A new contest record
712.0000
highest overall ever cooked here
712.0000 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 706.8228 LOVE 2 Q set in 2025.
- old record 706.8228
- set 2025 by LOVE 2 Q
Shawnee Great Grillers 2026
Sep 25–26, 2026 · Shawnee, KS · 📍 11501 W. 57th St · State championship
Reps: Dave Rogers, Larry Hadley, Peg Rogers · Prize money: $6,350
Dr. Squealgood BBQ won Grand Champion at the Shawnee Great Grillers on September 25, 2026 in Shawnee, KS at 11501 W. 57th St, scoring 712.0000 in a field of 65 teams. Brew 'N' Bar-B-Que took Reserve Grand Champion with 710.2628. Category winners: Chicken — Slaps BBQ (180.0000); Pork Ribs — Smokeritaville (179.4400); Pork — Love 2 Q (180.0000); Brisket — Brew 'N' Bar-B-Que (178.8572). This is the 4th of 4 editions of this contest on record; the 2025 edition was won by LOVE 2 Q.
The contest at a glance (read off the scored boards)
How the field scored
Overall totals, every team on the board — tall stacks are where the pack sat.
475.95
median 663.25
712 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 180 🔥
- Pork Ribs 179.44
- Pork 180 🔥
- Brisket 178.86
139.94
180
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2023 to 2026 — this edition picked out.
Entries
65
4 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
712
Winning margin
1.7372
GC over RC
Field average
663.01
475.95712
median 663.25 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Pork
1.1428 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
695.9544
475.95712
10th place overall
Field spread
236.0456
winner to last place
Prize money
$6,350
on the line
Double threats
5
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 1%
beats 99% of 4723 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
61%
41 of 67 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.69 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,535
avg power rating going in · stronger than 26% of contests
Storylines (9 found in this contest's numbers)
Everything below is read straight out of the results — the number on each card is the one that made it a story.
An upset on the books
25-in-100
shot on pre-contest ratings
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 75 times in 100
Dr. Squealgood BBQ came in rated below the field's top team, SLAPS BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 25-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
- champion 1752
- top seed 1946
Won without a category win
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
Dr. Squealgood BBQ won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 4 calls from 4 boards, best of them 2nd. Consistency beat fireworks.
- Chicken 6th
- Pork Ribs 3rd
- Pork 2nd
- Brisket 8th
A day of perfect scores
4
perfect 180s
4 perfect 180s were scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- Slaps BBQ · Chicken
- Love 2 Q · Pork
- Dr. Squealgood BBQ · Pork
A knife fight at the top
4.0000
points across the top five
First to fifth in the overall standings covered just 4.0000 points.
- 1st Dr. Squealgood BBQ
- 2nd Brew 'N' Bar-B-Que
- 3rd Slaps BBQ
- 4th Cow Creek BBQ
- 5th Keep Calm and Sauce On
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 16 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 4–5: Squealin N Dealin BBQ and Velvet Swine tied on 177.1428 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 6–7: Dr. Squealgood BBQ and Stewey Magoos BBQ tied on 176.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 4–5: Slaps BBQ and Bare Knuckle tied on 177.7144 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 4–5 · tie
- Chicken 6–7 · tie
- Pork Ribs 4–5 · tie
- Pork Ribs 9–10 · tie
A contest record in pork ribs
179.4400
best pork ribs ever cooked here
Smokeritaville turned in 179.4400 in pork ribs — past the 178.8572 that had stood across 3 earlier editions.
- old best 178.8572
- across 3 past editions
Back to defend
3
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: Slaps BBQ (won 2023), Mad Mutt's BBQ (won 2024), LOVE 2 Q (won 2025).
- Slaps BBQ · 2023
- Mad Mutt's BBQ · 2024
- LOVE 2 Q · 2025
One of the big ones
65
teams on the grounds
Bigger than 94% of the 5,482 contests in the data
65 teams — bigger than 94% of the 5,482 contests in the data.
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)
This contest over the years full contest page →
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 22, 2023 | Shawnee, KS | 11501 W. 57th St | 73 | 703.9544 | Slaps BBQ | Fergolicious BBQ |
| Sep 27, 2024 | Shawnee, KS | 11501 W. 57th St | 73 | 705.1088 | Mad Mutt's BBQ | SLAPS BBQ |
| Sep 26, 2025 | Shawnee, KS | 11501 W. 57th St | 67 | 706.8228 | LOVE 2 Q | BREW 'N' BAR-B-QUE |
| Sep 25, 2026 ← this one | Shawnee, KS | 11501 W. 57th St | 65 | 712 | Dr. Squealgood BBQ | Brew 'N' Bar-B-Que |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180 | 177.1428 | 174.2856 |
| Pork Ribs | 179.4400 | 177.7144 | 175.4056 |
| Pork | 180 | 178.8572 | 177.1428 |
| Brisket | 178.8572 | 177.7028 | 176 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
65 entries · top 712 · median 663.2456
Chicken
65 entries · top 180 · median 168 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork Ribs
65 entries · top 179.4400 · median 166.2628
Pork
64 entries · top 180 · median 168.8514 · 🔥 perfect 180
Brisket
65 entries · top 178.8572 · median 165.1316
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 — Sausage
43 entries · top 180 · median 170.2628 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dr. Squealgood BBQ | |
| 2 | Grillagens Island | |
| 3 | Evening Wood | |
| 4 | Love 2 Q | |
| 5 | Kingdom Smoke | |
| 6 | Last Years Leftovers | |
| 7 | Hoggy Style BBQ | |
| 8 | Pine Tar BBQ | |
| 9 | This is Nice | |
| 10 | Get Outta My Pit | |
| 11 | Ribs for Her Pleasure | |
| 12 | Smoke on Wheels | |
| 13 | Brew 'N' Bar-B-Que | |
| 14 | Menage A Hog | |
| 15 | Smokeritaville | |
| 16 | Pit Crew BBQ | |
| 17 | Big Fork BBQ | |
| 18 | Bald Beauties BBQ | |
| 19 | Shell Rock Smokers | |
| 20 | T MAC SMOKIN | |
| 21 | Bourbon Barrel Smokers | |
| 22 | Smokey Mountain Boys | |
| 23 | Jurassic Pork | |
| 24 | F.O.M.S.B. | |
| 25 | Smokers Anonymous | |
| 26 | Smokin' Beaver BBQ | |
| 27 | Sky Blue Thighs | |
| 28 | Legendary BBQ | |
| 29 | BBQ Pit Bros | |
| 30 | Half Chicken | |
| 31 | Almost Flamous Barbeque | |
| 32 | Naked Wings | |
| 33 | Roadkill BBQ | |
| 34 | Bubbas-Pig-Olishous | |
| 35 | Broken Bottle | |
| 36 | KC Rib Doctor | |
| 37 | SMF | |
| 38 | Hawg Heaven BBQ | |
| 39 | Ultimate Flippin Grillers | |
| 40 | Silence of the Hams | |
| 41 | BEEFIN' MEATS BBQ CREW | |
| 42 | Ribi's | |
| 43 | Smoking Joe's BarberQ |