In a world where magic mushrooms have gone from being taboo to starring in scientific conferences, therapies, and festivals, two events stand out on the 2025 calendar: the Denver Shroom Cup and the Oklahoma Magic Mushroom Cup. Both competitions not only celebrate the diversity and potency of psilocybin mushrooms but also reflect a cultural shift toward accepting and studying these fascinating species.
The Denver Shroom Cup, scheduled for June 15, and the Magic Mushroom Cup, held on April 12, provide platforms for growers and enthusiasts to showcase their best samples, fostering research and knowledge about these fascinating creatures of the mushroom kingdom. Today, we’ll tell you more about these competitions and how events like this help destigmatize both the substance and the user. Will you join us?
Magic mushroom competitions: from underground to mainstream
If just a decade ago you had been told that there would be public competitions rewarding the potency, purity, and beauty of a psychedelic mushroom, you probably would have laughed out loud. But here we are. Magic mushroom competitions have sprung up like—never better said—delicious boletus mushrooms after a rain, naturally taking over from cannabis cups, but with their own identity and a more mystical/scientific air, if you’ll pardon the expression.
Inspired by the format of the numerous Cannabis Cups—that peculiar cross between an agricultural fair and a bud orgy—these new mycological events pick up the torch with rigor, but also by putting on a good show. The goal is no longer just to crown the most potent mushroom, but to educate, destigmatize, and—why not?—pay homage to these fungal creatures that have accompanied human evolution for millennia. The difference here is that the laboratory replaces sample tasting: analysis of psilocybin and other compounds, new and potent genetics, well-labeled samples…and yes, the occasional hipster proto-shaman. All very much in the 21st century!
Denver Shroom Cup: scientific precision in the Rocky Mountains
Welcome to Denver, Colorado. If this was one of the first places to legalize marijuana, it’s no surprise that mushrooms have also found a place to establish themselves and thrive here. The Denver Shroom Cup, held on June 15 at ReelWorks Denver, is one of the most rigorous and ambitious on this fledgling circuit. And we’re not the ones saying that: the organizers themselves have come up with the concept of the “Data-Driven Cup,” a competition based on objective data and chemical analysis. The winner here isn’t just the one with the best trip report; the winner is the one with the most potent and well-characterized mushroom.
Samples are evaluated in two broad categories: Psilocybe cubensis (the classic of classics) and non-cubensis (for the more daring: think azurescens, mexicana, panaeolus, and other families). Each participant can submit up to five samples per category, at $70 each. An invisible but relentless jury—laboratory analysis—will determine the exact concentration of psilocybin, psilocin, and other alkaloids, and that determines the winner.
The prize? A full year of free analysis for two monthly samples—valued at $2,640—which, for the mycophilic grower, is equivalent to a VIP pass backstage at psychedelic science. But it doesn’t end there! In addition to the two categories already mentioned, this event has two other categories in competition that may also interest you: DMT and Cactus, where the highest N, N-DMT content for the former and mescaline content for the latter will be evaluated.
Magic Mushroom Cup: Innovation and Community in Oklahoma
Oklahoma. Land of cowboys, open fields, and endless skies…and now, psilocybin. Yes, the Magic Mushroom Cup, held on April 12th as part of the Oklahoma Psychedelic Conference, is one of the most curious examples of this cultural paradigm shift: a traditionally conservative state embracing magic mushrooms with surprising enthusiasm.
Here, it’s all about community building. The competition is part of a larger event that includes talks, workshops, and exhibitions. Submissions can be made in three categories:
- Mushrooms of the genus Psilocybe (Winner 2025: Green Touch by Dr. Doomz, with 1.66%)
- Mushrooms of the genus Panaeolus (Winner 2025: Eungai from Spore X Change, with 1.89%)
- Psilocybin Extracts (2025 Winner: Friday Ventures’ MIB, with 12.4%)
Yes, as you can see, apart from mushrooms of the genus Psilocybe and Panaeolus, this event also awards prizes for psilocybin concentrates, a bit like Breaking Bad but in a mycological version.
Each sample is professionally analyzed, and all participants receive a Certificate of Analysis. Winners not only receive medals and public recognition, but also exclusive genetics and state-of-the-art grow kits. There’s no cash prize, but something even better: a reputation among their peers and the possibility of their mushroom ending up on the front pages of the most demanding mycological forums…It’s good to know that things are still done today without money as an objective!
A promising future for magic mushrooms
Are we witnessing a new psychedelic boom? It could be possible. What is certain is that hallucinogenic mushrooms have ceased to be a semi-clandestine rarity and have become the center of attention at fairs, conferences, and, as we’ve seen, competitions in the purest Cannabis Cup style, but in a mycological version. And they’re doing it right: with data, respect, and community. Learning from the mistakes—and also the successes—of the cannabis world.
The Denver and Oklahoma City Cups are much more than festivals: they’re symbols of a paradigm shift, where psychedelics are no longer associated (only) with escapism or counterculture, but also with therapy, creativity, and self-discovery. A world where science and spirituality sit at the same table…or in the same ceremonial circle.
And who knows? Maybe in a few years, you’ll be there too, with your labeled sample jar, waiting for a lab to confirm what you already know: that your mushroom is pure magic!
