2 of 4
meats called to the stage
JDQ BBQ won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 2 calls from 4 boards, best of them 3rd. Consistency beat fireworks.
- Chicken 3rd
- Pork Ribs 17th
- Pork 8th
- Brisket 11th
8th Annual Qlathe BBQ Championship
Mar 20–21, 2026 · Olathe, KS · 📍 21151 W. 167th St · State championship
Reps: Dave Rogers, Forrest Bruce, Larry Hadley · Prize money: $10,000
JDQ BBQ won Grand Champion at the 8th Annual Qlathe BBQ Championship on March 20, 2026 in Olathe, KS at 21151 W. 167th St, scoring 703.9656 in a field of 68 teams. SLAPS BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 701.6800. Category winners: Chicken — Barking Dog BBQ (180.0000); Pork Ribs — Dr. Squealgood BBQ (178.2972); Pork — Flat Tire BBQ (180.0000); Brisket — Slaughter House BBQ (180.0000).
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.
513.65
median 676.75
703.97 🏆
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 178.30
- Pork 180 🔥
- Brisket 180 🔥
142.81
180
Entries
68
4 judged meats
Top score
703.9656
Winning margin
2.2856
GC over RC
Field average
670.35
513.65703.97
median 676.75 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
4 🔥
Tightest race
Chicken
2.2972 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
694.2172
513.65703.97
10th place overall
Field spread
190.3200
winner to last place
Prize money
$10,000
on the line
Double threats
1
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 18%
beats 82% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.69 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,580
avg power rating going in · stronger than 64% of contests
Storylines (5 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.
Won without a category win
A day of perfect scores
4
perfect 180s
4 perfect 180s were scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- Slaughter House BBQ · Brisket
- Barking Dog BBQ · Chicken
- Flat Tire BBQ · Pork
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 21 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 5–6: PACS BBQ and Fluffy Butt BBQ tied on 177.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 9–10: SLAPS BBQ and Ambition Que tied on 175.4172 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 2–3: Bocephus BBQ and PARTS 'R' SMOKIN tied on 177.1544 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 5–6 · tie
- Chicken 9–10 · tie
- Pork Ribs 2–3 · tie
- Pork Ribs 5–6 · tie
One of the big ones
68
teams on the grounds
Bigger than 95% of the 5,462 contests in the data
68 teams — bigger than 95% of the 5,462 contests in the data.
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)
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180 | 177.7028 | 175.4172 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.2972 | 176 | 174.8456 |
| Pork | 180 | 177.7028 | 176.5600 |
| Brisket | 180 | 176.5828 | 175.4056 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
68 entries · top 703.9656 · median 676.7484
Chicken
68 entries · top 180 · median 169.1200 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork Ribs
67 entries · top 178.2972 · median 168
Pork
68 entries · top 180 · median 170.2742 · 🔥 perfect 180
Brisket
68 entries · top 180 · median 168.8342 · 🔥 perfect 180