Columbus resident featured live on ESPN 2 for finals of knife-throwing competition

Columbus is known for a lot of things, and while knife and axe throwing isn’t currently on that list, maybe it should be.

Local knife-throwing pro Coleman Bates secured third place overall (out of approximately 120 other professionals) in the World Knife Throwing League’s USA Pro-AM Championships last weekend.

And he was featured on ESPN 2 while doing so.

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According to Bo Dratwa, general Manager of Throw Nation Dublin, an axe-throwing venue and bar located at 6649 Dublin Center Dr., Bates and three other Throw Nation regulars (professionals Zach “Zeus” Crawford (a former big axe world champion), Joshua “Jedi” Russo (a former runner-up the big axe world champion) and a third amateur who preferred not to be named) competed in the Pro-Am Championships last weekend in Appleton, Wisconsin.

All four are sponsored by Throw Nation, and consider the Dublin spot to be their home venue.
Each contestant also participated in the four major categories (big axe, hatchet, knives and duals), and Coleman was undefeated throughout multiple rounds of competition, and his team–which consisted of two amateurs, Throw Nation Dublin regular Dane Hughes and another amateur from New York State—made it to the final round of Bandito Brawl, a knife skills game where each team attempts to fit as many knives onto a target as possible.

The finals were televised on ESPN 2, and while Coleman and his team lost the showdown, they still left as runner-up, and all three of Throw Nation Dublin’s sponsored professionals have already qualified for the world championships, which will take place this spring.

“It’s really hard to explain what it’s like to see on TV. I see what these guys go through and how they practice and how much work they put into everything,” Dratwa said. “It’s hard to think they might actually be the best in the world, but then you go to an event and you find out , holy cow, they actually are some of the best in the entire world.”

Throw Nation Dublin will also host the Melee Championship Series at their Dublin space. The event will be held Dec. 2-3.

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