PRAISE THE LARD
September 26, 2026 · Murphysboro, IL
Entries
21
Grand champion
The BBQ Bus
Top score
446.7000
Pulled Pork
Tightest board
0.7000
Pulled Pork — a photo finish
Average score
439.4444
across all judged boards
Most points
37
Upset factor
69%
chance the winner was beaten by the top seed
Points standing · Professional
MBN does not publish an overall score. This orders the field by MBN points across the judged categories — the same table that decides Team of the Year. The Grand Champion is decided separately, by the on-site finals judges.
| # | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The BBQ Bus | 37 |
| 2 | Will-Be-Que | 33 |
| 3 | LEELA Q | 31 |
| 4 | Take It Easy BBQ | 29 |
| 5 | Steamboat BBQ | 25 |
| 6 | Po' Thangs | 22 |
| 7 | Owensboro Pork Puller | 21 |
| 8 | Ain't It The Life | 20 |
| 9 | Party Q | 19 |
| 10 | Diddy's Delectable 3BQ | 15 |
| 11 | Fittin' Ta Que | 13 |
| 12 | RUTHLESS HOGS BBQ | 13 |
| 13 | Goin' Hog'n | 10 |
| 14 | BAMA BOYS BBQ | 9 |
| 15 | Great White Smoke | 9 |
| 16 | Get Your Grill On | 8 |
| 17 | Smoke Freaks | 6 |
| 18 | Smoked By Samron | 3 |
| 19 | Baby Bear BBQ | 1 |
| 20 | Russell's Dam Good BBQ | 0 |
| 21 | Smokin Dawgs | 0 |
Whole Hog · Professional
| # | Team | Finals score | Prelim score | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Will-Be-Que | 446.0000 | 595.4000 | 15 |
| 2 | Po' Thangs | 441.2000 | 595.8000 | 14 |
| 3 | Steamboat BBQ | 426.0000 | 590.5000 | 13 |
| 4 | The BBQ Bus | — | 581.7000 | 12 |
| 5 | LEELA Q | — | 575.6000 | 11 |
| 6 | Goin' Hog'n | — | 574.1000 | 10 |
| 7 | Party Q | — | 565.1000 | 9 |
Pulled Pork · Professional
| # | Team | Finals score | Prelim score | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The BBQ Bus | 446.7000 | 599.1000 | 15 |
| 2 | Take It Easy BBQ | 446.0000 | 600.0000 | 14 |
| 3 | Fittin' Ta Que | 436.4000 | 599.4000 | 13 |
| 4 | Ain't It The Life | — | 596.4000 | 12 |
| 5 | Will-Be-Que | — | 594.5000 | 11 |
| 6 | Party Q | — | 587.2000 | 10 |
| 7 | RUTHLESS HOGS BBQ | — | 586.3000 | 9 |
| 8 | Owensboro Pork Puller | — | 581.3000 | 8 |
| 9 | BAMA BOYS BBQ | — | 581.1000 | 7 |
| 10 | LEELA Q | — | 579.7000 | 6 |
| 11 | Po' Thangs | — | 578.7000 | 5 |
| 12 | Diddy's Delectable 3BQ | — | 577.4000 | 4 |
| 13 | Get Your Grill On | — | 576.8000 | 3 |
| 14 | Smoked By Samron | — | 572.8000 | 2 |
| 15 | Baby Bear BBQ | — | 568.6000 | 1 |
| 16 | Smokin Dawgs | — | 565.1000 | 0 |
| 17 | Great White Smoke | — | 420.0000 | 0 |
Ribs · Professional
| # | Team | Finals score | Prelim score | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Take It Easy BBQ | 446.0000 | 595.5000 | 15 |
| 2 | LEELA Q | 434.1000 | 599.1000 | 14 |
| 3 | Owensboro Pork Puller | 432.6000 | 600.0000 | 13 |
| 4 | Steamboat BBQ | — | 595.4000 | 12 |
| 5 | Diddy's Delectable 3BQ | — | 594.5000 | 11 |
| 6 | The BBQ Bus | — | 591.8000 | 10 |
| 7 | Great White Smoke | — | 591.2000 | 9 |
| 8 | Ain't It The Life | — | 587.2000 | 8 |
| 9 | Will-Be-Que | — | 586.6000 | 7 |
| 10 | Smoke Freaks | — | 582.3000 | 6 |
| 11 | Get Your Grill On | — | 580.9000 | 5 |
| 12 | RUTHLESS HOGS BBQ | — | 580.5000 | 4 |
| 13 | Po' Thangs | — | 580.2000 | 3 |
| 14 | BAMA BOYS BBQ | — | 579.9000 | 2 |
| 15 | Smoked By Samron | — | 579.8000 | 1 |
| 16 | Fittin' Ta Que | — | 579.6000 | 0 |
| 17 | Russell's Dam Good BBQ | — | 578.2000 | 0 |
| 18 | Party Q | — | 575.2000 | 0 |
| 19 | Goin' Hog'n | — | 574.9000 | 0 |
| 20 | Baby Bear BBQ | — | 572.3000 | 0 |
Other editions of this contest
| Contest | Season | Grand champion |
|---|---|---|
| Praise the Lard | 2025 | Swine Life BBQ |
| Praise the Lard | 2023 | SWINE LIFE BBQ |
| Praise the Lard | 2022 | Band of Outlaws (Whole Hog) |
| PRAISE THE LARD | 2019 | — |
| Praise the Lard | 2018 | Heath Riles BBQ |
Source: official pdf — published by Memphis Barbecue Network.