Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle
2026-06-26 – 2026-06-28 · Washington, DC · 📍 Historic Pennsylvania Ave. NW · State championship
Reps: ALEX JR BROWN, BILL JONES · Prize money: $19,400.00
Grand Champion: Titans of BBQ (703.3828) · 31 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 SWEET BELLY'S BBQ
Entries
Top score
Winning margin
Field average
Perfect 180s
Tightest race
Top-10 cutoff
Field spread
Prize money
Double threats
How hot was the win?
Traveled in
Form held
Field strength
Storylines
🧳 Out-of-towners took the title
Titans of BBQ took the Grand Championship home to CT.
🔥 A day of perfect scores
5 perfect 180s were scored at this contest.
🧹 A double category winner
Titans of BBQ won Chicken, Brisket — a double, and took the Grand Championship on top of it.
📸 Photo finishes
Chicken places 1–2: Titans of BBQ and BLUE EYED BBQ tied on 180.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 7–8: ALL FIRED UP BBQ and WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ tied on 176.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 9–10: SHAKE 'N BAKE BBQ and SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA tied on 175.4172 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
🛡️ Back to defend
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: Mispillion Meat Works (won 2023), Good Googly Goo BBQ (won 2024), 3 Eyz BBQ (won 2025), Smokecraft - MD (won 2025).
🏟️ A stacked field
The field averaged a 1613 power rating going in — stronger than 95% of every contest tracked.
🃏 An upset on the books
Titans of BBQ came in rated below the field's top team, SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 12-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)
This contest over the years full contest page →
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-06-25 | Pennsylvania Ave | 35 | 690.2400 | APORKALYPSE NOW | BULL RUSH BBQ | |
| 2022-06-25 | Washington, DC | Historic Pennsylvania Ave. NW | 32 | 706.8228 | CHUNKY BBQ | WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ |
| 2023-06-24 | Washington, DC | Historic Pennsylvania Ave. NW | 29 | 702.2400 | Mispillion Meat Works | UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT |
| 2023-06-24 | Washington, DC | Historic Pennsylvania Ave. NW | 26 | 177.1428 | OPTIMUS SWINE | — |
| 2023-06-24 | Washington, DC | Historic Pennsylvania Ave. NW | 27 | 177.7372 | UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT | — |
| 2024-06-22 | Washington, DC | Historic Pennsylvania Ave. NW | 36 | 704.0116 | Good Googly Goo BBQ | The Fat is Where It's At |
| 2025-06-21 | Washington, DC | Historic Pennsylvania Ave. NW | 26 | 707.3944 | 3 Eyz BBQ | BLUE & GRAY BBQ |
| 2025-06-21 | Washington, DC | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2025-06-21 | Washington, DC | Historic Pennsylvania Ave. NW | 24 | 180.0000 | Smokecraft - MD | — |
| 2026-06-26 ← this one | Washington, DC | Historic Pennsylvania Ave. NW | 31 | 703.3828 | Titans of BBQ | SWEET BELLY'S BBQ |
| 2026-06-27 | Washington, DC | Historic Pennsylvania Ave. NW | 28 | 178.8572 | Smoked & Furious | — |
| 2027-06-25 | Washington, DC | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2027-06-26 | Washington, DC | — | — | — | — | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180.0000 | 177.1428 | 175.4172 |
| Pork Ribs | 180.0000 | 177.1544 | 174.8456 |
| Pork | 180.0000 | 177.7028 | 175.4172 |
| Brisket | 180.0000 | 177.7028 | 173.1544 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
31 entries · top 703.3828 · median 689.6224
Chicken
31 entries · top 180.0000 · median 171.9656 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork Ribs
31 entries · top 180.0000 · median 172.5484 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork
31 entries · top 180.0000 · median 173.1200 · 🔥 perfect 180
Brisket
31 entries · top 180.0000 · median 172.0000 · 🔥 perfect 180
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 — Aussie Lamb
28 entries · top 178.8572 · median 166.2914
Ancillary — Roseda National Steak
28 entries · top 180.0000 · median 172.8342 · 🔥 perfect 180