Sep 11–12, 2026 · Waller, TX · 📍 Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park · State championship
Reps: Debbie Spray, Eugene Wickham, Larry Voth, Lynda Voth, Sarah Wickham, Scott Spray · Prize money: $50,000
POP A TOP COOKERS won Grand Champion at the Danny Dietz Memorial World Championship Cookoff on September 11, 2026 in Waller, TX at Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park, scoring 699.9428 in a field of 75 teams. CHICKEN FRIED BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 698.2284. Category winners: Chicken — REGI-Q-BBQ (177.7144); Pork Ribs — BAYOU BBQ (177.1772); Pork — POP A TOP COOKERS (178.2972); Brisket — THIN LINE BBQ (177.7028).
Overall totals, every team on the board — tall stacks are where the pack sat.
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
Everything below is read straight out of the results — the number on each card is the one that made it a story.
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 84 times in 100
POP A TOP COOKERS came in rated below the field's top team, LC BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 16-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
This was POP A TOP COOKERS's first Grand Championship in the data.
POP A TOP COOKERS finished 1st overall in the first contest the data has them cooking at all.
Chicken places 3–4: CHICKEN FRIED BBQ and MAN MEAT BBQ tied on 176.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 6–7: 58 JUNCTION and TEXAS STAR COOKERS tied on 175.4516 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 2–3: THE CHERRY PITS BBQ and CHICKEN FRIED BBQ tied on 177.7144 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
POP A TOP COOKERS took the title on 2 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was pork ribs at 16th.
Bigger than 96% of the 5,482 contests in the data
75 teams — bigger than 96% of the 5,482 contests in the data.
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 177.7144 | 175.4516 | 174.2628 |
| Pork Ribs | 177.1772 | 175.4744 | 174.8800 |
| Pork | 178.2972 | 177.7028 | 175.4056 |
| Brisket | 177.7028 | 176.5828 | 174.2744 |
75 entries · top 699.9428 · median 665.1084
75 entries · top 177.7144 · median 167.9772
75 entries · top 177.1772 · median 167.9772
75 entries · top 178.2972 · median 168
75 entries · top 177.7028 · median 164.5372
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.
23 entries · top 180 · median 169.1656 · 🔥 perfect 180
6 entries · top 174.8572 · median 169.1428
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | What You Say | |
| 2 | Miller 1.0 | |
| 3 | Trace of Smoke | |
| 4 | Little Belly Smokers | |
| 5 | Corgi Cookers | |
| 6 | BBQ Project 1.0 |
20 entries · top 178.8572 · median 169.4230
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jr Pop A Top | |
| 2 | Chicken Fried BBQ 2 | |
| 3 | Chicken Fried BBQ 1 | |
| 4 | 1874 Cattle | |
| 5 | Bo Beans BBQ | |
| 6 | Chillin & Grillin JR BBQ | |
| 7 | JBQ Kids | |
| 8 | Mini Meat | |
| 9 | BT'S BBQ | |
| 10 | BBQ Project 2.0 | |
| 11 | Tiny Belly Smokers | |
| 12 | Little Pig 1.0 | |
| 13 | Five Creek Cookers Kids | |
| 14 | Little BBQ Bottoms | |
| 15 | Pika-Que | |
| 16 | Grind Hard 2.0 | |
| 17 | Bottoms Up Smokers 2.0 | |
| 18 | Lite Brunch 2.0 | |
| 19 | Little Pig 2.0 | |
| 20 | Rubie Que |
11 entries · top 177.7372 · median 170.9028
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | JBQ Kids | |
| 2 | Jr Pop A Top | |
| 3 | Mini Meat | |
| 4 | What You Say | |
| 5 | Five Creek Cookers Kids | |
| 6 | 1874 Cattle | |
| 7 | BBQ Project 2.0 | |
| 8 | Corgi Cookers | |
| 9 | Trace of Smoke | |
| 10 | BT'S BBQ | |
| 11 | BBQ Project 1.0 |
14 entries · top 178.8800 · median 163.7028