A new contest record
710.8228
highest overall ever cooked here
710.8228 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 707.4056 QUE U set in 2022.
- old record 707.4056
- set 2022 by QUE U
American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest 2024
Oct 30 – Nov 3, 2024 · Kansas City, KS · 📍 Kansas Speedway · State championship
Reps: Charlie Brinza, Dave Rogers, David Burstein, Eugene Wickham, Forrest Bruce, Jeanne Titus, Larry Hadley, Larry Voth, Lynda Voth, Peg Rogers, Sarah Wickham · Prize money: $68,425
CHUNKY BBQ won Grand Champion at the American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest on October 30, 2024 in Kansas City, KS at Kansas Speedway, scoring 710.8228 in a field of 444 teams. Bushmaster BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 706.8344. Category winners: Chicken — FIRE DANCER BBQ (180.0000); Pork Ribs — RUSTY PIG BBQ (180.0000); Pork — Rio Valley Meat BBQ (180.0000); Brisket — Team Chupacabra (180.0000). This is the 3rd of 5 editions of this contest on record; the 2023 edition was won by JANKY LEG BBQ; the next was held in 2025.
The contest at a glance (read off the scored boards)
How the field scored
Overall totals, every team on the board — tall stacks are where the pack sat.
145.11
median 676.20
710.82 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 180 🔥
- Pork Ribs 180 🔥
- Pork 180 🔥
- Brisket 180 🔥
20
180
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2022 to 2026 — this edition picked out.
Entries
444
4 judged meats · 2 ancillary
Top score
710.8228
Winning margin
3.9884
GC over RC
Field average
662.15
145.11710.82
median 676.20 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
14 🔥
Tightest race
Chicken
0 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
700.0460
145.11710.82
10th place overall
Field spread
565.7144
winner to last place
Prize money
$68,425
on the line
How hot was the win?
Top 2%
beats 98% of 4723 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
63%
307 of 486 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.68 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,589
avg power rating going in · stronger than 70% of contests
Storylines (7 found in this contest's numbers)
Everything below is read straight out of the results — the number on each card is the one that made it a story.
An upset on the books
23-in-100
shot on pre-contest ratings
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 77 times in 100
CHUNKY BBQ came in rated below the field's top team, SHAKE 'N BAKE BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 23-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
- champion 1816
- top seed 2030
Won without a category win
1 of 4
meats called to the stage
CHUNKY BBQ won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 1 call from 4 boards, best of them 5th. Consistency beat fireworks.
- Chicken 5th
- Pork Ribs 12th
- Pork 20th
- Brisket 55th
A day of perfect scores
14
perfect 180s
14 perfect 180s were scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- Team Chupacabra · Brisket
- Colorado Bulldawg BBQ · Brisket
- SmokeEaters BarBQ · Brisket
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 27 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 1–2: FIRE DANCER BBQ and UGLY BABY BBQ tied on 180.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 2–3: UGLY BABY BBQ and ShowMeMoSmoke tied on 180.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 3–4: ShowMeMoSmoke and Old Grunt BBQ tied on 180.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 1–2 · tie
- Chicken 2–3 · tie
- Chicken 3–4 · tie
- Chicken 4–5 · tie
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: JANKY LEG BBQ (won 2023).
- JANKY LEG BBQ · 2023
One of the big ones
444
teams on the grounds
The 10th biggest field of the 5,482 contests in the data
444 teams — the 10th biggest field of the 5,482 contests in the data.
In the record book (3 in the KCBS record book)
What happened at this contest that stands in the all-time KCBS record book. A gold line is a record nobody has beaten.
Score curves (score by finishing position — steep cliffs mean a spread field, flat lines a knife fight)
Category showdown (top / average / median score per meat)
Score distribution
Biggest rating movers (power-rating points won and lost at this contest)
Did form hold? (pre-contest rating vs overall finish — ratings called it if the dots climb to the right)
This contest over the years full contest page →
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 29, 2022 | Kansas City, KS | Kansas City, KS 66111 | 505 | 707.4056 | QUE U | LOOT N' BOOTY BBQ |
| Sep 27, 2023 | Kansas City, KS | Kansas City, KS 66111 | 487 | 705.1200 | JANKY LEG BBQ | MACHETE BOYS BBQ |
| Oct 30, 2024 ← this one | Kansas City, KS | Kansas Speedway | 444 | 710.8228 | Chunky BBQ | Bushmaster BBQ |
| Nov 5, 2025 | Kansas City, KS | Kansas Speedway | 401 | 708.5488 | Wag's Backwoods BBQ | OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE |
| Sep 30, 2026 | Kansas City, KS | 1899 American Royal Way | 360 | 708.5600 | Smokey Bey's Barbecue | Pop A Top Cookers |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180 | 180 | 178.8572 |
| Pork Ribs | 180 | 178.8572 | 178.8572 |
| Pork | 180 | 178.8572 | 178.2972 |
| Brisket | 180 | 180 | 178.8800 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
444 entries · top 710.8228 · median 676.2000
Chicken
440 entries · top 180 · median 169.6742 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork Ribs
442 entries · top 180 · median 169.6800 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork
441 entries · top 180 · median 168.5600 · 🔥 perfect 180
Brisket
439 entries · top 180 · median 167.3828 · 🔥 perfect 180
Ancillary categories
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.
Ancillary — Sausage
266 entries · top 180 · median 167.4000 · 🔥 perfect 180
Turkey Smoke Series — Turkey Smoke
235 entries · top 179.4400 · median 169.7028