Nov 5–9, 2025 · 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: $60,910
WAG'S BACKWOODS BBQ won Grand Champion at the American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest on November 5, 2025 in Kansas City, KS at Kansas Speedway, scoring 708.5488 in a field of 401 teams. OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE took Reserve Grand Champion with 707.9656. Category winners: Chicken — RENEGADE BBQ (180.0000); Pork Ribs — LOVE 2 Q (180.0000); Pork — Heavy Smoke BBQ (180.0000); Brisket — Swine-O-Licious BBQ (180.0000). This is the 4th of 5 editions of this contest on record; the 2024 edition was won by Chunky BBQ; the next was held in 2026.
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, 2022 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 89% of the 4,722 championships in the data
The Grand Championship was decided by 0.5832 points — closer than 89% of every championship in the data.
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 78 times in 100
WAG'S BACKWOODS BBQ came in rated below the field's top team, SHAKE 'N BAKE BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 22-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
WAG'S BACKWOODS BBQ won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 0 calls from 4 boards, best of them 13th. Consistency beat fireworks.
18 perfect 180s were scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
First to fifth in the overall standings covered just 2.8688 points — 2 teams sat within a single point of the lead.
Chicken places 1–2: RENEGADE BBQ and WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ tied on 180.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 2–3: WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ and WOOD HOOK BBQ tied on 180.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 3–4: WOOD HOOK BBQ and Can Country Outlaw BBQ tied on 180.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: JANKY LEG BBQ (won 2023), Chunky BBQ (won 2024).
Bigger than 99% of the 5,482 contests in the data
401 teams — bigger than 99% of the 5,482 contests in the data.
What happened at this contest that stands in the all-time KCBS record book. A gold line is a record nobody has beaten.
| 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 | Kansas City, KS | Kansas Speedway | 444 | 710.8228 | Chunky BBQ | Bushmaster BBQ |
| Nov 5, 2025 ← this one | 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 |
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180 | 180 | 178.8572 |
| Pork Ribs | 180 | 178.8572 | 178.2972 |
| Pork | 180 | 180 | 178.8572 |
| Brisket | 180 | 180 | 178.8572 |
401 entries · top 708.5488 · median 678.1252
400 entries · top 180 · median 170.8112 · 🔥 perfect 180
398 entries · top 180 · median 169.1486 · 🔥 perfect 180
399 entries · top 180 · median 169.6800 · 🔥 perfect 180
397 entries · top 180 · median 167.9884 · 🔥 perfect 180
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.
242 entries · top 180 · median 167.9598 · 🔥 perfect 180
223 entries · top 178.8800 · median 169.1200