Art of the Que (Backyard 2)
2025-06-27 – 2025-06-28 · Spencer, IA · 📍 800 W 18th Street
Reps: JOHN SCHARFFBILLIG, LAURIE TWETEN, PATRICK DILLER · Prize money: $1,300.00
Grand Champion: BRAMBLE BBQ (350.8456) · 17 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 SASSY SMOKE BBQ
Entries
Top score
Winning margin
Field average
Perfect 180s
Tightest race
Top-10 cutoff
Field spread
Prize money
Double threats
How hot was the win?
Traveled in
Form held
Field strength
Storylines
👑 A dynasty in the making
Hot Daddy's BBQ has won this contest 2 times across its 4 tracked editions.
💪 A statement win
The champion won by 9.1540 points — a wider margin than 87% of championships in the data.
📸 Photo finishes
Pork Ribs places 5–6: THE GREAT PIG IN THE SKY and BBQ Pit Bros tied on 167.9772 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 8–9: SASSY SMOKE BBQ edged WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ by 0.0116. Chicken places 6–7: DAWGS BBQ edged Sensuous BBQ by 0.0116.
🏟️ A stacked field
The field averaged a 1611 power rating going in — stronger than 95% of every contest tracked.
🃏 An upset on the books
Bramble BBQ came in rated below the field's top team, WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 24-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
Score curves (score by finishing position — steep cliffs mean a spread field, flat lines a knife fight)
Category showdown (top / average / median score per meat)
Score distribution
Biggest rating movers (power-rating points won and lost at this contest)
Did form hold? (pre-contest rating vs overall finish — ratings called it if the dots climb to the right)
Where the field came from (home regions on file)
This contest over the years full contest page →
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-07-07 | Spencer, IA | 800 W 18th Street | 28 | 697.1088 | Hot Daddy's BBQ | LAST CALL HEROES BBQ |
| 2024-06-28 | Spencer, IA | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2025-06-27 | Spencer, IA | 800 W 18th Street | 15 | 705.7032 | BIG RACKS BBQ | HOT DADDY'S BBQ |
| 2025-06-27 ← this one | Spencer, IA | 800 W 18th Street | 17 | 350.8456 | BRAMBLE BBQ | — |
| 2025-06-27 | Spencer, IA | 800 W 18th Street | 12 | 177.7144 | HOT DADDY'S BBQ | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 177.7028 | 170.2628 | 166.8344 |
| Pork Ribs | 174.8456 | 167.9772 | 163.4172 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Backyard Series
Overall
17 entries · top 350.8456 · median 332.5372
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bramble BBQ | |
| 2 | SASSY SMOKE BBQ | |
| 3 | BBQ Pit Bros | |
| 4 | Sensuous BBQ | |
| 5 | Too Sauced BBQ | |
| 6 | DAWGS BBQ | |
| 7 | WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ | |
| 8 | FENDER BENDER BBQ | |
| 9 | Big Bear BBQ | |
| 10 | THE GREAT PIG IN THE SKY | |
| 11 | E SQUARED BBQ | |
| 12 | SMOKEY GQ | |
| 13 | Briskey Business BBQ | |
| 14 | Big Ten Bones | |
| 15 | East Bow Que | |
| 16 | SmoQued On Main St | |
| 17 | Unknown Smokers |
Chicken
17 entries · top 177.7028 · median 166.8572
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SASSY SMOKE BBQ | |
| 2 | Bramble BBQ | |
| 3 | BBQ Pit Bros | |
| 4 | FENDER BENDER BBQ | |
| 5 | WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ | |
| 6 | DAWGS BBQ | |
| 7 | Sensuous BBQ | |
| 8 | SmoQued On Main St | |
| 9 | East Bow Que | |
| 10 | Too Sauced BBQ | |
| 11 | E SQUARED BBQ | |
| 12 | SMOKEY GQ | |
| 13 | Big Ten Bones | |
| 14 | Briskey Business BBQ | |
| 15 | THE GREAT PIG IN THE SKY | |
| 16 | Big Bear BBQ | |
| 17 | Unknown Smokers |
Pork Ribs
17 entries · top 174.8456 · median 163.9772
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bramble BBQ | |
| 2 | Sensuous BBQ | |
| 3 | Big Bear BBQ | |
| 4 | Too Sauced BBQ | |
| 5 | THE GREAT PIG IN THE SKY | |
| 6 | BBQ Pit Bros | |
| 7 | DAWGS BBQ | |
| 8 | SASSY SMOKE BBQ | |
| 9 | WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ | |
| 10 | Briskey Business BBQ | |
| 11 | E SQUARED BBQ | |
| 12 | SMOKEY GQ | |
| 13 | FENDER BENDER BBQ | |
| 14 | Unknown Smokers | |
| 15 | Big Ten Bones | |
| 16 | East Bow Que | |
| 17 | SmoQued On Main St |