Head-to-head
NEVER EASY BBQ vs IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ
4 head-to-head wins
Met
22 times in the data
18 head-to-head wins
Career comparison
| NEVER EASY BBQ | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ | |
|---|---|---|
| 53 | Contests | 166 |
| 0 | Grand champs | 15 |
| 3 | Category wins | 38 |
| 1 | Perfect 180s | 12 |
| 97.5% | Best overall (% of perfect) | 99.2% |
| 93.6% | Avg overall (% of perfect) | 95.5% |
| top 52% | Avg finish | top 23% |
| ±2.26% | Consistency (% of perfect) | ±1.34% |
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 | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ | |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | Chicken (22 meetings) | 9 |
| 13 | Pork Ribs (22 meetings) | 9 |
| 7 | Pork (22 meetings) | 15 |
| 5 | Brisket (22 meetings) | 17 |
Common ground
- 🏕️ They've both cooked Murphysboro BBQ Cook-off/Praise the Lard 3 times — IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ leads there 3–0
- 🏕️ They've both cooked American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest 2 times — dead level 1–1
- 🏕️ They've both cooked King of the Corn 2 times — IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ leads there 2–0
- 🏕️ They've both cooked American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST 2 times — dead level 1–1
- 💥 Biggest beatdown: 45.20 points at 40th American Royal World Series of Barbecue- OPEN CONTEST (2019-09-12)
- 🤏 Closest call: 0.5948 points at 3rd Annual KCBS World Invitational - Open (2021-11-11)
Every meeting
| Date | Event | NEVER EASY BBQ | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-08 | Minnesota in May | 19 / 77 (685.1428) | 8 / 77 (693.0512) | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ |
| 2025-11-05 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest | 63 / 401 (693.1544) | 73 / 401 (691.9544) | NEVER EASY BBQ |
| 2025-10-24 | 1st Annual Boost & BBQ | 10 / 25 (688.4800) | 3 / 25 (701.6804) | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ |
| 2025-09-19 | Murphysboro BBQ Cook-off/Praise the Lard | 32 / 56 (689.0628) | 9 / 56 (699.9312) | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ |
| 2025-07-25 | 9th Annual E'burg BBQ Contest | 28 / 31 (664.4112) | 8 / 31 (679.8972) | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ |
| 2025-05-16 | King of the Corn | 18 / 33 (679.9200) | 15 / 33 (682.2292) | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ |
| 2024-10-30 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest | 94 / 444 (688.5028) | 63 / 444 (691.9660) | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ |
| 2024-09-20 | Murphysboro BBQ Cook-off/Praise the Lard | 33 / 58 (681.5884) | 8 / 58 (697.1088) | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ |
| 2024-05-17 | King of the Corn | 22 / 36 (671.8968) | 3 / 36 (687.8856) | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ |
| 2023-09-21 | Murphysboro BBQ Cook-off/Praise the Lard | 27 / 50 (673.5768) | 4 / 50 (698.8228) | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ |
| 2023-05-19 | King of the Corn | 23 / 45 (677.6804) | 12 / 45 (686.2172) | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ |
| 2022-09-29 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST | 189 / 505 (675.3256) | 105 / 505 (683.9196) | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ |
| 2022-06-17 | Rose Festival 21st Annual KCBS BBQ Contest | 16 / 32 (672.4684) | 4 / 32 (685.6000) | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ |
| 2021-11-11 | 3rd Annual KCBS World Invitational - Open | 74 / 111 (671.8740) | 72 / 111 (672.4688) | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ |
| 2021-09-16 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue-OPEN CONTEST | 56 / 467 (682.2856) | 96 / 467 (676.5028) | NEVER EASY BBQ |
| 2021-07-30 | 5th Annual E'burg BBQ Contest | 23 / 35 (660.4228) | 6 / 35 (681.6456) | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ |
| 2021-07-16 | Real Squeal BBQ Smokeoff | 7 / 26 (680.5600) | 11 / 26 (671.8628) | NEVER EASY BBQ |
| 2020-10-02 | Ottumwa Smoketoberfest | 36 / 66 (666.2400) | 1 / 66 (694.7884) | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ |
| 2020-06-27 | Back to Mayberry Day 2 | 41 / 47 (651.3140) | 19 / 47 (673.6688) | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ |
| 2020-06-26 | Back to Mayberry Day 1 | 36 / 53 (657.0632) | 40 / 53 (653.5540) | NEVER EASY BBQ |
| 2019-09-12 | 40th American Royal World Series of Barbecue- OPEN CONTEST | 316 / 468 (645.0512) | 21 / 468 (690.2512) | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ |
| 2019-06-28 | Back To Mayberry | 10 / 28 (677.7376) | 5 / 28 (689.6688) | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ |