08/05/2026
BBQ World Cup - The Battle for Spot Four and Five is Heating Up!!!
The road to the BBQ World Cup now runs through Distillery Road Market, 15 August 2026, and the competition just got serious.
Every BBQ team is welcome to throw down at the DRM BBQ Showdown at Distillery Road Market. And just like the 3 Meatstock competitions, the Grand Champion on the day walks away with a direct berth to the BBQ World Cup & Expo - Spot 4 is up for grabs for every team competing, including internationals. You don't need to be on any list. You just need to bring your best cook.
But nested inside the main event is something else entirely.
For a select group of Australian teams, there's a comp within a comp, a battle for the fifth and final Australian berth at the BBQ World Cup. This spot is reserved exclusively for Australian teams who have earned their place through the 2025–26 season (ending 30 June 2026) via Grand Champion, Reserve Grand Champion, or countback results.
These are the teams who've put in the work across the circuit — and now they get one final shot at the world stage.
Here's who has earned their place in that fight so far:
🏆 Gympie — Grillas in the Mist & Sweet Lil Meats
🏆 Full Throttle Open — Firehouse BBQ (Dusty Que qualified here but has since secured a direct BWC berth)
🏆 Kingaroy — Big GC's BBQ & Triple B BBQ
🏆 Gerogery — Big Smoke BBQ & Butterbeard BBQ
🏆 Gladstone — Double Barrel BBQ & La Familia Barbecue
🏆 Kangaroo Valley — Aussie Pit Boys & The Jacks Creek BBQ Team
🏆 Cairns — Wildfire BBQ NQ & Beefy Brothers BBQ
🏆 Forbes — Butcher's Axe BBQ & Aussie Pit Girls
🏆 Tailem Bend — 2 Shorty's BBQ & Smoky Pastures BBQ
🏆 Distillery Road Market — Undisputed BBQ & Throw Together BBQ
🏆 Rockhampton — GRILL-ty Pleasures & Awesome Ugly BBQ
🏆 Central Coast — Tonner Smoke & Lock Stock and Que
🏆 Bellarine — Gamebred Barbecue (Jimmy Brisket qualified here but has since secured a direct BWC berth)
🏆 Roma — Charcoal Project BBQ (Smooth N Smokey Salad Dodgers qualified here but has since secured a direct BWC berth)
🏆 Meatstock Toowoomba — Smoke N Daggers BBQ & Dirty South
🏆 Meatstock Gippsland — Smokeface Grillahs & Farenheit 205
🏆 Meatstock Sydney — Brutal Town BBQ & Smokey and the Butcher
Not on the list? You can still compete at DRM and take home Spot 4 - that door is open to everyone. Rookies, Internationals. and anyone in between.
But Spot 5? That belongs to the teams who've earned it.
More details on the DRM BBQ Showdown at Distillery Road Market coming soon.
So to summarise the two pathways at DRM:
Spot 4 (Grand Champion of DRM) - open to every team competing on the day, qualifiers or not, Australians or internationals. Best team wins it, full stop.
Spot 5 - exclusively for Australian teams on the qualifier list (earned via GC, RGC, or countback across the season). Comp within a comp.
Don't forget — a valid BBQ World Cup membership is required before competing at any qualifier. Get sorted at www.bbqworldcup.com
Enquiries: [email protected]
The Fine Print:
✅ All teams must hold a valid BBQ World Cup membership BEFORE competing in any qualifier event. It's a once-off yearly membership.
✅ International teams are eligible for automatic spots via qualifier events.
✅ Already won? The spot rolls to the next team in line at that sanctioned event.
