American Royal World Series of Barbecue Backyard Contest
2023-03-24 – 2023-03-25 · Kansas City, MO · 📍 1701 American Royal Court
Reps: DAVE ROGERS, PEG ROGERS · Prize money: $5,300.00
Grand Champion: Big Racks BBQ (348.5372) · 37 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 Bad Influence BBQ - MO
Entries
37
2 judged meats
Top score
348.5372
Winning margin
3.4516
GC over RC
Field average
328.56
median 331.38
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
1.7372 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
339.9888
10th place overall
Field spread
69.2000
winner to last place
Prize money
$5,300.00
on the line
Double threats
1
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 62%
beats 38% of 708 Backyard Series wins in the data
Traveled in
43%
of the 37 teams with a home region came from outside MO
Came back for more
36%
9 of 25 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.31 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1522
avg power rating going in · stronger than 27% of contests
Storylines
🧳 Out-of-towners took the title
Big Racks BBQ took the Grand Championship home to MN.
📸 Photo finishes
Chicken places 2–3: Mistler's BBQ and Big Racks BBQ tied on 173.1200 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 7–8: Bad Influence BBQ - MO and BULL IN THE RING tied on 170.8228 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 3–4: Curly Bird BBQ and Wink's BBQ tied on 174.2744 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
🛡️ Back to defend
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: Rick's Racks (won 2022).
🃏 An upset on the books
Big Racks BBQ came in rated below the field's top team, Swine-O-licious BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 29-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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-03-25 | Kansas City, MO | 1701 American Royal Court | 25 | 350.8456 | Rick's Racks | — |
| 2023-03-24 ← this one | Kansas City, MO | 1701 American Royal Court | 37 | 348.5372 | Big Racks BBQ | — |
| 2024-03-22 | Kansas City, MO | 1701 American Royal Court | 31 | 357.7028 | Bad Influence BBQ - MO | — |
| 2025-03-21 | Kansas City, MO | 1701 American Royal Court | 33 | 353.7028 | Too Sauced BBQ | — |
| 2026-03-20 | Kansas City, MO | 1701 American Royal Court | 33 | 353.1084 | Dawgs BBQ | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 176.0000 | 172.5600 | 169.6684 |
| Pork Ribs | 176.0000 | 174.2628 | 171.9772 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Backyard Series
Overall
37 entries · top 348.5372 · median 331.3828
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Big Racks BBQ | |
| 2 | Bad Influence BBQ - MO | |
| 3 | Swine-O-Licious BBQ | |
| 4 | Breaking Slabs BBQ | |
| 5 | Fluffy Butt BBQ | |
| 6 | Smoke This Drink That BBQ | |
| 7 | W2 BBQ | |
| 8 | BULL IN THE RING | |
| 9 | Rucking Fidiculous BBQ | |
| 10 | Too Sauced BBQ | |
| 11 | Shmack Q | |
| 12 | BONPAS BOTTOMS BBQ | |
| 13 | Wink's BBQ | |
| 14 | SoFa King Awesome BBQ | |
| 15 | Curly Bird BBQ | |
| 16 | RICK'S RACKS | |
| 17 | MEAT'S MY MISTRESS | |
| 18 | Mistler's BBQ | |
| 19 | Bushwood BBQ | |
| 20 | T-Dawg BBQ | |
| 21 | HESSHOGS | |
| 22 | The Smokin Goat | |
| 23 | MUNNY'S STOVE | |
| 24 | Schrockin' Que | |
| 25 | TWISTED-Q | |
| 26 | Smoke Wurx BBQ | |
| 27 | The Meatsy Boys | |
| 28 | Triple Ace's Bbq | |
| 29 | SouthInUrMouth | |
| 30 | Aww Shucks BBQ | |
| 31 | Que Lis Bbq | |
| 32 | Big Reds Backyard BBQ | |
| 33 | Team BBB3A Busch, Buds, & BBQ | |
| 34 | Big TD'S BBQ | |
| 35 | Nutty cocks bbq | |
| 36 | BBQ Boys | |
| 37 | The Dogs Liked It |
Chicken
37 entries · top 176.0000 · median 165.6684
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Too Sauced BBQ | |
| 2 | Mistler's BBQ | |
| 3 | Big Racks BBQ | |
| 4 | Rucking Fidiculous BBQ | |
| 5 | W2 BBQ | |
| 6 | Swine-O-Licious BBQ | |
| 7 | Bad Influence BBQ - MO | |
| 8 | BULL IN THE RING | |
| 9 | SoFa King Awesome BBQ | |
| 10 | Fluffy Butt BBQ | |
| 11 | Shmack Q | |
| 12 | Smoke This Drink That BBQ | |
| 13 | The Smokin Goat | |
| 14 | MEAT'S MY MISTRESS | |
| 15 | Big TD'S BBQ | |
| 16 | Bushwood BBQ | |
| 17 | Breaking Slabs BBQ | |
| 18 | Smoke Wurx BBQ | |
| 19 | SouthInUrMouth | |
| 20 | RICK'S RACKS | |
| 21 | Schrockin' Que | |
| 22 | BONPAS BOTTOMS BBQ | |
| 23 | Que Lis Bbq | |
| 24 | HESSHOGS | |
| 25 | Wink's BBQ | |
| 26 | Aww Shucks BBQ | |
| 27 | TWISTED-Q | |
| 28 | Curly Bird BBQ | |
| 29 | MUNNY'S STOVE | |
| 30 | T-Dawg BBQ | |
| 31 | Team BBB3A Busch, Buds, & BBQ | |
| 32 | The Meatsy Boys | |
| 33 | Triple Ace's Bbq | |
| 34 | BBQ Boys | |
| 35 | Big Reds Backyard BBQ | |
| 36 | Nutty cocks bbq | |
| 37 | The Dogs Liked It |
Pork Ribs
37 entries · top 176.0000 · median 166.8228
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Breaking Slabs BBQ | |
| 2 | Big Racks BBQ | |
| 3 | Curly Bird BBQ | |
| 4 | Wink's BBQ | |
| 5 | Bad Influence BBQ - MO | |
| 6 | Smoke This Drink That BBQ | |
| 7 | Fluffy Butt BBQ | |
| 8 | T-Dawg BBQ | |
| 9 | BONPAS BOTTOMS BBQ | |
| 10 | Swine-O-Licious BBQ | |
| 11 | BULL IN THE RING | |
| 12 | RICK'S RACKS | |
| 13 | Shmack Q | |
| 14 | MUNNY'S STOVE | |
| 15 | W2 BBQ | |
| 16 | The Meatsy Boys | |
| 17 | Rucking Fidiculous BBQ | |
| 18 | TWISTED-Q | |
| 19 | HESSHOGS | |
| 20 | MEAT'S MY MISTRESS | |
| 21 | Triple Ace's Bbq | |
| 22 | SoFa King Awesome BBQ | |
| 23 | Bushwood BBQ | |
| 24 | Big Reds Backyard BBQ | |
| 25 | Schrockin' Que | |
| 26 | Too Sauced BBQ | |
| 27 | The Smokin Goat | |
| 28 | Smoke Wurx BBQ | |
| 29 | Mistler's BBQ | |
| 30 | Aww Shucks BBQ | |
| 31 | Nutty cocks bbq | |
| 32 | Que Lis Bbq | |
| 33 | SouthInUrMouth | |
| 34 | Team BBB3A Busch, Buds, & BBQ | |
| 35 | BBQ Boys | |
| 36 | Big TD'S BBQ | |
| 37 | The Dogs Liked It |