Mar 21–22, 2025 · Kansas City, MO · 📍 1701 American Royal Court
Reps: David Dyche, Jo Dyche · Prize money: $2,000
Karnivor Creations BBQ won Grand Champion at the American Royal World Series of Barbecue Steak Cook-Off on March 21, 2025 in Kansas City, MO at 1701 American Royal Court, scoring 178.8572 in a field of 15 teams. Big Racks BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 177.7028. This is the 4th of 5 editions of this contest on record; the 2024 edition was won by Go Ham BBQ; the next was held in 2026.
Overall totals, every team on the board — tall stacks are where the pack sat.
Everything below is read straight out of the results — the number on each card is the one that made it a story.
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 70 times in 100
Karnivor Creations BBQ came in rated below the field's top team, Big Racks BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 30-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
2 of 5 tracked editions
Go Ham BBQ has won this contest 2 times across its 5 tracked editions.
First to fifth in the overall standings covered just 4.5944 points.
Karnivor Creations BBQ finished 1st overall in the first contest the data has them cooking at all.
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 25, 2022 | Kansas City, MO | 1701 American Royal Court | 11 | 173.1544 | Go Ham BBQ |
| Mar 24, 2023 | Kansas City, MO | 1701 American Royal Court | — | — | — |
| Mar 22, 2024 | Kansas City, MO | 1701 American Royal Court | 10 | 180 | Go Ham BBQ |
| Mar 21, 2025 ← this one | Kansas City, MO | 1701 American Royal Court | — | — | — |
| Mar 20, 2026 | Kansas City, MO | 1701 American Royal Court | — | — | — |
15 entries · top 178.8572 · median 171.4172 · out of 180, not the usual 720
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Karnivor Creations BBQ | |
| 2 | Big Racks BBQ | |
| 3 | Music City Smokers | |
| 4 | Local Pig BBQ Team | |
| 5 | SWINEDOTTE CO BBQ | |
| 6 | E SQUARED BBQ | |
| 7 | Sofa King Awesome BBQ | |
| 8 | Wapatui Smokers | |
| 9 | Backbone BBQ | |
| 10 | Poppin Smoke BBQ | |
| 11 | Kimmi's Cue | |
| 12 | Nuttycocksbbq | |
| 13 | Buns Out BBQ KC | |
| 14 | Great Shepherd BBQ | |
| 15 | T-Dawg BBQ |
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.
15 entries · top 178.8572 · median 171.4172
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Karnivor Creations BBQ | |
| 2 | Big Racks BBQ | |
| 3 | Music City Smokers | |
| 4 | Local Pig BBQ Team | |
| 5 | SWINEDOTTE CO BBQ | |
| 6 | E SQUARED BBQ | |
| 7 | Sofa King Awesome BBQ | |
| 8 | Wapatui Smokers | |
| 9 | Backbone BBQ | |
| 10 | Poppin Smoke BBQ | |
| 11 | Kimmi's Cue | |
| 12 | Nuttycocksbbq | |
| 13 | Buns Out BBQ KC | |
| 14 | Great Shepherd BBQ | |
| 15 | T-Dawg BBQ |