A day of perfect scores
3
perfect 180s
3 perfect 180s were scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- What The Cluck 3 · Wings-Final
- What The Cluck 1 · Wings-Final
- What The Cluck 2 · Wings-Preliminary
World Championship Hot Wings Contest & Festival (COMPETITORS SERIES) 2026
Apr 18, 2026 · Memphis, TN · 📍 213 N McLean Blvd
Reps: Maria Lohman, Wayne Lohman · Prize money: $30,200
The World Championship Hot Wings Contest & Festival (COMPETITORS SERIES) 2026 is a Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) sanctioned barbecue contest held on April 18, 2026 in Memphis, TN at 213 N McLean Blvd. This is the 3rd of 3 editions of this contest on record; the 2025 edition came before it.
The contest at a glance (read off the scored boards)
Entries
32
2 side categories, no meats
Top score
180
Winning margin
Tie
identical totals — KCBS tiebreaker
Field average
171.74
Wings-Final · median 172.55 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
3 🔥
What The Cluck 3 (Wings-Final), What The Cluck 1 (Wings-Final), What The Cluck 2 (Wings-Preliminary)
Tightest race
Open Comp — Wings-Final
1.7028 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
176.5600
10th place in Wings-Final
Field spread
22.9256
winner to last place
Prize money
$30,200
on the line
Double threats
3
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
Storylines (1 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.
Score curves (score by finishing position — steep cliffs mean a spread field, flat lines a knife fight)
Category showdown (top / average / median score per category)
Score distribution
This contest over the years full contest page →
No edition of this contest has results on file yet, so there is nothing to compare across the years: these are the dates it has run.
| Date | Where | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 20, 2024 | Memphis, TN | Riverside Dr/River Park |
| Apr 25, 2025 | Memphis, TN | Riverside Dr/River Park |
| Apr 18, 2026 ← this one | Memphis, TN | 213 N McLean Blvd |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Comp — Wings-Final | 180 | 178.2972 | 176.5600 |
| Other — Wings-Preliminary | 180 | 175.4056 | 173.7028 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Ancillary categories
This contest judged side dishes only — no meats and no overall — so these boards are the contest, and the figures and charts above are read off them.
Open Comp — Wings-Final
29 entries · top 180 · median 172.5484 · 🔥 perfect 180
Other — Wings-Preliminary
32 entries · top 180 · median 171.9656 · 🔥 perfect 180