Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle (ONE MEAT CHICKEN)
2023-06-24 · Washington, DC · 📍 Historic Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Reps: ALEX JR BROWN, BILL JONES
Grand Champion: OPTIMUS SWINE (177.1428) · 26 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ
Entries
26
1 judged meat
Top score
177.1428
Winning margin
Tie
identical totals — KCBS tiebreaker
Field average
168.09
median 170.83
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
2.2856 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
172.0228
10th place overall
Field spread
30.9028
winner to last place
How hot was the win?
Top 72%
beats 28% of 2791 Chicken wins in the data
Came back for more
47%
15 of 32 teams from the previous edition returned
Storylines
🧳 Out-of-towners took the title
Optimus Swine took the Grand Championship home to VA.
📸 Photo finishes
Chicken places 1–2: Optimus Swine and WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ tied on 177.1428 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 6–7: REDNECK SCIENTIFIC and 3 EYZ BBQ tied on 174.2744 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
🛡️ Back to defend
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: CHUNKY BBQ (won 2022).
Score curves (score by finishing position — steep cliffs mean a spread field, flat lines a knife fight)
Score distribution
This contest over the years full contest page →
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-06-25 | Washington, DC | Historic Pennsylvania Ave. NW | 32 | 706.8228 | CHUNKY BBQ | WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ |
| 2023-06-24 | Washington, DC | Historic Pennsylvania Ave. NW | 29 | 702.2400 | Mispillion Meat Works | UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT |
| 2023-06-24 ← this one | Washington, DC | Historic Pennsylvania Ave. NW | 26 | 177.1428 | OPTIMUS SWINE | — |
| 2023-06-24 | Washington, DC | Historic Pennsylvania Ave. NW | 27 | 177.7372 | UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT | — |
| 2024-06-22 | Washington, DC | Historic Pennsylvania Ave. NW | 36 | 704.0116 | Good Googly Goo BBQ | The Fat is Where It's At |
| 2025-06-21 | Washington, DC | Historic Pennsylvania Ave. NW | 26 | 707.3944 | 3 Eyz BBQ | BLUE & GRAY BBQ |
| 2025-06-21 | Washington, DC | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2025-06-21 | Washington, DC | Historic Pennsylvania Ave. NW | 24 | 180.0000 | Smokecraft - MD | — |
| 2026-06-26 | Washington, DC | Historic Pennsylvania Ave. NW | 31 | 703.3828 | Titans of BBQ | SWEET BELLY'S BBQ |
| 2026-06-27 | Washington, DC | Historic Pennsylvania Ave. NW | 28 | 178.8572 | Smoked & Furious | — |
| 2027-06-25 | Washington, DC | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2027-06-26 | Washington, DC | — | — | — | — | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 177.1428 | 174.8572 | 172.0228 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Masters Series Single Meat
Chicken
26 entries · top 177.1428 · median 170.8286
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Optimus Swine | |
| 2 | WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ | |
| 3 | CHECKERED FLAG 500 BBQ | |
| 4 | GOOD GOOGLY GOO BBQ | |
| 5 | Anonymous Q | |
| 6 | REDNECK SCIENTIFIC | |
| 7 | 3 EYZ BBQ | |
| 8 | UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT | |
| 9 | TNT Explosive BBQ | |
| 10 | OFF THE RACK BBQ | |
| 11 | COLORADO BULLDAWG BBQ | |
| 12 | ALL FIRED UP BBQ | |
| 13 | OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE | |
| 14 | CLARK CREW BBQ | |
| 15 | Mispillion Meat Works | |
| 16 | CHUNKY BBQ | |
| 17 | BLUE EYED BBQ | |
| 18 | BLUE & GRAY BBQ | |
| 19 | TEAM MEAT COMA | |
| 20 | HOOS SMOKIN | |
| 21 | SMOKECRAFT - MD | |
| 22 | MENKE BOYS BBQ | |
| 23 | Smoked & Furious | |
| 24 | SWEET BELLY'S BBQ | |
| 25 | Gouda's BBQ | |
| 26 | RIBS BY ANDY |