A Second Day and Another Strong New England Showing
Saturday’s American Royal Invitational gave New England barbecue fans plenty to talk about. Sunday, October 4, delivered another chapter worth celebrating.
At the 2026 American Royal World Series of Barbecue Open in Kansas City, Kansas, seven New England teams earned places inside the top 100 of an overall standings sheet listing 360 teams. Humphrey’s BBQ added a major highlight by capturing first place in the U.S. Soy Combine Award, alongside its 15th-place overall finish. ELJEFE SMOKE followed in 16th, Fire At The End of the Day finished 32nd, Smokin Hoggz BBQ took 42nd, and Paddy McQ’s placed 56th. Titans of BBQ and Sticks & Stones BBQ rounded out the seven in 84th and 88th, respectively. Together, those results put every one of these teams within the top quarter of the listed field.
At the very top, Smokey Bey’s Barbecue captured the overall championship with 708.5600 points, followed by Pop A Top Cookers with 706.8344 and Porky Butts BBQ with 706.2628. Only 22 teams exceeded 700 points, including Humphrey’s and ELJEFE. Between a special award victory, a perfect category score, and strong overall finishes, New England’s weekend had considerably more left to give.
Humphrey’s Takes the Soy Award as ELJEFE Scores a Perfect 180
Humphrey’s BBQ earned a distinction deserving its own spotlight: first place in the U.S. Soy Combine Award, which recognizes combined performance across chicken, ribs, and pork. The award gave the Maine team another achievement to celebrate alongside its 701.6684-point total and 15th-place overall finish.
Humphrey’s placed 18th in ribs with 178.2972, 22nd in chicken with 177.7028, and 26th in pork with 177.1544. Its brisket score of 168.5140 completed the four-meat total. Just 0.0112 points behind, ELJEFE SMOKE finished 16th with 701.6572. Jeff Kulacz and Dan Swanson supplied another headline moment with a perfect 180.0000 in chicken, officially placing third in that category. A perfect score does not automatically mean first place, and the published standings put ELJEFE third.
The team added 17th in pork with 177.7144 and 35th in brisket with 176.5600. Ribs contributed 167.3828. These teams gave regional supporters two compelling stories: Humphrey’s brought home the Soy award and three top-30 category finishes, while ELJEFE paired perfect chicken with strong pork and brisket results. Both cleared 700 points and finished almost side by side in the overall standings.
Fire At The End of the Day and Smokin Hoggz Deliver
Connecticut’s Fire At The End of the Day, known to many fans as F.A.T.E.D., finished 32nd overall with 698.2056 points. Its strongest category placement was 51st in ribs, scoring 176.5600, followed by 59th in pork with 175.4172 and 70th in chicken with 175.4056. Brisket added 170.8228. Those numbers illustrate how a strong overall finish can emerge from a collection of competitive entries, even without a top-10 category placement. F.A.T.E.D. finished ahead of more than 300 teams on the overall sheet, giving Connecticut supporters another substantial result to celebrate.
Massachusetts’ Smokin Hoggz BBQ followed in 42nd with 696.4912. Chicken led its performance at 23rd, scoring 177.7028, while pork placed 43rd with 176.5600. Ribs contributed 171.4056 and brisket 170.8228. Humphrey’s and Smokin Hoggz recorded identical chicken totals, with the official rankings placing them consecutively in 22nd and 23rd. That is another reminder to read the placements alongside the scores.
Across a field this large, an impressive number may be shared by several teams. For F.A.T.E.D. and Smokin Hoggz, the broader accomplishment was unmistakable: both assembled four entries strong enough to finish comfortably inside the overall top 50.
Paddy McQ’s, Titans and Sticks & Stones Add Their Marks
Paddy McQ’s delivered another important Massachusetts result, finishing 56th overall with 693.6456 points. Pork was its standout, earning 14th place with 178.2972—the highest pork placement among these seven New England teams. Chicken added 174.2628, ribs 170.8228, and brisket 170.2628. That pork finish deserves attention alongside the region’s overall leaders; category results often reveal achievements that a quick glance at the final standings can miss. Connecticut’s Titans of BBQ finished 84th with 690.7540, including a 50th-place brisket entry scoring 175.4056.
Titans also placed 69th in pork with the same numerical score and 91st in chicken with 174.2628. Fellow Connecticut team Sticks & Stones BBQ secured 88th overall with 690.1940. Its results included 63rd in chicken, 68th in pork, and 81st in brisket, giving the team three category finishes inside the top 100.
Titans and Sticks & Stones each scored 165.6800 in ribs, but their other entries helped maintain their overall positions in the upper quarter of the field. There is no single recipe for a successful contest result. Here, a top-15 pork finish, a top-50 brisket finish, and several strong category placements added depth to New England’s Sunday story.
Seven Teams Give the Region Plenty to Celebrate
Taken together, the results offer something more substantial than a handful of familiar names on a scoreboard. Two of these New England teams finished inside the top 20. Four finished inside the top 50. All seven finished inside the top 100. Humphrey’s first-place U.S. Soy Combine Award added a winning achievement to that collective performance. ELJEFE’s perfect chicken score provided another headline moment, and Paddy McQ’s supplied the group’s highest pork placement. F.A.T.E.D., Smokin Hoggz, Titans, and Sticks & Stones each contributed their own reasons for regional pride.
The margins also deserve respect. A fraction of a point could separate neighbors in the standings, while a difficult category could reshape an otherwise strong cook. Every overall total reflects the combined demands of chicken, ribs, pork, and brisket. Following the Invitational, Sunday’s Open gave readers a broader view of what these teams accomplished across the Royal weekend.
The final scores cannot tell us every conversation beside a smoker or every decision behind a turn-in box. They can tell us that this New England group competed well against a substantial field—and brought home an award worth celebrating. To all seven teams: congratulations on giving the folks back home another American Royal story worth sharing.
