Connecticut Barbecue Challenge
2026-07-18 – 2026-07-19 · Somers, CT · 📍 Four Town Fair Grounds · State championship
Reps: BILL WRIGHT, KIM WRIGHT · Prize money: $4,400.00
Grand Champion: Boggs Hog BBQ (702.2972) · 36 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 Smokin' Hoggz BBQ - MA
Entries
Top score
Winning margin
Field average
Tightest race
Top-10 cutoff
Field spread
Prize money
Double threats
How hot was the win?
Traveled in
Came back for more
Form held
Field strength
Storylines
👑 A dynasty in the making
House of Que has won this contest 2 times across its 4 tracked editions.
🪒 A razor-thin finish
The Grand Championship was decided by 1.1772 points — closer than 77% of every championship in the data.
🧳 Out-of-towners took the title
BOGGS HOG BBQ took the Grand Championship home to NJ.
📸 Photo finishes
Chicken places 4–5: Boggs Hogg BBQ and EL JEFE SMOKE tied on 176.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 5–6: Smokin' Hoggz BBQ - MA and EL JEFE SMOKE tied on 174.8572 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 6–7: EL JEFE SMOKE and Risk It For The Brisket tied on 174.8572 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
🛡️ Back to defend
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: House of Que (won 2024, 2025).
🃏 An upset on the books
Boggs Hogg 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-07-12 | Somers, CT | Four Town Fair Grounds | 30 | 704.5600 | House of Que | Q Shanty |
| 2024-07-12 | Somers, CT | Four Town Fair Grounds | 19 | 180.0000 | Smokin Hoggz BBQ-MA | — |
| 2025-07-12 | Somers, CT | Four Town Fair Grounds | 30 | 705.1084 | House of Que | FIRE AT THE END OF THE DAY |
| 2026-07-18 ← this one | Somers, CT | Four Town Fair Grounds | 36 | 702.2972 | Boggs Hog BBQ | Smokin' Hoggz BBQ - MA |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180.0000 | 176.5600 | 173.1200 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.3200 | 174.8572 | 173.1428 |
| Pork | 178.2972 | 174.8456 | 173.1200 |
| Brisket | 180.0000 | 174.8456 | 170.8228 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
36 entries · top 702.2972 · median 676.7486
Chicken
36 entries · top 180.0000 · median 169.6684 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork Ribs
36 entries · top 178.3200 · median 167.6684
Pork
36 entries · top 178.2972 · median 170.2628
Brisket
34 entries · top 180.0000 · median 168.8286 · 🔥 perfect 180