Singing River Smoke-O-Rama (BACKYARD ONLY)
2025-03-21 – 2025-03-22 · Athens, AL · 📍 18118 Highway 99
Reps: CAROL BIGLER, RANDY G BIGLER · Prize money: $5,250.00
Grand Champion: LeeLa Q (355.4172) · 43 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 Smokey Bees BBQ - MS
Entries
43
2 judged meats · 3 ancillary
Top score
355.4172
Winning margin
4.0000
GC over RC
Field average
335.02
median 337.07
Tightest race
Chicken
2.2972 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
345.0972
10th place overall
Field spread
46.3316
winner to last place
Prize money
$5,250.00
on the line
How hot was the win?
Top 26%
beats 74% of 708 Backyard Series wins in the data
Traveled in
19%
of the 43 teams with a home region came from outside AL
Came back for more
50%
19 of 38 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.65 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1559
avg power rating going in · stronger than 64% of contests
Storylines
📸 Photo finishes
Chicken places 2–3: HICKORY HANGOVER and Smokey Bees BBQ - MS tied on 178.8572 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 7–8: Electro-Que-ted and Big James Kitchen tied on 173.1316 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 9–10: Smokey Bees BBQ - MS and CHARCOAL COWBOYS tied on 172.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
🛡️ Back to defend
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: Smokey Bees BBQ (won 2024).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-03-22 | Athens, AL | 18118 Highway 99 | 38 | 354.2628 | Smokey Bees BBQ | — |
| 2025-03-21 ← this one | Athens, AL | 18118 Highway 99 | 43 | 355.4172 | LeeLa Q | — |
| 2026-03-27 | Athens, AL | 18118 SR-99 | 43 | 356.5716 | Mind if I Smoke? | — |
| 2027-04-02 | Athens, AL | — | — | — | — | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180.0000 | 177.7028 | 172.0000 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.8572 | 174.8456 | 172.5600 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Backyard Series
Overall
43 entries · top 355.4172 · median 337.0744
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | LEE LA Q | |
| 2 | Smokey Bees BBQ - MS | |
| 3 | Small Batch BBQ - TN | |
| 4 | Deviant Smoke | |
| 5 | PUDDLEDUCK BBQ | |
| 6 | Pork Life | |
| 7 | Rollin Smoke BBQ | |
| 8 | NORALA BBQ TEAM | |
| 9 | Electro-Que-ted | |
| 10 | HICKORY HANGOVER | |
| 11 | Modest Meats | |
| 12 | Mind if I Smoke? | |
| 13 | CHARCOAL COWBOYS | |
| 14 | Ghost Hill BBQ | |
| 15 | Say My Name BBQ | |
| 16 | Big James Kitchen | |
| 17 | Smoke a Fatty BBQ Nashville | |
| 18 | Budget BBQ | |
| 19 | Green Dragon BBQ | |
| 20 | Southern Swine | |
| 21 | PUCKDADDY'S KILLER Q | |
| 22 | 205 Smoke | |
| 23 | When Pigs Fly - Florence, AL | |
| 24 | Smoke'em All | |
| 25 | Bonnie Blue BBQ | |
| 26 | Pine Ridge Smoke | |
| 27 | Brother In-Law BBQ | |
| 28 | Cotton Cue Cooking | |
| 29 | Trainwreck BBQ | |
| 30 | Meat Sweats | |
| 31 | Last Place Chicken | |
| 32 | Burnt Plow BBQ | |
| 33 | Dogpatch Q | |
| 34 | J.T.'s Smoke Shack | |
| 35 | Grillbilly Holland | |
| 36 | Idle Times | |
| 37 | LENOX & SON BBQ COMPANY | |
| 38 | Crazy Thunder BBQ Team | |
| 39 | Armstrong Smoke & Co. | |
| 40 | Rise and Swine - AL | |
| 41 | Limp Brisket | |
| 42 | Win Tenn | |
| 43 | Bad Dog's BBQ |
Chicken
43 entries · top 180.0000 · median 169.6800 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rollin Smoke BBQ | |
| 2 | HICKORY HANGOVER | |
| 3 | Smokey Bees BBQ - MS | |
| 4 | Deviant Smoke | |
| 5 | Pork Life | |
| 6 | LEE LA Q | |
| 7 | NORALA BBQ TEAM | |
| 8 | Small Batch BBQ - TN | |
| 9 | Ghost Hill BBQ | |
| 10 | When Pigs Fly - Florence, AL | |
| 11 | Brother In-Law BBQ | |
| 12 | Trainwreck BBQ | |
| 13 | Electro-Que-ted | |
| 14 | Say My Name BBQ | |
| 15 | CHARCOAL COWBOYS | |
| 16 | PUCKDADDY'S KILLER Q | |
| 17 | Smoke a Fatty BBQ Nashville | |
| 18 | PUDDLEDUCK BBQ | |
| 19 | Southern Swine | |
| 20 | Budget BBQ | |
| 21 | Smoke'em All | |
| 22 | Big James Kitchen | |
| 23 | Modest Meats | |
| 24 | Mind if I Smoke? | |
| 25 | J.T.'s Smoke Shack | |
| 26 | Dogpatch Q | |
| 27 | 205 Smoke | |
| 28 | Bonnie Blue BBQ | |
| 29 | Pine Ridge Smoke | |
| 30 | LENOX & SON BBQ COMPANY | |
| 31 | Green Dragon BBQ | |
| 32 | Burnt Plow BBQ | |
| 33 | Cotton Cue Cooking | |
| 34 | Rise and Swine - AL | |
| 35 | Grillbilly Holland | |
| 36 | Idle Times | |
| 37 | Meat Sweats | |
| 38 | Last Place Chicken | |
| 39 | Armstrong Smoke & Co. | |
| 40 | Limp Brisket | |
| 41 | Crazy Thunder BBQ Team | |
| 42 | Win Tenn | |
| 43 | Bad Dog's BBQ |
Pork Ribs
43 entries · top 178.8572 · median 168.5372
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | LEE LA Q | |
| 2 | PUDDLEDUCK BBQ | |
| 3 | Small Batch BBQ - TN | |
| 4 | Modest Meats | |
| 5 | Green Dragon BBQ | |
| 6 | Mind if I Smoke? | |
| 7 | Electro-Que-ted | |
| 8 | Big James Kitchen | |
| 9 | Smokey Bees BBQ - MS | |
| 10 | CHARCOAL COWBOYS | |
| 11 | Deviant Smoke | |
| 12 | Say My Name BBQ | |
| 13 | Ghost Hill BBQ | |
| 14 | 205 Smoke | |
| 15 | NORALA BBQ TEAM | |
| 16 | Meat Sweats | |
| 17 | Pork Life | |
| 18 | Budget BBQ | |
| 19 | Smoke a Fatty BBQ Nashville | |
| 20 | Cotton Cue Cooking | |
| 21 | Southern Swine | |
| 22 | Last Place Chicken | |
| 23 | Pine Ridge Smoke | |
| 24 | PUCKDADDY'S KILLER Q | |
| 25 | Bonnie Blue BBQ | |
| 26 | Rollin Smoke BBQ | |
| 27 | HICKORY HANGOVER | |
| 28 | Smoke'em All | |
| 29 | When Pigs Fly - Florence, AL | |
| 30 | Idle Times | |
| 31 | Crazy Thunder BBQ Team | |
| 32 | Grillbilly Holland | |
| 33 | Burnt Plow BBQ | |
| 34 | Brother In-Law BBQ | |
| 35 | Armstrong Smoke & Co. | |
| 36 | Trainwreck BBQ | |
| 37 | Dogpatch Q | |
| 38 | Limp Brisket | |
| 39 | J.T.'s Smoke Shack | |
| 40 | Bad Dog's BBQ | |
| 41 | LENOX & SON BBQ COMPANY | |
| 42 | Win Tenn | |
| 43 | Rise and Swine - AL |
Ancillary categories
Run by the organizers alongside the sanctioned contest. These are judged on their own terms and do not count toward the overall score, so they're kept out of the meat stats above.
Ancillary — Dessert
12 entries · top 180.0000 · median 180.0000 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bonnie Blue BBQ | |
| 2 | Idle Times | |
| 3 | Big James Kitchen | |
| 4 | Crazy Thunder BBQ Team | |
| 5 | Meat Sweats | |
| 6 | Armstrong Smoke & Co. | |
| 7 | Deviant Smoke | |
| 8 | Ghost Hill BBQ | |
| 9 | Green Dragon BBQ | |
| 10 | Win Tenn | |
| 11 | Carrie's Kitchen | |
| 12 | Bad Dog's BBQ |
Ancillary — Sausage
7 entries · top 180.0000 · median 174.2628 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Deviant Smoke | |
| 2 | Big James Kitchen | |
| 3 | Armstrong Smoke & Co. | |
| 4 | LEE LA Q | |
| 5 | Ghost Hill BBQ | |
| 6 | Meat Sweats | |
| 7 | Crazy Thunder BBQ Team |
Ancillary — Steak
13 entries · top 168.6628 · median 154.8572
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | LENOX & SON BBQ COMPANY | |
| 2 | NORALA BBQ TEAM | |
| 3 | Say My Name BBQ | |
| 4 | Big James Kitchen | |
| 5 | 205 Smoke | |
| 6 | Bad Dog's BBQ | |
| 7 | Trainwreck BBQ | |
| 8 | Southern Swine | |
| 9 | Deviant Smoke | |
| 10 | Green Dragon BBQ | |
| 11 | Electro-Que-ted | |
| 12 | Meat Sweats | |
| 13 | Crazy Thunder BBQ Team |