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BBQ World Cup Qualifier: Tim Harley
Tim Harley drives a school bus in Bowie, Maryland, and competes a handful of weekends a year. At the DC BBQ Battle his Sweet Belly's BBQ held the last ticket to Vegas by three hundredths of a point. Now he cooks for $1,000,000.
BBQ World Cup Qualifier: Eloy De Leon
He tried golf, he tried fishing, and his wife said no to both. So Eloy and Debi De Leon cooked barbecue instead, and now Los Buzzards are the first Rio Grande Valley team on the road to the BBQ World Cup and a shot at $1,000,000.
Jason Wagner: American Royal Open Winner and BBQ World Cup Qualifier
Jason Wagner is a carpenter from a small town in northeast Iowa who won the American Royal, then took the KCBS World Invitational to earn his spot. Now Wag's Backwoods BBQ is headed to Vegas for $1,000,000.
B.R.A. Barbecue Team: Brazil's First BBQ World Cup Qualifier
Lucas Cesar cooks in Brazil. His partner Romulo Germano cooks in the Texas Panhandle. Together they built the first Brazilian team on the road to the BBQ World Cup, and they are bringing the whole party to Las Vegas for a shot at $1,000,000.
John and Stephanie Shirey: Chunky BBQ, BBQ World Cup Qualifier
John and Stephanie Shirey run one of the most consistent teams in competition barbecue. In 2024 they won the American Royal Open and the KCBS Team of the Year by a single point. Now Chunky BBQ cooks for $1,000,000.
BBQ World Cup Qualifier: Michelle Martinez
Michelle Martinez recently qualified for the BBQ World Cup as GC of the Central Texas BBQ Roundup, making her the first female qualifier, and sending her to Vegas this April!
Jimmy Cameron of Jimmy Brisket: Australian BBQ World Cup Qualifier
Jimmy Cameron had quit competition barbecue for good, packed up before the awards and driven home. Then he heard barbecue was getting a World Cup. Now the butcher's son from Melbourne is a Grand Champion, and Jimmy Brisket is headed to the BBQ World Cup and a shot at $1,000,000.
Blane Hunter: Porky Butts BBQ Owner and BBQ World Cup Qualifier
Blane Hunter was scraping grease out of his father's smokers in Houston at five years old. Now he owns a barbecue restaurant in Omaha and cooks every contest wearing his late father's Marine dog tags. Porky Butts BBQ is headed to Vegas for $1,000,000.
Joe Pearce: Slap's BBQ Pitmaster and BBQ World Cup Qualifier
They call him TV Joe. Joe Pearce and his brother Mike turned a competition team named Squeal Like a Pig into one of Kansas City's most storied smokehouses. Now, more than 350 contests in, Slap's BBQ is headed to the BBQ World Cup and a shot at $1,000,000.
Drew Davis: Razorracks BBQ Pitmaster and BBQ World Cup Qualifier
Drew Davis cooks under a ten-by-ten canopy with no electricity, in a zero-stoplight Arkansas town of 350 people. He beat 125 teams to reach the BBQ World Cup, where he will cook for $1,000,000 in Las Vegas.
Jason and Cherlynn Waite: Smokin' Suckers BBQ, BBQ World Cup Qualifiers
Jason and Cherlynn Waite run a porta-potty business in rural Oskaloosa, Iowa, and got suckered into competition barbecue by a friend. They earned their Vegas spot on a single top-ten call. Now Smokin' Suckers cooks for $1,000,000.
Bill Gillespie: Smokin' Hoggz Hall of Famer and BBQ World Cup Qualifier
Bill Gillespie has won the Jack, the American Royal, and a place in the KCBS Hall of Fame. The one thing the Smokin' Hoggz pitmaster has never done is set foot in Las Vegas. In April 2027 he gets there, cooking for $1,000,000.