Events & Competition | BBQ World Cup

The Road to the first ever BBQ World Cup

Where champions are made. Find BBQ competitions near you, track scores, follow rankings, and start your journey to the World Cup. Get smokin' for $1,000,000.

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Join the BBQ World Cup today! Get exclusive access to rankings, scores, and your path to the $1,000,000 championship.

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The Global Stage

The World's Premier Barbecue Competition

At its core is a $1 million championship—the ultimate stage to crown the next great pitmaster. Surrounding it is a massive live-fire Expo celebrating the culture, creativity, and future of barbecue.

The Competition

Built in a season-long, progressive format—similar to the competition journeys you’ve seen on your favorite TV shows—the BBQ World Cup is designed to discover new talent and elevate great cooks.

Anyone can compete. Qualify through regional events, advance through rankings, and earn your place on the world’s biggest barbecue stage.

The Expo

The Expo brings it all together. Experience the world’s leading barbecue brands, live-fire cooking, backyard innovations, new products, recipes, creator content, food, drink, and hands-on experiences—all in one place.

It’s where brands activate, pitmasters connect, and fans discover what’s next in barbecue.

Compete. Experience.
Get Discovered.

This is the road to the BBQ World Cup—and the world’s largest celebration of live-fire culture.

Become a Judge

Think you have got what it takes to judge the best BBQ in the World. Reach out and we would love to hear from you.

BECOME A COMPETITION JUDGE

Host a Qualifier

Apply Now to become or host BBQ World Cup Qualifying Event. Applications Open for 2027

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Partner

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Pitmaster Competition Committee

The Pitmaster Competition Committee is the governing body of the BBQ World Cup — a global council of elite pitmasters whose expertise defines what competitive barbecue should be at the highest level. These leaders have shaped championship barbecue across regions and generations, and now they are uniting to set the official standards for the world’s premier BBQ competition.

These icons are more than pitmasters — they are chefs, entrepreneurs, founders, innovators, authors, and creators who have built award-winning restaurants, launched nationally recognized sauces and rubs, led championship teams, and inspired millions through cookbooks, TV shows, and digital platforms. With decades of competitive success, cultural influence, and industry innovation, they serve as trusted guardians of fairness, authenticity, and excellence in competitive barbecue.

What the Pitmaster Committee Does

Establish the Competitive Standard

The Pitmaster Committee serves as an advisory group to BBQ World Cup, providing perspective on the global competition landscape, sharing insights from major events and sanctioning bodies, and helping identify notable contests, markets, and emerging talent across the barbecue community. Their role is to offer industry input and strengthen connections throughout the sport. To maintain competitive integrity, the committee does not determine World Cup rules, categories, scoring systems, or championship format, and all official regulations are developed independently by BBQ World Cup leadership.

Protect BBQ Culture & Craft

They mentor rising talent, preserve regional styles, and champion the traditions and techniques that have shaped the craft of barbecue around the world.

Shape the Future of Competitive BBQ

By creating a unified framework for competition, they help elevate barbecue into a global sport with clear pathways, rankings, and prestige.

Together, they design the structure that determines what “the best” truly means — balancing skill, seasoning, tenderness, technique, time, smoke, and regional specialties.