In this edition
Every sanctioned contest scored in March 2026 — 1 Mar to 31 Mar.
Covering KCBS-sanctioned contests
March 2026 in BBQ
The recap: every contest scored, every story, every board
Inside
The Stories
Score of the month
top 1% of every Master overall ever scored
RAZORRACKS put up 713.1200 at Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship — the highest overall of the month.
- a new contest record
Hottest hand
Justice BBQ took 2 Grand Championships in March 2026.
First one ever
Smoking Butcher won their first Grand Championship at W.E.S.T. - Winter Extreme South Tyrol, in their 10th contest in the data.
- 7 Mar
Upset of the month
The ratings gave them a 14% chance
JDQ BBQ won 8th Annual Qlathe BBQ Championship over top-rated SLAPS BBQ as the ratings underdog.
Perfect 180s
Six judges, every card a 9: 71 perfect 180s were handed out in March 2026.
- Chicken ×26
- Pork ×18
- Brisket ×16
- Pork Ribs ×11
Closest call
NORALA BBQ TEAM edged Big James Kitchen by 0.0000 at Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship.
- Backyard Series
Back on top
BROCK'S BBQ won BBQ Gives Back (Day 1) — their first Grand Championship since March 2024, after 19 contests without one.
- last won March 2024
- 19 contests in between
Biggest riser
Clean Smoke BBQ Team gained 33 rating points across 3 contests — the biggest climb of the month.
- 3 contests
- now #1229 overall
State champions crowned
11 state championships were decided in March 2026. The biggest, Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship (125 teams), went to Razorracks.
- Tennessee
- Kansas
- Georgia
- Virginia
- Arkansas
- Florida
Best debut
HevyQue BBQ finished 1st at American Royal World Series of Barbecue Steak Cook-Off — the first contest they appear in anywhere in the data.
- 103 new teams in Mar 2026
Best in the backyard
NORALA BBQ TEAM put up 358.8572 on the Backyard board at Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship — two meats, a different scale, and the same nerves.
- 10 Backyard boards in Mar 2026
- won it
Biggest blowout
Justice BBQ won BBQ Fest Panama by 17.0284 points over Grill and Chill — the widest winning margin of the month.
- field of 23
Biggest field
Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship drew 125 teams, and Razorracks won it.
- Lebanon, TN
Road warriors
SMOKIN SKULLIES cooked 7 contests in March 2026 — nobody hauled the rig further.
- best finish 7th
Won without a meat
RAZORRACKS won Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship without winning a single meat — their best category finish was 2nd.
- field of 125
New on the calendar
8th Annual Qlathe BBQ Championship ran for the first time on record, drawing 68 teams, and JDQ BBQ won it. Somebody put in the work to make a new contest happen.
- 8 first editions in Mar 2026
- Olathe, KS
Always the reserve
Wapatui Smokers finished second overall 2 times in March 2026 without a Grand Championship — one place short every time.
- 3 contests
Busiest weekend
8 sanctioned contests were cooked on 20 Mar alone.
- 20 Mar
Rep of the month
Charlie Brinza repped 7 contests in March 2026 — somebody has to run the table.
The Boards
Highest overall scores (Master · /720)
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | RAZORRACKS Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship |
713.1200 |
| 2 | Kith n' Kin Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship |
710.8460 |
| 3 | BLUE CHIP BBQ Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship |
709.6684 |
| 4 | SMOKIN' SWEETMEATS Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship |
708.5488 |
| 5 | POOH BEAR BBQ Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship |
707.9888 |
| 6 | Brinkerhoff BBQ Q's & Brews Bighorn BBQ Competition |
707.9888 |
| 7 | 3 EYZ BBQ BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) |
707.4060 |
| 8 | B'S QUE BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) |
707.4060 |
| 9 | Kermit's Ex Kickin' It Route 66 Barbecue Challenge |
707.3828 |
| 10 | Crossed Rifles BBQ Kickin' It Route 66 Barbecue Challenge |
706.2744 |
| 11 | OnlyCans Competition BBQ Kickin' It Route 66 Barbecue Challenge |
706.2632 |
| 12 | SmokinGhost BBQ Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship |
706.2516 |
| 13 | With a 180 Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship |
705.7032 |
| 14 | Electro-Que-ted Sip & Swine BBQ Festival |
705.6916 |
| 15 | BIGG SMOAK BBQ Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship |
705.6800 |
Best of each meat (both series · /180)
| Category | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken ×26 💯 | WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ Sip & Swine BBQ Festival |
180 |
| Pork Ribs ×11 💯 | Smoking Butcher W.E.S.T. - Winter Extreme South Tyrol |
180 |
| Pork ×18 💯 | ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN Sip & Swine BBQ Festival |
180 |
| Brisket ×16 💯 | Optimus Swine Sip & Swine BBQ Festival |
180 |
Straight nines (perfect 180s)
…and 47 more in March 2026.
On the move (power rating)
| Team | Rating | Mar 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Clean Smoke BBQ Team No. 1,229 in the power rankings |
1,584 | +33 |
| PUDDLEDUCK BBQ No. 331 in the power rankings |
1,716 | +32 |
| B'S QUE No. 240 in the power rankings |
1,744 | +32 |
| Big James Kitchen No. 600 in the power rankings |
1,659 | +28 |
| Two Pigs And A Smoker No. 719 in the power rankings |
1,639 | +27 |
| With a 180 No. 876 in the power rankings |
1,619 | +27 |
| Southern Swine No. 889 in the power rankings |
1,618 | +27 |
| RobbieQ No. 1,333 in the power rankings |
1,577 | +27 |
| BROCK'S BBQ No. 550 in the power rankings |
1,669 | +26 |
| Wapatui Smokers No. 975 in the power rankings |
1,608 | +26 |
| TRIPLE H BBQ No. 14 in the power rankings |
1,896 | -24 |
| Mispillion Meat Works No. 303 in the power rankings |
1,724 | -27 |
| MAN MEAT BBQ No. 129 in the power rankings |
1,788 | -29 |
| Optimus Swine No. 230 in the power rankings |
1,748 | -30 |
| OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE No. 89 in the power rankings |
1,813 | -32 |
Who showed up
| Team | Contests | GCs | Best |
|---|---|---|---|
| SMOKIN SKULLIES | 7 | — | 7 |
| Buckeye Blue Smoke BBQ | 7 | — | 17 |
| House of Que | 7 | — | 18 |
| Rollin Smoke BBQ | 6 | — | 2 |
| The Swine Doctor's BBQ | 6 | — | 10 |
| Bourbon & Blues BBQ | 6 | — | 11 |
| OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE | 6 | — | 12 |
| PUDDLEDUCK BBQ | 5 | — | 2 |
| OnlyCans Competition BBQ | 5 | — | 3 |
| RobbieQ | 5 | — | 3 |
| Clean Smoke BBQ Team | 5 | — | 4 |
| SOUTH BRIXIA | 5 | — | 7 |
| FIRE & SHINE BBQ | 5 | — | 9 |
| Art Razza Piave Bbq | 5 | — | 10 |
| Dr. Smoke | 5 | — | 20 |
Who ran the table
| Rep | Contests | States |
|---|---|---|
| Charlie Brinza | 7 | 4 |
| Jeanne Titus | 6 | 3 |
| Luca Famigli | 5 | 1 |
| Roberto Sirok | 5 | 1 |
| Alex Jr Brown | 4 | 1 |
| Regina Bodnar | 4 | 1 |
| Carolyn Wells | 3 | 1 |
| Connie Amidei | 3 | 1 |
| David Burstein | 3 | 1 |
| Jonathan Amidei | 3 | 1 |
| Carol Bigler | 2 | 1 |
| David Dyche | 2 | 1 |
| Jo Dyche | 2 | 1 |
| Louise Weidner | 2 | 1 |
| Mike Garretson | 2 | 1 |
| Randy G Bigler | 2 | 1 |
| Wayne Harper | 2 | 2 |
| Bunny Tuttle | 1 | 1 |
| Dave Rogers | 1 | 1 |
| Debra Gage | 1 | — |
Where they cooked
| State/Prov. | Contests | Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Missouri | 4 | 72 |
| Virginia | 4 | 65 |
| Tennessee | 3 | 182 |
| BZ | 3 | 14 |
| Alabama | 2 | 85 |
| Florida | 2 | 74 |
| Georgia | 1 | 77 |
| Kansas | 1 | 68 |
| Arkansas | 1 | 37 |
| Arizona | 1 | 33 |
| California | 1 | 28 |
Best in the backyard (Backyard · /360)
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | NORALA BBQ TEAM Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship |
358.8572 |
| 2 | Big James Kitchen Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship |
358.8572 |
| 3 | Southern Swine Foley BBQ & Blues Cook-Off (BACKYARD ONLY) |
357.7028 |
| 4 | Big & Ugly BBQ Jeepin 4 Justice |
357.1428 |
| 5 | Mind if I Smoke? Singing River Smoke-O-Rama (BACKYARD ONLY) |
356.5716 |
| 6 | BROCK'S BBQ BBQ Gives Back (Day 1) |
354.8572 |
| 7 | Big James Kitchen Sip & Swine BBQ Festival |
354.2744 |
| 8 | HORMONAL ESCAPE COMPETITION BBQ Kickin' It Route 66 Barbecue Challenge |
354.2744 |
| 9 | PUDDLEDUCK BBQ Sip & Swine BBQ Festival |
353.1316 |
| 10 | WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship |
353.1200 |
| 11 | Rollin Smoke BBQ Singing River Smoke-O-Rama (BACKYARD ONLY) |
353.1200 |
| 12 | DAWGS BBQ American Royal World Series of Barbecue Backyard Contest |
353.1084 |
New to the circuit
First editions (new on the calendar)
| Contest | Teams | Won by |
|---|---|---|
| 8th Annual Qlathe BBQ Championship Olathe, KS |
68 | JDQ BBQ |
| Q's & Brews Bighorn BBQ Competition Lake Havasu City, AZ |
33 | Brinkerhoff BBQ |
| Jeepin 4 Justice Shady Hills, FL |
15 | Kings BBQ Team |
| Rocker's and Smoker's (ONE MEAT RIBS) Livorno Ferraris (vc), Italy |
15 | Smoky Cotte |
| Rocker's and Smoker's (ONE MEAT CHICKEN) Livorno Ferraris (vc), Italy |
14 | BOARS BBQ TEAM CANAVESE |
| W.E.S.T. - Winter Extreme South Tyrol (ONE MEAT RIBS) Muhlwald - Selva di Molini, Italy |
11 | South Brixia Barbecue |
| W.E.S.T. - Winter Extreme South Tyrol Muhlwald - Selva di Molini, Italy |
10 | SMOKING BUTCHER |
| W.E.S.T. - Winter Extreme South Tyrol (ONE MEAT CHICKEN) Muhlwald - Selva di Molini, Italy |
8 | SMOKING BUTCHER |
Running a contest? The organizer tools →
Every contest scored (27 in March 2026)
The Archive
Every month with scored results, back to the start of the data. Subscribe to the monthly feed and each one lands as it closes.
2026 (338 contests) · the 2026 season in review
2025 (386 contests) · the 2025 season in review
2024 (343 contests) · the 2024 season in review
2023 (376 contests) · the 2023 season in review
2022 (376 contests) · the 2022 season in review
2021 (310 contests) · the 2021 season in review
2020 (134 contests) · the 2020 season in review
2019 (430 contests) · the 2019 season in review
2018 (480 contests) · the 2018 season in review
2017 (517 contests) · the 2017 season in review
2016 (505 contests) · the 2016 season in review
2015 (494 contests) · the 2015 season in review
2014 (469 contests) · the 2014 season in review
2013 (436 contests) · the 2013 season in review
2012 (1 contest) · the 2012 season in review
Every figure here is computed from the public results at kcbs.us, refreshed nightly. The Smoke Ring is not a publication of the Kansas City Barbeque Society.