Grand American Barbecue World Championship (ONE MEAT RIBS)
2026-05-01 · New Paltz, NY · 📍 Ulster County Fairgrounds
Reps: BILL WRIGHT, KIM WRIGHT
Grand Champion: Old Virginia Smoke (176.5600) · 18 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 Rough Cut Q
Entries
18
1 judged meat
Top score
176.5600
Winning margin
0.5600
1st over 2nd
Field average
170.74
median 171.14
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
1.1544 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
170.8572
10th place overall
Field spread
15.4512
winner to last place
How hot was the win?
Top 70%
beats 30% of 2987 Pork Ribs wins in the data
Storylines
🧳 Out-of-towners took the title
OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE took the Grand Championship home to VA.
📸 Photo finishes
Pork Ribs places 8–9: Meat Monarchy and ALL FIRED UP BBQ tied on 171.4172 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 3–4: PADDY MCQ'S edged ELJEFE SMOKE by 0.0116. Pork Ribs places 4–5: ELJEFE SMOKE edged Grandpa Val's BBQ by 0.0116.
Score curves (score by finishing position — steep cliffs mean a spread field, flat lines a knife fight)
Score distribution
This contest over the years full contest page →
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-01 | New Paltz, NY | Ulster County Fairgrounds | 15 | 180.0000 | Grandpa Val's BBQ | — |
| 2026-05-01 ← this one | New Paltz, NY | Ulster County Fairgrounds | 18 | 176.5600 | Old Virginia Smoke | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pork Ribs | 176.5600 | 175.4056 | 170.8572 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Masters Series Single Meat
Pork Ribs
18 entries · top 176.5600 · median 171.1372
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE | |
| 2 | Rough Cut Q | |
| 3 | PADDY MCQ'S | |
| 4 | ELJEFE SMOKE | |
| 5 | Grandpa Val's BBQ | |
| 6 | FIRE AT THE END OF THE DAY | |
| 7 | Red & Black BBQ Shack | |
| 8 | Meat Monarchy | |
| 9 | ALL FIRED UP BBQ | |
| 10 | SMOKECRAFT - MD | |
| 11 | Bourbon & Blues BBQ | |
| 12 | BEER TIME BBQ | |
| 13 | House of Que | |
| 14 | Buckeye Blue Smoke BBQ | |
| 15 | CIDER BOYS BBQ | |
| 16 | FIRE & SHINE BBQ | |
| 17 | Bearded Boys BBQ | |
| 18 | Bear's Den BBQ |