Six of the Best BBQ Teams in the World Will Compete in BBQ FITE Klub

The teams are famous but we prepared some short information for each one of them. So, enjoy and prepare for June 9th and a great BBQ competition!

Old Virginia Smoke

The Old Virginia Smoke barbeque team is established in 2012. The Pitmaster Luke Darnell and his wife, Kim, aka "The Lil' General," reside in Bristow, Virginia but compete all around the country. They really enjoy having a good time and love to meet as many people in the BBQ community as possible. Their team wins multiple grand championships, reserve grand championships, and many other awards, Old Virginia Smoke is the 2017 KCBS Chicken Team of the Year, and 2016 World Barbecue Champion, winning that title at the World Food Championships in Orange Beach, Alabama.

Old Virginia Smoke has chosen to raise money for their local charity Journey 4 a Cure in Broadlands, VA. Journey 4 A Cure is a Pediatric Cancer foundation a committed to — finding ways to fund research, increasing awareness about the realities of pediatric cancer and enhancing the lives of children battling cancer.

Iowa Smokey D's

Darren and Sherry's first BBQ competition was The American Royal BBQ in 2002. After experiencing the smells, variety of pits and camaraderie they both knew that competition BBQ would become their next hobby and an escape from their Corporate America jobs.

They started their competition career under the Smokin Clones team name in 2003 where they competed in 8 BBQ contests and garnered many top 10 finishes, including two top five finishes in their very first contest. Three years later in 2006 they started Smokey D's BBQ catering in a trailer in their driveway, catering to family, friends and businesses. In 2007 they opened up their first restaurant, a little 1,000 sq. ft carryout counter with a catering kitchen in back. On the first day customers were lined out the door and it never stopped and in 2010 they opened up their current 500 seat restaurant.

In 2006 Darren and Sherry changed their team name to Iowa's Smokey D's BBQ and continued to compete on the BBQ circuit. In their career they have amassed 94 State BBQ Championships, 10 World Category Championships and 5 Overall World BBQ titles including 3 wins at the American Royal Open. Darren was inducted into the Iowa BBQ Society Hall of Fame in 2015 and nominated for the American Royal BBQ Hall of Fame in 2020. Darren and Sherry have donated over $100,000 in BBQ winnings to local charities. Their charity cause now is Pinkyswear Foundation which is helping kids with cancer and their families with financial and emotional support.

Shake N Bake BBQ

Fronted by their larger than life head chef Tim Scheer, Shake ‘n Bake BBQ has been cranking out competition winning queue since 2009. Along with his boss and CEO Terri and their three girls Tatum (12), Taylor (11) and Tenley (7), Tim ranges from his home base in New Haven, Missouri traveling the country doing over 35 competitions a year.

Tim has won dozens of Grand and Reserve Grand Championships. Shake N Bake BBQ team was the 2015 Kansas City BBQ Society's Rib Team of the Year, 2016 Pork Team of the Year, and 2016 American Royal Reserve Grand Champion. The team finished as the number two ranked KCBS team in the world for in 2017 and were the 2019 Reserve Grand Champion at "The Jack" World Championship Invitational.

In 2012, inspired by a perfect rack of St. Louis spare ribs cooked for a mere 2 hours, Tim designed the Gateway Drum Smoker and took "HOT & FAST" cooking to the next level.

In late 2014, the Scheer family tackled their latest project by taking over Blues Hog from its venerable owner, Bill Arnold. Blues Hog BBQ Sauce is ubiquitous with Kansas City style competition BBQ and is used by pit masters around the globe to bring home the trophies.

913 BBQ

This team is a husband and wife competition BBQ duo from Olathe, Kansas. In 2014 Bethany and Davis had so much fun helping some friends at a KCBS competition that they ended up starting their own team! When they were watching BBQ Pitmasters on TV were thinking ‘they could do that'. That's the way 913 BBQ team became the new star in the BBQ competitions. Since then they have Several Grand Champions, Reserve Grand Champions, and Top 10 Finishes.

Their Notable Wins and Awards:

- 2016 American Royal Invitational Grand Champion

- 2018 KCBS Reserve Champion Chicken Team of the Year

Their goal is to become an elite team on the competition BBQ circuit. They think that the best thing about BBQ is the people you meet and the adventures we have had along the way! The other goal is to meet as many people as they can and have as much fun as they can.

4 Legs Up BBQ

Everything starts with the Kellys' hobby of cooking and BBQ. With his wife's support, they have turned into of the most successful BBQ teams on the Professional BBQ competition circuit in the last several years. Kelly and Roni Wertz operate a very famous 4 Legs Up BBQ & Steakhouse in Great Bend, Kansas. It's become a very popular BBQ stop for lunch and dinner as well as wood fire grilled steaks in the evenings and Awards Winning Prime Rib on Fridays. In fact, their Prime Rib is so famous that it is featured in Paul Kirk's book: America's Best BBQ; 100 Recipes from America's Best Smokehouses, Pits, Shacks, Rib Joints, Roadhouses and Restaurants.

4 Legs Up BBQ Team is the winningest BBQ World Champion by having won the Jack Daniel's World Invitational BBQ Championship, 35 Grand Championships, 25 Reserve Championships,137 top ten finishes, 98 -1st place category finishes, 3 Perfect 180 Scores, Competed in 12 different states in the US and have won contests in each state. Each year since 2007, 4 Legs Up BBQ has finished in the top 15 out of over 4500 teams in the Kansas City BBQ Society Team of the Year Points.

Kelly's BBQ sauce has won the American Royal Best Sauce on the Planet!

Smokin' Hoggz BBQ

The team was formed in 2008 and is from Abington, Massachusetts. The Pitmaster of the team is Bill Gillespie. He is the bestselling author of Secrets to Smoking on the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker and Other Smokers, which has over 100,000 copies in print. His team has claimed top prize in the Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue and the American Royal Invitational, as well as capturing hundreds of other barbecue awards. The Smokin' Hoggz BBQ team has 35 Grand Championships, 22 Reserve Grand Championships, over 75 Category 1st Place calls, over 140 Overall Top 10 calls, over 400 Top Category calls and awards as:

-2017 1st place Ribs Jack Daniels World BBQ championships
-2014 & 2015 NEBS Team of the Year
-2013, 14, 15 & 16 NEBS Ribs Team of the Year
-2018 & 2019 KCBS 5th Place Ribs Team of the Year