8th Annual KCBS World Invitational: Master Series Invitational and the Backyard Series Invitational (Sunday, May 24, 2026)
2026-05-24 · Lebanon, TN · 📍 James E. Ward Agricultural Center (Wilson County Fairgrounds)
Reps: CAROLYN WELLS, CHARLIE BRINZA, DAVE ROGERS, DAVID BURSTEIN, EUGENE WICKHAM, JEANNE TITUS, PEG ROGERS, SARAH WICKHAM
Grand Champion: WAG'S BACKWOODS BBQ (710.8344) · 82 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 Phantom Smoke & BBQ
Entries
Top score
Winning margin
Field average
Perfect 180s
Tightest race
Top-10 cutoff
Field spread
Double threats
How hot was the win?
Traveled in
Form held
Field strength
Storylines
🧳 Out-of-towners took the title
WAG'S BACKWOODS BBQ took the Grand Championship home to IA.
🔥 A day of perfect scores
20 perfect 180s were scored at this contest.
📸 Photo finishes
Master Series — Chicken places 1–2: WAG'S BACKWOODS BBQ and SCUFFLETOWN SMOKERS tied on 180.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Master Series — Chicken places 2–3: SCUFFLETOWN SMOKERS and ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN tied on 180.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Master Series — Chicken places 3–4: ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN and CHUNKY BBQ tied on 180.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
🏟️ A stacked field
The field averaged a 1669 power rating going in — stronger than 100% of every contest tracked.
🃏 An upset on the books
WAG'S BACKWOODS BBQ came in rated below the field's top team, ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 31-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
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)
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Master Series — Chicken | 180.0000 | 180.0000 | 178.8572 |
| Master Series — Pork Ribs | 180.0000 | 178.8572 | 178.8572 |
| Master Series — Pork | 180.0000 | 180.0000 | 177.7144 |
| Master Series — Brisket | 180.0000 | 178.8572 | 177.7144 |
| Backyard Series — Chicken | 180.0000 | 177.7372 | 176.5600 |
| Backyard Series — Pork Ribs | 178.8572 | 176.5716 | 175.4172 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
82 entries · top 710.8344 · median 693.6344
Chicken
82 entries · top 180.0000 · median 174.2744 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork Ribs
82 entries · top 180.0000 · median 174.2686 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork
82 entries · top 180.0000 · median 173.1200 · 🔥 perfect 180
Brisket
82 entries · top 180.0000 · median 173.1200 · 🔥 perfect 180
Backyard Series
Overall
47 entries · top 356.5944 · median 343.9428
Chicken
47 entries · top 180.0000 · median 173.1084 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork Ribs
47 entries · top 178.8572 · median 172.0116