10/11/2026
What a weekend in Cleveland, Mississippi at Oktoberfest.
M/W Smokers rolled into Cleveland competing in all three categories, and when the smoke cleared, we finished with:
š„ 1st Place Whole Hog
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8th Place Pulled Pork
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6th Place Ribs
š GRAND CHAMPION
That 1st Place Whole Hog finish was enough to bring home the overall Grand Champion title, and there really arenāt many better feelings than hearing your teamās name called at the end of a long weekend of cooking.
But this weekend meant a whole lot more than just bringing home another trophy.
Competition BBQ is a strange little world.
You spend countless hours, miles, dollars, sleepless nights, and more effort than anybody looking at a picture on Facebook will ever see. Then you pull into a contest and park beside some of the very people youāre trying your hardest to beat.
And somehow, those same people become family.
Friday night was a perfect reminder of why we do this.
Friends and family sitting around together, laughing, talking, eating, and enjoying each otherās company. Everybody knowing that in just a few hours weād be competing against each other, but still willing to help, encourage, and cheer for the people cooking right beside us.
We all want to win. Thereās no point pretending otherwise.
But thereās something pretty damn special about wanting the people beside you to succeed almost as much as you want it for yourself.
When their name gets called, you celebrate with them.
When your name gets called, theyāre standing there cheering for you.
Thatās BBQ.
A huge congratulations to Hog Addiction on an incredible weekend and their 1st Place finishes in Pork and Ribs. Yāall came to cook, and competing against teams like that makes hearing your own name called mean even more.
We also want to congratulate our dear friends at Grind City Smokers on their triumphant victory at the Delta Barbecue Brawl. Thereās nothing better than watching good friends put in the work and bring home a win of their own. We couldnāt be happier for yāall.
And there are a lot of people and companies behind the scenes who help make weekends like this possible.
š„ Smokin Brothers, Inc.Gateway Drum Smokers
Thank you for building an absolute beast of an upright smoker and drums. The cookers nailed the finish on our shoulder and ribs this weekend and continues to prove what it can do when it matters.
š· Outlaw BBQ Smokers
Thank you for building, in my opinion, one of the best hog pits in the industry. When youāre cooking Whole Hog at this level, you have to trust your equipment, and that pit continues to perform.
š„© Korte Meats Competition Bbq
Thank you for helping us start with quality product. Anybody who cooks competitively knows you can have the best recipe and the best cooker in the world, but it all starts with what goes on that pit.
š„Ŗ Louie's Deli and Meat Market- Arlington
Thank you for the continued support and for being part of what we do.
And most importantly, thank you to our friends, family, teammates, and everyone who supports MW Smokers.
None of these wins happen because of one person.
They happen because of the people willing to put in the work when nobody is taking pictures and nobody is handing out trophies.
The picture at the end shows the trophy.
It doesnāt show the preparation.
It doesnāt show the miles.
It doesnāt show the late nights.
It doesnāt show the money spent, the mistakes, the adjustments, the laughs, the exhaustion, or the people standing around a cooker at an ungodly hour trying to make one piece of meat just a little bit better.
Thatās why this one means so much.
We went to Cleveland wanting to win.
We came home Grand Champions.
But more importantly, we came home reminded once again that some of the best parts of competition BBQ happen long before anybody ever calls your name from a stage.
