Biggest purse

What was actually on the table. Listed purses only — KCBS does not publish who took home which slice of it.

$75,940 prize money listed

🥇 American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest

Set 27 Sep 2023
How 487 teams cooking for it
Standing held outright
Scope national, and available by state on the record book

The top 25

#	Contest	prize money listed	Set
1	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest 487 teams cooking for it	$75,940	27 Sep 2023
2	31st Annual Jack Daniels World Championship Invitational Barbecue(JUDGES FULL)(COMPETITORS SERIES) 97 teams cooking for it	$69,100	25 Oct 2019
3	40th American Royal World Series of Barbecue- OPEN CONTEST 468 teams cooking for it	$68,425	12 Sep 2019
4	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest 444 teams cooking for it	$68,425	30 Oct 2024
5	Third Annual KCBS World Invitational Barbeque Competition and Judging	$68,000	11 Nov 2021
6	Smithfield Classic in Nashville 50 teams cooking for it	$50,000	3 Sep 2021
7	Saracen Casino Smoke on the Water 47 teams cooking for it	$50,000	21 Oct 2022
8	Smoke on the Water - Saracen Casino PB 49 teams cooking for it	$50,000	27 Oct 2023
9	Navy SEAL Danny Dietz Memorial Classic Cookoff 67 teams cooking for it	$50,000	13 Sep 2024
10	Smoke on the Water 42 teams cooking for it	$50,000	20 Sep 2024
11	Grand American Barbecue World Championship (Invitational) (COMPETITOR SERIES) 34 teams cooking for it	$50,000	1 Aug 2025
12	Danny Dietz Memorial World Championship Cookoff	$50,000	11 Sep 2026
13	Made for KC BBQ Championship (COMPETITORS SERIES) 44 teams cooking for it	$46,000	9 Jun 2023
14	Poosa Q 73 teams cooking for it	$43,300	5 Oct 2023
15	Papa Joe's Banjo-B-Que & Music Festival 54 teams cooking for it	$40,200	5 Sep 2020
16	Papa Joe's Banjo-B-Que Music Festival 51 teams cooking for it	$40,200	14 Oct 2022
17	Papa Joe's Banjo-B-Que & Music Festival 72 teams cooking for it	$40,000	24 May 2019
18	Grand American Barbecue World Championship Invitational (COMPETITOR SERIES) 43 teams cooking for it	$40,000	1 May 2026
19	All American BBQ Cook-Off (Day 2)	$40,000	17 Oct 2026
20	Royal Oak Invitational Only (COMPETITOR SERIES) 34 teams cooking for it	$39,100	15 Oct 2021
21	Royal Oak Invitational Only (COMPETITOR SERIES) 35 teams cooking for it	$38,000	21 Oct 2022
22	Royal Oak Invitational (COMPETITOR SERIES) (PRIVATE EVENT BY INVITATION) 35 teams cooking for it	$38,000	20 Oct 2023
23	40th American Royal World Series of Barbecue- INVITATIONAL CONTEST 135 teams cooking for it	$37,965	12 Sep 2019
24	American Royal World Series of Barbecue-INVITATIONAL CONTEST 185 teams cooking for it	$37,965	16 Sep 2021
25	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Invitational Contest 169 teams cooking for it	$37,965	30 Oct 2024

Rebuilt nightly from every KCBS result we can find. A record here is only as complete as the data behind it — if a contest is missing from the archive, so is anything that happened at it.

🎪 More from contests, fields & days

Records held by the contests themselves rather than by the teams.

💰 Biggest purse

The top 25

🎪 More from contests, fields & days

Biggest purse