With the NCAA Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments starting with the First Four tomorrow, we’re joining the fun of bracket competitions with a face-off of our own.

We asked you to share your favorite barbecue in KC with us, and now — thanks to you + the help of a random generator — we have the official lineup for our bracket.

Time to smoke the competition. | Graphic via 6AM City

Who’s in the running

Going head-to-head in the first round are:

How it works

Beginning today, we will host several voting rounds within our newsletters and social channels to determine Kansas City’s best ‘cue. Who moves on is up to you. Vote for your favorites, and the restaurant with the best smoked meat + sauce moves on. Simple as that. We’ll go until we have a champion, which will be announced in about a week. You will be able to vote once per round.

How to participate

Vote for the barbecue you’d like to see advance to round two using this poll. You can vote for all four spots or as little as one. Once we count all the votes, we’ll share an updated bracket and new poll in an upcoming newsletter.

Want to fill out a bracket to see if you can guess who will win? Download and print the image above to take the competition up a notch. Send us a photo, and if your bracket is correct, we might give you a shoutout + bragging rights.

Ready to cheer your “team” to victory? Vote at the button below. ⬇️

Vote: BATTLE OF THE ‘CUE