American Royal World Series of Barbecue-OPEN CONTEST
2021-09-16 – 2021-09-18 · Kansas City, KS · 📍 Kansas Speedway · State championship
Reps: BUNNY TUTTLE, FORREST BRUCE, KAREN JANE WILLIAMS, KIM COLLIER, LARRY HADLEY, MARK COLLIER, MIKE LAKE, RALPH WILLIAMS, RICH TUTTLE, SCOTT GRINSTEAD, STEVE GRINSTEAD, THERESA LAKE · Prize money: $60,910.00
Grand Champion: LAST CALL HEROES BBQ (709.1428) · 467 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 HOGLINE
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
💪 A statement win
The champion won by 8.5828 points — a wider margin than 85% of championships in the data.
🔥 A day of perfect scores
9 perfect 180s were scored at this contest.
📸 Photo finishes
Chicken places 1–2: OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE and LAST CALL HEROES BBQ tied on 180.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 2–3: LAST CALL HEROES BBQ and MEAT ME IN ST. LOUIS tied on 180.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 3–4: MEAT ME IN ST. LOUIS and PARTS 'R' SMOKIN tied on 180.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
🃏 An upset on the books
LAST CALL HEROES BBQ came in rated below the field's top team, GETTIN' BASTED, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 34-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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-09-16 ← this one | Kansas City, KS | Kansas Speedway | 467 | 709.1428 | LAST CALL HEROES BBQ | HOGLINE |
| 2022-09-29 | Kansas City, KS | Kansas City, KS 66111 | 505 | 707.4056 | QUE U | LOOT N' BOOTY BBQ |
| 2023-09-27 | Kansas City, KS | Kansas City, KS 66111 | 487 | 705.1200 | JANKY LEG BBQ | MACHETE BOYS BBQ |
| 2026-09-30 | Kansas City, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180.0000 | 177.7028 | 177.1428 |
| Pork Ribs | 179.4400 | 178.8572 | 177.7372 |
| Pork | 180.0000 | 179.4400 | 178.2972 |
| Brisket | 180.0000 | 178.2972 | 177.7028 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
467 entries · top 709.1428 · median 662.7768
Chicken
460 entries · top 180.0000 · median 166.2458 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork Ribs
465 entries · top 179.4400 · median 166.2744
Pork
460 entries · top 180.0000 · median 165.1084 · 🔥 perfect 180
Brisket
461 entries · top 180.0000 · median 164.5256 · 🔥 perfect 180
Open Comp
Overall
188 entries · top 530.3428 · median 484.4968
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.
Open Comp — Beans
172 entries · top 178.8800 · median 164.5198
Ancillary — Dessert
142 entries · top 180.0000 · median 173.1084 · 🔥 perfect 180
Open Comp — Potato
147 entries · top 180.0000 · median 166.2284 · 🔥 perfect 180
Ancillary — Sausage
229 entries · top 180.0000 · median 163.4056 · 🔥 perfect 180
Turkey Smoke Series — Turkey Smoke
223 entries · top 180.0000 · median 166.2856 · 🔥 perfect 180
Open Comp — Vegetable
144 entries · top 180.0000 · median 165.6856 · 🔥 perfect 180