ECP BBQ Challenge
2026-07-24 – 2026-07-25 · San Jose, 92701 · COSTA RICA · 📍 Escuela Costarricense de Parrilleros, Santa Ana
Reps: ERNESTO URIBE, NATASHA LOEW
Grand Champion: Smoke 44 (701.6912) · 17 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 Justice BBQ
Entries
Top score
Winning margin
Field average
Tightest race
Top-10 cutoff
Field spread
Double threats
How hot was the win?
Form held
Field strength
Storylines
📸 Photo finishes
Pork Ribs places 1–2: Fire Family BBQ PTY and Humo Parrillada tied on 178.2972 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 6–7: Justice BBQ and Tiquicia Smokers tied on 175.4172 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 1–2: Smoke 44 and Bros & Fire PTY tied on 179.4400 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
🃏 An upset on the books
Smoke 44 came in rated below the field's top team, Justice BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 28-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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180.0000 | 174.2744 | 169.1312 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.2972 | 175.4400 | 170.2744 |
| Pork | 179.4400 | 175.4056 | 170.8228 |
| Brisket | 175.4400 | 171.9772 | 166.8228 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
17 entries · top 701.6912 · median 682.1712
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Smoke 44 | |
| 2 | Justice BBQ | |
| 3 | 88 BBQ | |
| 4 | Fire Family BBQ PTY | |
| 5 | Club Carbon CR | |
| 6 | Los Pinos BBQ Team | |
| 7 | Humo Parrillada | |
| 8 | Bros & Fire PTY | |
| 9 | SIBO Smokers | |
| 10 | SDC BBQ Team | |
| 11 | Brumas BBQ | |
| 12 | Urban Smoke House | |
| 13 | Tiquicia Smokers | |
| 14 | Pura Vida BBQ | |
| 15 | Tico BBQ Club | |
| 16 | DRUMQ BBQ Costa Rica | |
| 17 | Pangea Grill |
Chicken
17 entries · top 180.0000 · median 169.1428 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Club Carbon CR | |
| 2 | Smoke 44 | |
| 3 | 88 BBQ | |
| 4 | Pura Vida BBQ | |
| 5 | Los Pinos BBQ Team | |
| 6 | Justice BBQ | |
| 7 | Tiquicia Smokers | |
| 8 | Humo Parrillada | |
| 9 | Tico BBQ Club | |
| 10 | SDC BBQ Team | |
| 11 | Urban Smoke House | |
| 12 | Bros & Fire PTY | |
| 13 | Fire Family BBQ PTY | |
| 14 | Brumas BBQ | |
| 15 | SIBO Smokers | |
| 16 | DRUMQ BBQ Costa Rica | |
| 17 | Pangea Grill |
Pork Ribs
17 entries · top 178.2972 · median 171.9772
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fire Family BBQ PTY | |
| 2 | Humo Parrillada | |
| 3 | 88 BBQ | |
| 4 | SIBO Smokers | |
| 5 | SDC BBQ Team | |
| 6 | Justice BBQ | |
| 7 | Tiquicia Smokers | |
| 8 | Brumas BBQ | |
| 9 | Club Carbon CR | |
| 10 | Pura Vida BBQ | |
| 11 | Smoke 44 | |
| 12 | Los Pinos BBQ Team | |
| 13 | Urban Smoke House | |
| 14 | Bros & Fire PTY | |
| 15 | Tico BBQ Club | |
| 16 | Pangea Grill | |
| 17 | DRUMQ BBQ Costa Rica |
Pork
17 entries · top 179.4400 · median 170.8456
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Smoke 44 | |
| 2 | Bros & Fire PTY | |
| 3 | Fire Family BBQ PTY | |
| 4 | Urban Smoke House | |
| 5 | Justice BBQ | |
| 6 | Brumas BBQ | |
| 7 | Los Pinos BBQ Team | |
| 8 | Tico BBQ Club | |
| 9 | Club Carbon CR | |
| 10 | 88 BBQ | |
| 11 | SIBO Smokers | |
| 12 | Tiquicia Smokers | |
| 13 | Humo Parrillada | |
| 14 | DRUMQ BBQ Costa Rica | |
| 15 | SDC BBQ Team | |
| 16 | Pangea Grill | |
| 17 | Pura Vida BBQ |
Brisket
17 entries · top 175.4400 · median 167.9656
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DRUMQ BBQ Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Justice BBQ | |
| 3 | Los Pinos BBQ Team | |
| 4 | Smoke 44 | |
| 5 | Club Carbon CR | |
| 6 | Fire Family BBQ PTY | |
| 7 | Humo Parrillada | |
| 8 | 88 BBQ | |
| 9 | SIBO Smokers | |
| 10 | Bros & Fire PTY | |
| 11 | Tico BBQ Club | |
| 12 | SDC BBQ Team | |
| 13 | Brumas BBQ | |
| 14 | Urban Smoke House | |
| 15 | Pangea Grill | |
| 16 | Pura Vida BBQ | |
| 17 | Tiquicia Smokers |
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 — Maiz
14 entries · top 180.0000 · median 174.0114 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pangea Grill | |
| 2 | Club Carbon CR | |
| 3 | Bros & Fire PTY | |
| 4 | Tiquicia Smokers | |
| 5 | Smoke 44 | |
| 6 | Los Pinos BBQ Team | |
| 7 | SDC BBQ Team | |
| 8 | Pura Vida BBQ | |
| 9 | Humo Parrillada | |
| 10 | SIBO Smokers | |
| 11 | Brumas BBQ | |
| 12 | DRUMQ BBQ Costa Rica | |
| 13 | 88 BBQ | |
| 14 | Tico BBQ Club |