A new contest record
710.8572
highest overall ever cooked here
710.8572 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 707.4056 Triple H BBQ set in 2022.
- old record 707.4056
- set 2022 by Triple H BBQ
BBQ & Fly-In on the River 2025
Aug 15–16, 2025 · Excelsior Springs, MO · 📍 201 E. Broadway · State championship
Reps: Dave Rogers, Forrest Bruce, Larry Hadley · Prize money: $8,550
Smoke This Drink That BBQ won Grand Champion at the BBQ & Fly-In on the River on August 15, 2025 in Excelsior Springs, MO at 201 E. Broadway, scoring 710.8572 in a field of 62 teams. MEAT RUSHMORE BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 704.5372. Category winners: Chicken — Smoke This Drink That BBQ (179.4400); Pork Ribs — Damn Fine Beef & Swine (180.0000); Pork — BLIND HOG BBQ (180.0000); Brisket — RAZORRACKS (179.4400). This is the 5th of 6 editions of this contest on record; the 2024 edition was won by Machete Boys BBQ; the next was held in 2026.
The contest at a glance (read off the scored boards)
How the field scored
Overall totals, every team on the board — tall stacks are where the pack sat.
612.38
median 684.17
710.86 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 179.44
- Pork Ribs 180 🔥
- Pork 180 🔥
- Brisket 179.44
145.12
180
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2020 to 2026 — this edition picked out.
Entries
62
4 judged meats · 3 ancillary
Top score
710.8572
Winning margin
6.3200
GC over RC
Field average
676.39
612.38710.86
median 684.17 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
3 🔥
Tightest race
Chicken
0.5828 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
697.6572
612.38710.86
10th place overall
Field spread
98.4800
winner to last place
Prize money
$8,550
on the line
Double threats
3
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 2%
beats 98% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
57%
37 of 65 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.75 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,602
avg power rating going in · stronger than 79% of contests
Storylines (8 found in this contest's numbers)
Everything below is read straight out of the results — the number on each card is the one that made it a story.
An upset on the books
20-in-100
shot on pre-contest ratings
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 80 times in 100
Smoke This Drink That BBQ came in rated below the field's top team, SLAPS BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 20-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
- champion 1691
- top seed 1929
A day of perfect scores
3
perfect 180s
3 perfect 180s were scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- BLIND HOG BBQ · Pork
- KEEP CALM & SAUCE ON · Pork
- Damn Fine Beef & Swine · Pork Ribs
A dynasty in the making
2×
wins at this contest
2 of 6 tracked editions
Triple H BBQ has won this contest 2 times across its 6 tracked editions.
- 2022
- 2026
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 19 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 1–2: Smoke This Drink That BBQ and RAZORRACKS tied on 179.4400 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 3–4: Take It Easy BBQ and MACHETE BOYS BBQ tied on 178.8572 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 4–5: MACHETE BOYS BBQ and PARTS 'R' SMOKIN tied on 178.8572 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 1–2 · tie
- Chicken 3–4 · tie
- Chicken 4–5 · tie
- Chicken 5–6 · tie
How the title was won
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
Smoke This Drink That BBQ took the title on 3 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was brisket at 12th.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 5th
- Pork 5th
- Brisket 12th
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: Machete Boys BBQ (won 2024).
- Machete Boys BBQ · 2024
One of the big ones
62
teams on the grounds
Bigger than 93% of the 5,462 contests in the data
62 teams — bigger than 93% of the 5,462 contests in the data.
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)
This contest over the years full contest page →
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 14, 2020 | Excelsior Springs, MO | 201 E Broadway | 55 | 703.3828 | Shake 'n Bake BBQ | GETTIN' SAUCED |
| Aug 19, 2022 | Excelsior Springs, MO | 201 E. Broadway | 54 | 707.4056 | Triple H BBQ | SLAPS BBQ |
| Aug 18, 2023 | Excelsior Springs, MO | 201 E. Broadway | 57 | 706.8344 | Gettin' Basted | MACHETE BOYS BBQ |
| Aug 16, 2024 | Excelsior Springs, MO | 201 E. Broadway | 65 | 703.9660 | Machete Boys BBQ | Ambition Que |
| Aug 15, 2025 ← this one | Excelsior Springs, MO | 201 E. Broadway | 62 | 710.8572 | Smoke This Drink That BBQ | MEAT RUSHMORE BBQ |
| Aug 14, 2026 | Excelsior Springs, MO | 201 E. Broadway | 83 | 711.9772 | Triple H BBQ | BBQ Maestros |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 179.4400 | 178.8572 | 177.7028 |
| Pork Ribs | 180 | 177.1544 | 174.3200 |
| Pork | 180 | 178.8572 | 176.5600 |
| Brisket | 179.4400 | 177.7144 | 175.4172 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
62 entries · top 710.8572 · median 684.1654
Chicken
62 entries · top 179.4400 · median 172.5428
Pork Ribs
62 entries · top 180 · median 169.6972 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork
62 entries · top 180 · median 171.1258 · 🔥 perfect 180
Brisket
62 entries · top 179.4400 · median 170.8228
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
11 entries · top 180 · median 177.7028 · 🔥 perfect 180
Ancillary — Pasta
14 entries · top 176 · median 170.5656
Ancillary — Turkey Smoke
37 entries · top 179.4400 · median 168.5256