American Royal World Series of Barbecue Backyard Contest
2026-03-20 – 2026-03-21 · Kansas City, MO · 📍 1701 American Royal Court
Reps: DAVID DYCHE, JO DYCHE · Prize money: $5,450.00
Grand Champion: Dawgs BBQ (353.1084) · 33 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 Wapatui Smokers
Entries
Top score
Winning margin
Field average
Tightest race
Top-10 cutoff
Field spread
Prize money
How hot was the win?
Traveled in
Came back for more
Form held
Field strength
Storylines
🧳 Out-of-towners took the title
DAWGS BBQ took the Grand Championship home to MN.
📸 Photo finishes
Chicken places 1–2: Karnivor Creations BBQ and DAWGS BBQ tied on 180.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 4–5: Wapatui Smokers and Smoke N Poke BBQ tied on 177.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 6–7: Alaska BBQ Mann and 10 In The Pit BBQ tied on 173.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
🛡️ Back to defend
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: Too Sauced BBQ (won 2025).
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)
Where the field came from (home regions on file)
This contest over the years full contest page →
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-03-25 | Kansas City, MO | 1701 American Royal Court | 25 | 350.8456 | Rick's Racks | — |
| 2023-03-24 | Kansas City, MO | 1701 American Royal Court | 37 | 348.5372 | Big Racks BBQ | — |
| 2024-03-22 | Kansas City, MO | 1701 American Royal Court | 31 | 357.7028 | Bad Influence BBQ - MO | — |
| 2025-03-21 | Kansas City, MO | 1701 American Royal Court | 33 | 353.7028 | Too Sauced BBQ | — |
| 2026-03-20 ← this one | Kansas City, MO | 1701 American Royal Court | 33 | 353.1084 | Dawgs BBQ | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180.0000 | 177.7028 | 173.1200 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.8572 | 173.7028 | 171.4172 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Backyard Series
Overall
33 entries · top 353.1084 · median 339.3940
Chicken
33 entries · top 180.0000 · median 170.2628 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork Ribs
33 entries · top 178.8572 · median 169.1200