Head-to-head
NEVER EASY BBQ vs THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SMOKE
6 head-to-head wins
Met
17 times in the data
11 head-to-head wins
Career comparison
| NEVER EASY BBQ | THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SMOKE | |
|---|---|---|
| 53 | Contests | 100 |
| 0 | Grand champs | 3 |
| 3 | Category wins | 11 |
| 1 | Perfect 180s | 7 |
| 97.5% | Best overall (% of perfect) | 97.9% |
| 93.6% | Avg overall (% of perfect) | 95.2% |
| top 52% | Avg finish | top 35% |
| ±2.26% | Consistency (% of perfect) | ±2.59% |
Overall scores show as a share of a perfect total (Master /720, Backyard /360) so the two series compare fairly.
Meat by meat (who finishes ahead when both enter the category)
| NEVER EASY BBQ | THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SMOKE | |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Chicken (18 meetings) | 13 |
| 8 | Pork Ribs (17 meetings) | 9 |
| 7 | Pork (17 meetings) | 10 |
| 3 | Brisket (17 meetings) | 14 |
Common ground
- 🏕️ They've both cooked American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest 2 times — dead level 1–1
- 🏕️ They've both cooked American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST 2 times — dead level 1–1
- 💥 Biggest beatdown: 48.11 points at Smoketoberfest (2019-10-04)
- 🤏 Closest call: 2.8912 points at King of the Corn (2024-05-17)
Every meeting
| Date | Event | NEVER EASY BBQ | THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SMOKE | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-14 | BBQ & Fly-In on the River | 33 / 83 (687.3256) | 13 / 83 (696.5144) | THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SMOKE |
| 2026-07-17 | Shenandoah ShenDig | 3 / 28 (702.2400) | 10 / 28 (691.3140) | NEVER EASY BBQ |
| 2026-05-08 | Minnesota in May | 19 / 77 (685.1428) | 33 / 77 (681.6572) | NEVER EASY BBQ |
| 2026-04-17 | Knox Co. 4-H/FFA Ring of Smoke | 19 / 25 (669.6572) | 6 / 25 (687.9084) | THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SMOKE |
| 2025-11-05 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest | 63 / 401 (693.1544) | 232 / 401 (673.6228) | NEVER EASY BBQ |
| 2025-10-24 | 1st Annual Boost & BBQ | 10 / 25 (688.4800) | 20 / 25 (679.8860) | NEVER EASY BBQ |
| 2025-10-03 | La Belle MO Show Me BBQ Showdown | 15 / 39 (690.7308) | 8 / 39 (696.5260) | THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SMOKE |
| 2025-09-19 | Murphysboro BBQ Cook-off/Praise the Lard | 32 / 56 (689.0628) | 7 / 56 (701.6804) | THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SMOKE |
| 2025-05-16 | King of the Corn | 18 / 33 (679.9200) | 8 / 33 (690.1944) | THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SMOKE |
| 2024-10-30 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest | 94 / 444 (688.5028) | 36 / 444 (695.9428) | THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SMOKE |
| 2024-05-17 | King of the Corn | 22 / 36 (671.8968) | 28 / 36 (669.0056) | NEVER EASY BBQ |
| 2022-09-29 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST | 189 / 505 (675.3256) | 73 / 505 (687.3828) | THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SMOKE |
| 2021-11-11 | 3rd Annual KCBS World Invitational - Open | 74 / 111 (671.8740) | 16 / 111 (690.7888) | THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SMOKE |
| 2021-09-16 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue-OPEN CONTEST | 56 / 467 (682.2856) | 273 / 467 (657.0628) | NEVER EASY BBQ |
| 2020-10-02 | Ottumwa Smoketoberfest | 36 / 66 (666.2400) | 24 / 66 (671.8972) | THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SMOKE |
| 2019-10-04 | Smoketoberfest | 38 / 49 (641.5656) | 8 / 49 (689.6800) | THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SMOKE |
| 2019-09-12 | 40th American Royal World Series of Barbecue- OPEN CONTEST | 316 / 468 (645.0512 · Master) | 144 / 468 (163.4172 · Open Comp) | THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SMOKE |