Lets face it anything is possible in BBQ, especially when judged by a naive public. If the two judges are knowledgeable about true BBQ, Lee Ann wins. If they are used to boiled BBQ smothered in sauce, all bets are off. Flay undoubtedly will do some sort of southwest BBQ, heavy on the chipotle. His BBQ may be too hot for the judges unless they like hot.
We all know that Lee Ann beats Bobby hands down at traditional BBQ but I would venture to guess that many on this forum could beat both Lee Ann and Bobby at a KCBS contest. Hell I beat Lee Ann last year at Norfolk so like I said anything is possible when left in the hands of judges. Should make for good entertainment for sure! And just for the record Bobby has an absolutely terrible record on this show. He seldom wins!
To answer your question Greg, no blowback. Most of these guys had their hats handed to them on BBQ TV already by lesser known challengers, like last year when both Dr. BBQ and Myron lost to Sarah Horowitz on the Vs Network BBQ Challenge so they know how this stuff works. Bobby's a good cook so anything could happen. I still don't see Lee Ann losing since she gets to decide what to cook initially and Bobby has to then cook the same thing.