Jun 23–24, 2023 · Lenexa, KS · 📍 87th & Lackman · State championship
Reps: Dave Rogers, Forrest Bruce, Larry Hadley, Larry Voth, Lynda Voth, Peg Rogers · Prize money: $13,300
Damn Fine Beef & Swine won Grand Champion at The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship on June 23, 2023 in Lenexa, KS at 87th & Lackman, scoring 700.6288 in a field of 167 teams. HUNKA HUNKA BURNIN' RUB took Reserve Grand Champion with 700.5372. Category winners: Chicken — BURNIN' SANDS BBQ (180.0000); Pork Ribs — Knights of the Holy Grill (178.8572); Pork — ANIMAL HOUSE BBQ (180.0000); Brisket — Genuswine Brisket Authority (179.4400). This is the 4th of 7 editions of this contest on record; the 2022 edition was won by Love 2 Q; the next was held in 2024.
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.
What it has taken to win here, 2019 to 2026 — this edition picked out.
Everything below is read straight out of the results — the number on each card is the one that made it a story.
Closer than 95% of the 4,722 championships in the data
The Grand Championship was decided by 0.0916 points — closer than 95% of every championship in the data.
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 75 times in 100
Damn Fine Beef & Swine 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.
Damn Fine Beef & Swine won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 3 calls from 4 boards, best of them 4th. Consistency beat fireworks.
3 perfect 180s were scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
2 of 7 tracked editions
Slaps BBQ has won this contest 2 times across its 7 tracked editions.
Chicken places 8–9: Three Brothers Different Mothers and EXPOSED BONE BBQ tied on 175.4056 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 6–7: BURNIN' SANDS BBQ and Mind if I Smoke tied on 176.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 1–2: ANIMAL HOUSE BBQ and 913 BBQ tied on 180.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
ANIMAL HOUSE BBQ turned in 180.0000 in pork — past the 178.8800 that had stood across 3 earlier editions.
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: Sublime BBQ (won 2019), Slaps BBQ (won 2021), Love 2 Q (won 2022).
Bigger than 99% of the 5,482 contests in the data
167 teams — bigger than 99% of the 5,482 contests in the data.
120 of 164 teams from 2022-06-24 came back
120 of the 164 teams that cooked the previous edition came back for this one — a contest people put on the calendar.
Records held by every edition of this contest put together, not just this one afternoon.
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 21, 2019 | Lenexa, KS | Sar-Ko-Par Trails Park | 183 | 695.4400 | Sublime BBQ | SLAPS BBQ |
| Jun 25, 2021 | Lenexa, KS | Freedom Fields | 145 | 702.2628 | Slaps BBQ | KC Meat Sweats |
| Jun 24, 2022 | Lenexa, KS | Sar-Ko-Par Trail Park | 164 | 700 | Love 2 Q | PIRATES OF BAR-B-QUE BAY |
| Jun 23, 2023 ← this one | Lenexa, KS | 87th & Lackman | 167 | 700.6288 | Damn Fine Beef and Swine | HUNKA HUNKA BURNIN' RUB |
| Jun 21, 2024 | Lenexa, KS | 87th & Lackman | 172 | 704.0344 | Mulkey's BBQ | Smokey Bey's Barbecue |
| Jun 27, 2025 | Lenexa, KS | 87th & Lackman | 159 | 707.4400 | Slaps BBQ | Squealin N Dealin BBQ |
| Jun 26, 2026 | Lenexa, KS | 8801 Greenway Lane | 157 | 709.1200 | Gettin' Basted | Dr. Squealgood BBQ |
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180 | 177.1428 | 174.2628 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.8572 | 176.5716 | 175.4744 |
| Pork | 180 | 176.5828 | 176 |
| Brisket | 179.4400 | 177.1428 | 175.4056 |
167 entries · top 700.6288 · median 650.3544
165 entries · top 180 · median 163.4172 · 🔥 perfect 180
167 entries · top 178.8572 · median 163.4172
164 entries · top 180 · median 165.6798 · 🔥 perfect 180
164 entries · top 179.4400 · median 161.6800
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.
60 entries · top 180 · median 166.0114 · 🔥 perfect 180
77 entries · top 179.4400 · median 166.8456
119 entries · top 178.2972 · median 167.9656