Sep 21–22, 2024 · Deurne, Netherlands · NETHERLANDS · 📍 Bruggenseweg 11
Reps: Marianne Van Galen, Mayco Van Galen
The Antwerp Smokers won Grand Champion at the Vuur en Vlees on September 21, 2024 in Deurne, 5752 5C at Bruggenseweg 11, scoring 672.4228 in a field of 10 teams. It's spice that meats you took Reserve Grand Champion with 671.9084. Category winners: Chicken — It's spice that meats you (173.7028); Pork Ribs — BBQ Team Laurentius (171.4400); Pork — The Antwerp Smokers (175.4172); Brisket — Osdorp Grillers (NL) (166.8572). This is the 2nd of 4 editions of this contest on record; the 2016 edition was won by BBQ LONGHORN RANCH HANDS; the next was held in 2025.
Overall totals, every team on the board — tall stacks are where the pack sat.
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
What it has taken to win here, 2016 to 2026 — this edition picked out.
Everything below is read straight out of the results — the number on each card is the one that made it a story.
Closer than 94% of the 4,722 championships in the data
The Grand Championship was decided by 0.5144 points — closer than 94% of every championship in the data.
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 80 times in 100
The Antwerp Smokers came in rated below the field's top team, Backcorner BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 20-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
This was The Antwerp Smokers's first Grand Championship in the data — it arrived at their 29th tracked contest.
Chicken places 6–7: Osdorp Grillers (NL) and Barbecoa BBQ Team tied on 167.3828 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 4–5: Click & Q edged LOWLAND SMOKERS by 0.0116. Brisket places 1–2: Osdorp Grillers (NL) edged It's spice that meats you by 0.0344.
The Antwerp Smokers took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was pork ribs at 8th.
This contest was away for 8.3 years — the previous tracked edition ran on 2016-06-04.
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 4, 2016 | Deurne, The Netherlands, NL | Deurne, The Netherlands, NL | 24 | 696.5484 | BBQ LONGHORN RANCH HANDS | DE VLIEGENDE HOLLANDER BBQ-TEAM |
| Sep 21, 2024 ← this one | Deurne | Bruggenseweg 11 | 10 | 672.4228 | The Antwerp Smokers | It's spice that meats you |
| Aug 29, 2025 | Deurne | Leegueld 8 | 13 | 687.8972 | Barbecoa BBQ Team | The Antwerp Smokers |
| Aug 29, 2026 | Deurne | Leegueld 8 | 8 | 702.2516 | BBQ Hot Yard | It's Spice that Meats You |
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 173.7028 | 169.1084 | 160.5372 |
| Pork Ribs | 171.4400 | 166.2516 | 141.6112 |
| Pork | 175.4172 | 163.4056 | 126.8572 |
| Brisket | 166.8572 | 161.6800 | 137.0744 |
10 entries · top 672.4228 · median 660.9830
10 entries · top 173.7028 · median 168.2456
10 entries · top 171.4400 · median 165.9830
10 entries · top 175.4172 · median 163.1028
10 entries · top 166.8572 · median 161.1028
Run by the organizers alongside the sanctioned contest. These are judged on their own terms and do not count toward the overall score, so they're kept out of the meat stats above.
4 entries · top 174.2628 · median 167.3884
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BELGIAN BBQ TEAM FIVE Q | |
| 2 | BBQ Team Laurentius | |
| 3 | LOWLAND SMOKERS | |
| 4 | Osdorp Grillers (NL) |