DESTINATION AMERICA'S SMOKIN' HOT SERIES "BBQ PITMASTERS" IS BACK WITH A NEW JUDGE ON APRIL 12

Veteran Judges Myron Mixon and Tuffy Stone Welcome Fan Favorite Moe Cason to the Judge's Table

(Silver Spring, MD)- The never-ending winter has lingered for far too long. It's time to dust off and heat up those grills because Destination America has ordered another mouth-watering season of the hit competition series, BBQ PITMASTERS, premiering Saturday, April 12th at 9/8c. The latest installment gets a jump on summer and introduces fresh meat when favorite contestant, Moe Cason joins Myron Mixon and Tuffy Stone at the judge's table. Once again, BBQ PITMASTERS transports viewers into the competitive barbecue subculture, proving that barbecue is much more than just delicious food; it's a full-blown competitive sport. The new season showcases a fierce competition among the best in regional BBQ - from Georgia, Texas, North Carolina, Memphis and of course, Kansas City - with teams competing for a spot in a final cook-off in which the winner boasts the ultimate barbecue bragging rights, a $50,000 cash prize from Kingsford Charcoal, and entry into the prestigious Kingsford Invitational.

"What better way to cure the winter blues than to fire up those grills in anticipation of barbecue season?" said Marc Etkind, general manager of Destination America. "Destination America is proud to celebrate the backyard warriors that light the flames of competition and encourages people across the country to dig into a much needed early taste of summer with BBQ PITMASTERS."

Three of Georgia's greatest grillers are kicking off the new season to see who can cook the Peach State's best 'cue. The premiere episode of BBQ PITMASTERS features Robby Royal from "Rescue Smokers" returning for a chance at redemption after his loss in last season's semi-finals. Eric Thomas from "The Rolling Grill" is another returning competitor who's trying to prove that his food is worthy of naming him BBQ PITMASTERS' Georgia Champion. And newcomer John Ley from "Heavenly Hawgs" hopes his Georgia style cooking is destined to win it all. Find out who will win the first battle of the season to move on to the semi-finals for a shot at the grand prize and coveted title of BBQ Pitmasters Grand Champion.

About the BBQ PITMASTERS judges:

Myron Mixon a three-time world barbecue champion and known as the winningest man in barbecue. He is the chief cook of the Jack's Old South Competition Bar-B-Que Team; the star of Destination America's BBQ Pitmasters; the author of the New York Times bestselling cookbook Smokin' with Myron Mixon: Recipes Made Simple, from the Winningest Man in Barbecue (Random House, May 2011) and Everyday Barbecue (Random House, May 2013). Mixon was recently inducted into the Barbeque Hall of Fame in Kansas City, Missouri.

Tuffy Stone honed his skills in a French kitchen, working his way up to chef, cooking in a variety of restaurants, then running a successful high-end catering business in his hometown of Richmond, Virginia. Barbecue came later, but when it did, Tuffy and his Cool Smoke team moved up fast with 32 state championships and a world championship in Memphis. Tuffy created the popular restaurant concept, Q Barbeque, with four locations and many more to come!

Big Moe Cason, a Navy vet who served on the USS Missouri during Desert Shield and Desert Storm, the Des Moines, Iowa native took up BBQ as a hobby. Moe entered his first BBQ competition in June 2006 and has been hooked ever since. With 130 competitions under his belt leading his team, Ponderosa BBQ, there's no stopping this self-taught Pitmaster.

BBQ PITMASTERS is produced for Destination America by Original Media. For Original Media, Daniel Laikind, Charlie Corwin, and John Markus are executive producers. For Destination America, Fay Yu and Ron Simon are executive producers, Sara Kozak is SVP of production, Marc Etkind is general manager, and Henry Schleiff is group president.

About Destination America

Destination America is the only network to celebrate the people, places, and stories of the United States. The inclusive network targeting Adults 25-54 is available in 60 million homes, emblazoning television screens with the grit and tenacity, honesty and work ethic, humor and adventurousness that characterize our nation. Destination America features travel, food, adventure, home, and natural history, with original series like BBQ Pitmasters, United States of Bacon, A Haunting, Epic, and Buying Alaska. For more information, please visit DestinationAmerica.com, facebook.com/DestinationAmerica, or twitter.com/DestAmerica. Destination America is part of Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), the world's #1 nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.8 billion cumulative subscribers in 218 countries and territories.