In 2011 the South Carolina Legislature designated the South Carolina Barbeque Association as the official organization to name the South Carolina State Barbeque Champion. The SCBA conducts a year-long contest which runs from January to December of each year with contests held in over 35 different towns and cities across the great state of South Carolina.
At each SCBA sanctioned event, participating cook teams receive points based on their scores, which are tallied throughout the year. Teams may enter as many contests as they wish but only their top ten (10) scores are totaled to determine the winner of the state championship.
At the end of the year, the team with the ten highest scores is named the South Carolina State Barbeque Champion. In January, an awards ceremony takes place at the State House in Columbia where trophies and cash prizes are awarded to the top five teams.
South Carolina in conjunction with the SCBA was the first state in the nation to adopt this year-long, state-wide contest which is the very best way to see which team is truly the South Carolina State Champion.
Past and Present South Carolina State Barbeque Champions
2007 – JT’s BBQ, Tim Handy of Summerville, SC
2008 – Red Neck Barbeque, Sam Bower of Elgin, SC
2009 – Pot Belly Cookers, Dennis Jarret of Summerville, SC
2010 – No Pig Left Behind, Doug Quinn of Goose Creek, SC
2011 – Can’t Quit Smoking, George King of Winnsboro, SC
2012 – Can’t Quit Smoking, George King of Winnsboro, SC
2013 – All Smoked Up, Gary Taylor of Lexington, SC
2014 – Smokin’ Stacks, Jeff Smith of Aiken, SC
2015 – Backwoods Bar-B-Que, Gene Culbertson of Trenton, SC
2016 – Backwoods Bar-B-Que, Gene Culbertson of Trenton, SC
2017 – Pimp My Pig, Dean Price of Leesville, SC
2018 – Pimp My Pig, Dean Price of Leesville, SC
2019 – Tail-Gater Hater, Phillip Miles/Glenn Lee of Lake City, SC
2021 – Tail-Gater Hater, Phillip Miles/Dennis Caraway of Lake City, SC
2022 – Tail-Gater Hater, Phillip Miles/Dennis Caraway of Lake City, SC
2023 – Tail-Gater Hater, Phillip Miles/Dennis Caraway of Lake City, SC