20th Sky Wars Competition
Meet The 2026 Artists
2026 Competitors
Shaun Hauter (Niangua, MO)
Shaun Hauter is no rookie to pyrotechnic competitions! With his expertise in all things fireworks and a reliable crew at his side, Shaun plans to pull off some new tricks in his first Sky Wars Pro-Am championship.
Kevin Adams (Evanston, WY)
Still a theater kid at heart, Kevin’s longtime passion for pyro artistry has brought him to the Sky Wars stage. Kevin hopes his imagination and knack for storytelling will resonate with the audience on September 27th.
Tom Kohnen (Orlando, FL)
Tom is traveling from the land of Disney to compete in this year’s Sky Wars championship! With his background in musical education and over 600 shows as a pyro crew member under his belt, Tom is excited to present a large-scale fireworks display of his own creation.
2025 Professional Competitors
John Mikrut Jr. (Princeton, IL) w/ RKM Fireworks
The pyro bug has brought John quite far from his early days assisting with backyard shows nearly two decades ago. He’s a fresh RKM recruit AND will be competing on the Sky Wars big stage for the first time this year – all in between leading large-scale events in his hometowns.
Frank Terzino Jr. (Hickory, NC) w/ PyroStar Entertainment
As a pyro from the east coast, Frank’s looking forward to competing on a wide open Missouri stage. He’s heading to Sky Wars with the same determination that started his company PyroStar Entertainment: to produce a fantastic show.
James Baxter (Stacy, MN) w/ Minnesota Pyrotechnics
From large-scale shows to stadium events to special projects, there isn’t much with pyro and DMX that James won’t try if it’s feasible and sounds cool. He and the crew at Minnesota Pyrotechnics are ready to show the Sky Wars audience what they can do.
🇺🇸 National Anthem Display
TBA – Missouri Pyrotechnics Association
The Sky Wars National Anthem display is often described as “the best show” our audience has ever seen – and it’s the first show of the night!
Our 2025 National Anthem was presented by MOpyro’s Mike and Devon Walter. This father-son team loves fireworks and loves their country! They kicked off our championship with a whole lotta red, white, and BOOM.
Fireballs!
Bill Corbett w/ Fireball Dudes (Memphis, TN)
The MVP of the fireball world is back at it again! Bill and his crew of Fireball Dudes are ready to turn up the heat with their humongous signature gasoline fireballs.