A king-sized mistake on barbecue’s biggest stage resulted in the wrong team being crowned champions at last weekend’s American Royal World Series of Barbecue open competition. On Sunday, Jordan Kirkpatrick and his wife, Allie, were all smiles when they came up with their own “Junky Leg Barbecue” team and Aaron “Teen Wolf” Thomas had about He finished in 5th place overall out of 500 participants. Jordan and Allie posed on stage holding a cardboard check for $1,225. And when Kirkpatrick’s friend, David Ellis of Machete Boys Barbecue, was crowned grand champion, Kirkpatrick was ready to go. “I ran first and chased him and gave him a big hug and congratulated him. “This is a huge accomplishment,” Kirkpatrick said. But on Thursday, Kirkpatrick revealed he was the true grand champion. That comes after an audit of the Kansas City Barbecue Association’s four meat categories identified and corrected inaccurate counts. While Kirkpatrick was thrilled to receive the award, the former grand champion missed out on what could have been a once-in-a-lifetime moment to earn a well-deserved honor on Sunday. All of our friends were there, some of our best friends were there too, and they would have wanted to enjoy the moment, but it happened, I mean, the trigger was pulled and the bullet came out of the chamber. I got an answer, you can’t really call me back,” Kirkpatrick said. “I would have loved to have been on stage holding a big square trophy, wearing a crown and robes, and being able to take it all in. Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option for us,” he added. . The Kansas City Barbecue Association released a statement Thursday apologizing. It read in part: “KCBS accepts full responsibility for these serious errors. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to our affected competitors and to American Royal, our valued partner for 37 years, from the barbecue community. We recognize the trust placed in American and offer our sincere apologies. We will patiently address all issues and make sure everyone knows what happened and the steps taken to fix it.” Royal Board of Directors Chairman Ken Wagner and President and CEO Jackie McCluskey issued a joint statement on Friday. American Royal appreciates the transparency of the Kansas City Barbecue Association and plans to work with them in the coming months to ensure this does not happen in the future. On behalf of the American Royal Board, staff and volunteers, we share our competitors’ disappointment and apologize for this entire situation. ” At the Mount Carmel, Ill., contest, one of 45 he will participate in this year, Kirkpatrick said he also wants answers. “I spend every weekend in a parking lot cooking four different kinds of meat for people I don’t know. Winning. Unfortunately, a mistake was made on barbecue’s biggest stage, and here’s why. “I believe it will be explained,” he said.
A king-sized mistake on barbecue’s biggest stage resulted in the wrong team being crowned champions at last weekend’s American Royal World Series of open barbecue competitions.
Jordan Kirkpatrick and his wife Allie were beaming Sunday when they thought their Junkie Leg Barbecue team and Aaron “Teen Wolf” Thomas finished fifth overall out of about 500 contestants. smiled.
Jordan and Allie posed on stage holding a cardboard check for $1,225.
And when Kirkpatrick’s friend David Ellis of Machete Boys BBQ was crowned grand champion, Kirkpatrick was ready to celebrate.
“I was one of the first to start running and chase him and give him a big hug and congratulate him. This is a big accomplishment,” Kirkpatrick said.
But on Thursday, Kirkpatrick learned he was the real grand champion.
This was announced after an audit of the Kansas City Barbecue Association’s four meat categories identified and corrected inaccurate counts.
While Kirkpatrick is thrilled to be crowned grand champion, he also missed out on what could have been a once-in-a-lifetime moment to earn a well-deserved honor Sunday.
“There’s no way to separate it other than just saying this is terrible. All of our friends were there, some of our best friends were there, and they just wanted to enjoy the moment. Yeah, but it happened, the trigger was pulled, the bullet exited the chamber, you can’t really call back,” Kirkpatrick said. “I would have liked to have been on stage holding a big square trophy, wearing a crown and robes, and being able to take it all in. Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option for us,” he added.
The Kansas City Barbecue Association released a statement Thursday apologizing.
It read in part: “KCBS accepts full responsibility for these serious errors. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to our affected competitors and to American Royal, our valued partner for 37 years, from the barbecue community. We recognize the trust placed in us and would like to offer our sincere apologies. We will patiently address all issues and let everyone know what happened and the steps we have taken to fix it.”
American Royal Board of Directors Chairman Ken Wagner and President and CEO Jackie McCluskey released a joint statement Friday.
It read in part: “American Royal values Kansas City Barbecue Association’s transparency and will work with Kansas City Barbecue Association in the coming months to prevent this from happening in the future.” We plan to cooperate.” On behalf of the American Royal Board of Directors, staff and volunteers, we share our competitors’ disappointment and apologize for this entire situation. ”
Instead of receiving a check for $1,225, Kirkpatrick will receive the grand prize of $15,000.
At another tournament in Mount Carmel, Illinois, one of 45 he will compete in this year, Kirkpatrick said he wanted answers.
“I spend every weekend in the parking lot cooking four different types of meat for people I don’t know and praying for victory. Unfortunately, I made a mistake on the biggest stage of barbecue. “I believe the reason will be explained,” he said.
