue, and white in order and are ranked by which thrower completed the goal in the least number of throws.

  • Variety Show Yahtzee (Team Skill)

    • Teams of 4 throw Big Axe, Underhand, 1.5 Rotation, and Premier hatchet as they attempt to score 6 rounds of varying targets. An Urban Open classic!

• Saturday, August 2nd: Urban Rules Tiered Swiss Tournaments

  • A tournament comprised of a Swiss + Single Elimination bracket in which players are split into multiple tournament tiers based on their IATF or equivalent WATL average. This method ensures most players will compete against throwers of a similar skill level, making this tournament ideal for beginner and intermediate level throwers.

  • Each tournament tier will compete in their own Swiss + Single Elimination bracket, in which each player will be guaranteed a minimum number of matches before any elimination occurs. No more 0-2!

  • This tournament will be played under the updated Urban Rules. The number of tiers and how many throwers are in each will be determined by the amount of registrations we receive for this event, with three tournament tiers of 32-64 throwers in each anticipated.

• Sunday, August 3rd: Urban Open Tournament

  • Our marquee event and the one that started it all! The Urban Open will be a double elimination, Premier Rules tournament featuring a randomly-seeded, 128-person bracket.

Check out our blog post for a full description of each Urban Open event!

Tickets for the After Party are still forthcoming! We will announce their sale date here on our event page and on our Facebook event, so please RSVP so we can keep you up to date on all things Urban Open.

AFTER PARTY

After the Urban Open finals, join us at Sopro on Sunday, August 3rd from 7-12 PM for our After Party! Located in Canton Square, Sopro offers elevated Southern grub, cocktails & whiskey served in a hip, homespun space with sidewalk seating. This will be Sopro's first time hosting our after party, and we're excited to try out a new spot for this year's event!

After Party tickets are $20 each and include entry to the venue, a DJ, karaoke, a professional photgrapher, and some light shared appetizers. All partygoers can open their own tab for additional food and drinks, allowing us to keep the ticket cost down so the party can be more fun and accessible for everyone!

After Party tickets are on sale now, and we hope everyone will come and enjoy an unforgettable send-off to the 2025 Urban Open!

PURCHASING INSTRUCTIONS: The booking widget contains a calendar and shows tickets for events on Friday, August 1st by default. Click Sunday, August 3rd on the booking widget and it will display the After Party ticket for purchase.

hotel block

The window to book our Urban Open hotel block has closed! Our hotel block is at the Tru by Hilton Baltimore Harbor East near Fells Point. This hotel has hosted Urban Open attendees for a few years now and offers the added convenience of staying close-by other competitors for coordinating meals, rides, or other activities.

Rooms are still available for good rates outside of the official hotel block, and they have options for King or 2 Queen beds available. Visit https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/balheru-tru-baltimore-harbor-east/ to register!

Weekend Schedule

These are the broad strokes of our tournament weekend schedule. A detailed schedule with event start times will be released closer to the event!