Smokin Downtown (BACKYARD ONLY)
2025-08-09 · Warsaw, IN · 📍 Buffalo St.
Reps: JEANNE TITUS · Prize money: $2,450.00
Grand Champion: BBQ Mike (357.1428) · 18 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 Rudes BBQ
Entries
18
2 judged meats
Top score
357.1428
Winning margin
5.1312
GC over RC
Field average
336.15
median 338.53
Tightest race
Chicken
2.8684 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
337.6572
10th place overall
Field spread
47.4972
winner to last place
Prize money
$2,450.00
on the line
Double threats
2
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 21%
beats 79% of 708 Backyard Series wins in the data
Traveled in
33%
of the 18 teams with a home region came from outside IN
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.7 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1530
avg power rating going in · stronger than 35% of contests
Storylines
🧳 Out-of-towners took the title
BBQ MIKE took the Grand Championship home to IL.
🧹 A double category winner
BBQ MIKE won Chicken, Pork Ribs — a double, and took the Grand Championship on top of it.
📸 Photo finishes
Chicken places 4–5: Fire Pig and Porkasaurus Rex BBQ tied on 174.2744 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 4–5: Bucked Up BBQ and Z Top BBQ tied on 174.2744 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 3–4: Smoky J's BBQ edged Bucked Up BBQ by 0.0116.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-08-09 ← this one | Warsaw, IN | Buffalo St. | 18 | 357.1428 | BBQ Mike | — |
| 2026-08-08 | Warsaw, IN | Buffalo St. | 13 | 347.9888 | Rudes BBQ | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 177.1428 | 174.2744 | 170.2628 |
| Pork Ribs | 180.0000 | 174.2744 | 169.1200 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Backyard Series
Overall
18 entries · top 357.1428 · median 338.5258
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BBQ MIKE | |
| 2 | Rudes BBQ | |
| 3 | Z Top BBQ | |
| 4 | Bucked Up BBQ | |
| 5 | Blended Smoke BBQ | |
| 6 | Smoky J's BBQ | |
| 7 | Porkasaurus Rex BBQ | |
| 8 | Double Dee BBQ | |
| 9 | Fire Pig | |
| 10 | Hoosier BBQ | |
| 11 | SMOKIN E'S BBQ | |
| 12 | Witts End BBQ | |
| 13 | RedHog BBQ | |
| 14 | The Bearded Pig | |
| 15 | Jugheads BBQ | |
| 16 | Que Lis Bbq | |
| 17 | Steel Rails BBQ | |
| 18 | Sucker Punch BBQ |
Chicken
18 entries · top 177.1428 · median 170.8342
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BBQ MIKE | |
| 2 | Blended Smoke BBQ | |
| 3 | Rudes BBQ | |
| 4 | Fire Pig | |
| 5 | Porkasaurus Rex BBQ | |
| 6 | Double Dee BBQ | |
| 7 | Z Top BBQ | |
| 8 | Hoosier BBQ | |
| 9 | Bucked Up BBQ | |
| 10 | SMOKIN E'S BBQ | |
| 11 | Smoky J's BBQ | |
| 12 | Que Lis Bbq | |
| 13 | Witts End BBQ | |
| 14 | RedHog BBQ | |
| 15 | Sucker Punch BBQ | |
| 16 | The Bearded Pig | |
| 17 | Steel Rails BBQ | |
| 18 | Jugheads BBQ |
Pork Ribs
18 entries · top 180.0000 · median 169.1314 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BBQ MIKE | |
| 2 | Rudes BBQ | |
| 3 | Smoky J's BBQ | |
| 4 | Bucked Up BBQ | |
| 5 | Z Top BBQ | |
| 6 | RedHog BBQ | |
| 7 | The Bearded Pig | |
| 8 | Witts End BBQ | |
| 9 | Jugheads BBQ | |
| 10 | Blended Smoke BBQ | |
| 11 | Porkasaurus Rex BBQ | |
| 12 | Hoosier BBQ | |
| 13 | SMOKIN E'S BBQ | |
| 14 | Double Dee BBQ | |
| 15 | Fire Pig | |
| 16 | Steel Rails BBQ | |
| 17 | Que Lis Bbq | |
| 18 | Sucker Punch BBQ |