A new contest record
667.9084
highest overall ever cooked here
667.9084 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 657.6912 Grill and Chill set in 2025.
- old record 657.6912
- set 2025 by Grill and Chill
BBQ Fest Panama 2026
Mar 21, 2026 · Panama, Pa, Panama · PANAMA · 📍 Isla Naos, Amador, Acon, Panama
Reps: Debra Gage, Maria Lohman, Wayne Lohman, William Gage
Justice BBQ won Grand Champion at the BBQ Fest Panama on March 21, 2026 in Panama, Pa at Isla Naos, Amador, Acon, Panama, scoring 667.9084 in a field of 23 teams. GRILL AND CHILL took Reserve Grand Champion with 650.8800. Category winners: Chicken — GRILL AND CHILL (173.7372); Pork Ribs — Justice BBQ (174.2628); Pork — Justice BBQ (172.0000); Brisket — 88 BBQ (161.1544). This is the 2nd of 3 editions of this contest on record; the 2025 edition was won by Grill and Chill; the next is scheduled for January 23, 2027.
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.
538.87
median 614.22
667.91 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 173.74
- Pork Ribs 174.26
- Pork 172
- Brisket 161.15
122.86
174.26
Entries
23
4 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
667.9084
Winning margin
17.0284
GC over RC
Field average
609.76
538.87667.91
median 614.22 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Brisket
1.7144 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
622.8344
538.87667.91
10th place overall
Field spread
129.0400
winner to last place
Double threats
6
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 97%
beats 3% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
52%
12 of 23 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.37 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,505
avg power rating going in · stronger than 4% 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.
A statement win
17.0284
points clear of the field
Wider than 98% of the 4,710 championships in the data
The champion won by 17.0284 points — a wider margin than 98% of championships in the data.
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 6 calls decided inside half a point
Pork Ribs places 7–8: BBQ Fellas and GRILL AND CHILL tied on 157.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 2–3: BBQ Fellas edged WEBEA ES LO Q HAY by 0.0228. Brisket places 1–2: 88 BBQ edged BBQ Fellas by 0.0344.
- Pork Ribs 7–8 · tie
- Brisket 2–3 · 0.0228
- Brisket 1–2 · 0.0344
- Brisket 6–7 · 0.0344
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
Justice BBQ won Pork Ribs, Pork — a double, and took the Grand Championship on top of it.
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 1st
How the title was won
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
Justice BBQ took the title on 3 calls from 4 meats, with 2 outright wins — their weakest board was brisket at 11th.
- Chicken 3rd
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 11th
A contest record in chicken
173.7372
best chicken ever cooked here
GRILL AND CHILL turned in 173.7372 in chicken — past the 171.4056 that had stood across 1 earlier editions.
- old best 171.4056
- across 1 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: Grill and Chill (won 2025).
- Grill and Chill · 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)
This contest over the years full contest page →
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 26, 2025 | Panama, Pa | Monumento el árbol, Green City | 23 | 657.6912 | Grill and Chill | Justice BBQ |
| Mar 21, 2026 ← this one | Panama, Pa | Isla Naos, Amador, Acon, Panama | 23 | 667.9084 | Justice BBQ | GRILL AND CHILL |
| Jan 23, 2027 | Panama City, Pa | — | — | — | — | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 173.7372 | 162.8572 | 153.7028 |
| Pork Ribs | 174.2628 | 163.4172 | 157.1428 |
| Pork | 172 | 169.7144 | 163.4400 |
| Brisket | 161.1544 | 159.4400 | 151.4628 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
23 entries · top 667.9084 · median 614.2172
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Justice BBQ | |
| 2 | GRILL AND CHILL | |
| 3 | Bros & Fire PTY | |
| 4 | Fire Family BBQ PTY | |
| 5 | Urban Smoke House | |
| 6 | Belen Grill and Chill | |
| 7 | BBQ Love Club | |
| 8 | SMOKE FRIENDS | |
| 9 | 88 BBQ | |
| 10 | Lucky Three BBQ PTY | |
| 11 | Mamba Smoke | |
| 12 | WEBEA ES LO Q HAY | |
| 13 | BBQ Fellas | |
| 14 | Lumberjacks Bbq | |
| 15 | ESTA GULA MIA | |
| 16 | The best grillers | |
| 17 | Bado BBQ | |
| 18 | Fire Machine Grill - Smoke | |
| 19 | Brothers BBQ | |
| 20 | PrimeSmokers | |
| 21 | MAD GRILL | |
| 22 | Minuto 7 | |
| 23 | Los Chefs del Emporio |
Chicken
23 entries · top 173.7372 · median 152.5600
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | GRILL AND CHILL | |
| 2 | Fire Family BBQ PTY | |
| 3 | Justice BBQ | |
| 4 | BBQ Love Club | |
| 5 | Belen Grill and Chill | |
| 6 | Brothers BBQ | |
| 7 | Mamba Smoke | |
| 8 | 88 BBQ | |
| 9 | ESTA GULA MIA | |
| 10 | Urban Smoke House | |
| 11 | MAD GRILL | |
| 12 | Bros & Fire PTY | |
| 13 | Lumberjacks Bbq | |
| 14 | BBQ Fellas | |
| 15 | WEBEA ES LO Q HAY | |
| 16 | Bado BBQ | |
| 17 | PrimeSmokers | |
| 18 | The best grillers | |
| 19 | SMOKE FRIENDS | |
| 20 | Fire Machine Grill - Smoke | |
| 21 | Lucky Three BBQ PTY | |
| 22 | Los Chefs del Emporio | |
| 23 | Minuto 7 |
Pork Ribs
23 entries · top 174.2628 · median 152.5944
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Justice BBQ | |
| 2 | Bros & Fire PTY | |
| 3 | Belen Grill and Chill | |
| 4 | Urban Smoke House | |
| 5 | SMOKE FRIENDS | |
| 6 | Fire Family BBQ PTY | |
| 7 | BBQ Fellas | |
| 8 | GRILL AND CHILL | |
| 9 | BBQ Love Club | |
| 10 | Lumberjacks Bbq | |
| 11 | 88 BBQ | |
| 12 | Lucky Three BBQ PTY | |
| 13 | ESTA GULA MIA | |
| 14 | Brothers BBQ | |
| 15 | The best grillers | |
| 16 | Mamba Smoke | |
| 17 | PrimeSmokers | |
| 18 | WEBEA ES LO Q HAY | |
| 19 | Bado BBQ | |
| 20 | Los Chefs del Emporio | |
| 21 | Fire Machine Grill - Smoke | |
| 22 | Minuto 7 | |
| 23 | MAD GRILL |
Pork
23 entries · top 172 · median 157.1084
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Justice BBQ | |
| 2 | GRILL AND CHILL | |
| 3 | Fire Family BBQ PTY | |
| 4 | Urban Smoke House | |
| 5 | Lucky Three BBQ PTY | |
| 6 | SMOKE FRIENDS | |
| 7 | Bros & Fire PTY | |
| 8 | Belen Grill and Chill | |
| 9 | Mamba Smoke | |
| 10 | WEBEA ES LO Q HAY | |
| 11 | Fire Machine Grill - Smoke | |
| 12 | Bado BBQ | |
| 13 | PrimeSmokers | |
| 14 | BBQ Love Club | |
| 15 | 88 BBQ | |
| 16 | Minuto 7 | |
| 17 | The best grillers | |
| 18 | ESTA GULA MIA | |
| 19 | BBQ Fellas | |
| 20 | MAD GRILL | |
| 21 | Lumberjacks Bbq | |
| 22 | Brothers BBQ | |
| 23 | Los Chefs del Emporio |
Brisket
23 entries · top 161.1544 · median 149.1884
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 88 BBQ | |
| 2 | BBQ Fellas | |
| 3 | WEBEA ES LO Q HAY | |
| 4 | Lucky Three BBQ PTY | |
| 5 | Lumberjacks Bbq | |
| 6 | SMOKE FRIENDS | |
| 7 | Bros & Fire PTY | |
| 8 | BBQ Love Club | |
| 9 | The best grillers | |
| 10 | ESTA GULA MIA | |
| 11 | Justice BBQ | |
| 12 | Mamba Smoke | |
| 13 | Urban Smoke House | |
| 14 | GRILL AND CHILL | |
| 15 | Fire Machine Grill - Smoke | |
| 16 | Bado BBQ | |
| 17 | Los Chefs del Emporio | |
| 18 | Belen Grill and Chill | |
| 19 | MAD GRILL | |
| 20 | Fire Family BBQ PTY | |
| 21 | Minuto 7 | |
| 22 | Brothers BBQ | |
| 23 | PrimeSmokers |
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 — Burger
17 entries · top 169.8172 · median 151.4744
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | WEBEA ES LO Q HAY | |
| 2 | SMOKE FRIENDS | |
| 3 | Belen Grill and Chill | |
| 4 | Los Chefs del Emporio | |
| 5 | BBQ Love Club | |
| 6 | Lucky Three BBQ PTY | |
| 7 | The best grillers | |
| 8 | Brothers BBQ | |
| 9 | ESTA GULA MIA | |
| 10 | Mamba Smoke | |
| 11 | Urban Smoke House | |
| 12 | BBQ Fellas | |
| 13 | Bros & Fire PTY | |
| 14 | Fire Family BBQ PTY | |
| 15 | Fire Machine Grill - Smoke | |
| 16 | MAD GRILL | |
| 17 | Lumberjacks Bbq |