A new contest record
711.9656
highest overall ever cooked here
711.9656 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 708.5372 TRIPLE H BBQ set in 2021.
- old record 708.5372
- set 2021 by TRIPLE H BBQ
American Royal World Series of Barbecue - INVITATIONAL CONTEST 2022
Sep 29 – Oct 1, 2022 · Kansas City, KS
Reps: Bob McKinnon, Clara Williams, Forrest Bruce, Jonathan B Williams, Julie Cook, Karen Jane Williams, Larry Hadley, Larry Voth, Lynda Voth, Ralph Williams, Rusty Cook, Terri McKinnon
QUE U won Grand Champion at the American Royal World Series of Barbecue - INVITATIONAL CONTEST on September 29, 2022 in Kansas City, KS, scoring 711.9656 in a field of 249 teams. Bushmaster BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 706.2628. Category winners: Chicken — THE BBQ BUS (180.0000); Pork Ribs — MUTTLEY CREW BBQ (178.8572); Pork — GETTIN' BASTED (180.0000); Brisket — TINY E BBQ (180.0000). This is the 2nd of 6 editions of this contest on record; the 2021 edition was won by TRIPLE H BBQ; the next was held in 2023.
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.
512.47
median 681.05
711.97 🏆
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 178.86
- Pork 180 🔥
- Brisket 180 🔥
143.94
180
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2021 to 2026 — this edition picked out.
Entries
249
4 judged meats
Top score
711.9656
Winning margin
5.7028
GC over RC
Field average
679.27
512.47711.97
median 681.05 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
16 🔥
Tightest race
Chicken
0 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
701.0856
512.47711.97
10th place overall
Field spread
199.4976
winner to last place
Double threats
2
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 2%
beats 98% of 4715 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
64%
119 of 185 teams from the previous edition returned
Storylines (7 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.
Won without a category win
2 of 4
meats called to the stage
QUE U won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 2 calls from 4 boards, best of them 4th. Consistency beat fireworks.
- Chicken 23rd
- Pork Ribs 50th
- Pork 4th
- Brisket 7th
A day of perfect scores
16
perfect 180s
16 perfect 180s were scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- TINY E BBQ · Brisket
- SHIGGIN & GRINNIN · Brisket
- NECTAR OF THE HOGS · Brisket
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 29 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 1–2: THE BBQ BUS and ACES HIGH BBQ tied on 180.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 2–3: ACES HIGH BBQ and SMOKE THIS BBQ MO tied on 180.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 3–4: SMOKE THIS BBQ MO and Sharpe's Woodshed tied on 180.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 1–2 · tie
- Chicken 2–3 · tie
- Chicken 3–4 · tie
- Chicken 4–5 · tie
A contest record in pork
180.0000
best pork ever cooked here
GETTIN' BASTED turned in 180.0000 in pork — past the 179.4400 that had stood across 1 earlier editions.
- old best 179.4400
- across 1 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: TRIPLE H BBQ (won 2021).
- TRIPLE H BBQ · 2021
One of the big ones
249
teams on the grounds
Bigger than 99% of the 5,469 contests in the data
249 teams — bigger than 99% of the 5,469 contests in the data.
In the record book (1 in the KCBS record book)
What happened at this contest that stands in the all-time KCBS record book. A gold line is a record nobody has beaten.
- #10 🎪 Biggest field
This contest's own records (1 in the KCBS record book)
Records held by every edition of this contest put together, not just this one afternoon.
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
This contest over the years full contest page →
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 16, 2021 | Kansas City, KS | Kansas Speedway | 185 | 708.5372 | TRIPLE H BBQ | SIN CIRCLE BBQ |
| Sep 29, 2022 ← this one | Kansas City, KS | Kansas City, KS 66111 | 249 | 711.9656 | QUE U | Bushmaster BBQ |
| Sep 27, 2023 | Kansas City, KS | Kansas City, KS 66111 | 211 | 706.8572 | FIRE AT THE END OF THE DAY | Damn Fine Beef & Swine |
| Oct 30, 2024 | Kansas City, KS | Kansas Speedway | 169 | 709.7028 | Hot Daddy's BBQ | Smoke Central BBQ |
| Nov 5, 2025 | Kansas City, KS | Kansas Speedway | 158 | 710.8344 | Rooters-N-Tooters TN | TRIPLE H BBQ |
| Sep 30, 2026 | Kansas City, KS | 1899 American Royal Way | 158 | 709.6916 | B's Que | MUNNY'S STOVE |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180 | 180 | 178.8572 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.8572 | 178.3200 | 177.7372 |
| Pork | 180 | 179.4400 | 178.8572 |
| Brisket | 180 | 180 | 177.7028 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
249 entries · top 711.9656 · median 681.0512
Chicken
249 entries · top 180 · median 171.4056 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork Ribs
249 entries · top 178.8572 · median 170.8344
Pork
249 entries · top 180 · median 170.8228 · 🔥 perfect 180
Brisket
248 entries · top 180 · median 169.6684 · 🔥 perfect 180