East Central State BBQ Cookoff
2025-08-22 – 2025-08-23 · Paola, KS · 📍 City Square · State championship
Reps: FORREST BRUCE, LARRY HADLEY · Prize money: $4,500.00
Grand Champion: Go Pig or Go Home (705.0740) · 27 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 Smoke This Drink That BBQ
Entries
Top score
Winning margin
Field average
Tightest race
Top-10 cutoff
Field spread
Prize money
Double threats
How hot was the win?
Traveled in
Form held
Field strength
Storylines
🧳 Out-of-towners took the title
Go Pig or Go Home took the Grand Championship home to MO.
📸 Photo finishes
Chicken places 7–8: MAN MEAT BBQ and IN DEEP SAUCE tied on 175.4172 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 4–5: Go Pig or Go Home and LOVE 2 Q tied on 176.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 7–8: MAN MEAT BBQ and Aww Shucks BBQ tied on 173.1200 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
🃏 An upset on the books
Go Pig or Go Home came in rated below the field's top team, MAN MEAT BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 31-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)
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180.0000 | 177.7028 | 173.1200 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.8572 | 176.5600 | 170.8344 |
| Pork | 177.7028 | 174.2628 | 167.9884 |
| Brisket | 178.8572 | 175.4056 | 173.1200 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
27 entries · top 705.0740 · median 672.4340
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Go Pig or Go Home | |
| 2 | Smoke This Drink That BBQ | |
| 3 | GETTIN' SAUCED | |
| 4 | MAN MEAT BBQ | |
| 5 | LOVE 2 Q | |
| 6 | WOOD HOOK BBQ | |
| 7 | MUNNY'S STOVE | |
| 8 | Aww Shucks BBQ | |
| 9 | FINGER LEIKAM GOOD | |
| 10 | Summa Dat Que | |
| 11 | Bushwood BBQ | |
| 12 | Smoked & Furious | |
| 13 | KEEP CALM & SAUCE ON | |
| 14 | PayHeed BBQ | |
| 15 | The Drunken Sailor | |
| 16 | IN DEEP SAUCE | |
| 17 | Taylor Made BBQ | |
| 18 | Smokey and the Brisket | |
| 19 | SMOOTH SMOKE | |
| 20 | Wea Street BBQ | |
| 21 | AM & PM SMOKERS | |
| 22 | Beaux Hogs BBQ | |
| 23 | Gomer & Barney BBQ | |
| 24 | KC FINE SWINES | |
| 25 | Making BBQ Great Again | |
| 26 | Royal Smoke | |
| 27 | J & M BBQ |
Chicken
27 entries · top 180.0000 · median 171.4056 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Go Pig or Go Home | |
| 2 | LOVE 2 Q | |
| 3 | Bushwood BBQ | |
| 4 | Summa Dat Que | |
| 5 | The Drunken Sailor | |
| 6 | FINGER LEIKAM GOOD | |
| 7 | MAN MEAT BBQ | |
| 8 | IN DEEP SAUCE | |
| 9 | GETTIN' SAUCED | |
| 10 | MUNNY'S STOVE | |
| 11 | WOOD HOOK BBQ | |
| 12 | Smoke This Drink That BBQ | |
| 13 | KC FINE SWINES | |
| 14 | AM & PM SMOKERS | |
| 15 | Smokey and the Brisket | |
| 16 | KEEP CALM & SAUCE ON | |
| 17 | PayHeed BBQ | |
| 18 | Smoked & Furious | |
| 19 | Aww Shucks BBQ | |
| 20 | Taylor Made BBQ | |
| 21 | Beaux Hogs BBQ | |
| 22 | SMOOTH SMOKE | |
| 23 | Making BBQ Great Again | |
| 24 | Gomer & Barney BBQ | |
| 25 | Wea Street BBQ | |
| 26 | Royal Smoke | |
| 27 | J & M BBQ |
Pork Ribs
27 entries · top 178.8572 · median 167.9656
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | GETTIN' SAUCED | |
| 2 | Smoke This Drink That BBQ | |
| 3 | WOOD HOOK BBQ | |
| 4 | Go Pig or Go Home | |
| 5 | LOVE 2 Q | |
| 6 | FINGER LEIKAM GOOD | |
| 7 | MAN MEAT BBQ | |
| 8 | Aww Shucks BBQ | |
| 9 | PayHeed BBQ | |
| 10 | Smoked & Furious | |
| 11 | Bushwood BBQ | |
| 12 | Summa Dat Que | |
| 13 | KEEP CALM & SAUCE ON | |
| 14 | SMOOTH SMOKE | |
| 15 | Smokey and the Brisket | |
| 16 | Wea Street BBQ | |
| 17 | MUNNY'S STOVE | |
| 18 | Taylor Made BBQ | |
| 19 | The Drunken Sailor | |
| 20 | AM & PM SMOKERS | |
| 21 | Royal Smoke | |
| 22 | IN DEEP SAUCE | |
| 23 | Gomer & Barney BBQ | |
| 24 | J & M BBQ | |
| 25 | Making BBQ Great Again | |
| 26 | KC FINE SWINES | |
| 27 | Beaux Hogs BBQ |
Pork
27 entries · top 177.7028 · median 165.6800
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | MUNNY'S STOVE | |
| 2 | Go Pig or Go Home | |
| 3 | Aww Shucks BBQ | |
| 4 | Smoke This Drink That BBQ | |
| 5 | MAN MEAT BBQ | |
| 6 | Summa Dat Que | |
| 7 | WOOD HOOK BBQ | |
| 8 | PayHeed BBQ | |
| 9 | IN DEEP SAUCE | |
| 10 | Smoked & Furious | |
| 11 | GETTIN' SAUCED | |
| 12 | Bushwood BBQ | |
| 13 | KEEP CALM & SAUCE ON | |
| 14 | The Drunken Sailor | |
| 15 | FINGER LEIKAM GOOD | |
| 16 | Beaux Hogs BBQ | |
| 17 | Wea Street BBQ | |
| 18 | SMOOTH SMOKE | |
| 19 | Taylor Made BBQ | |
| 20 | LOVE 2 Q | |
| 21 | Royal Smoke | |
| 22 | Smokey and the Brisket | |
| 23 | KC FINE SWINES | |
| 24 | Making BBQ Great Again | |
| 25 | AM & PM SMOKERS | |
| 26 | Gomer & Barney BBQ | |
| 27 | J & M BBQ |
Brisket
27 entries · top 178.8572 · median 166.2516
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Smoked & Furious | |
| 2 | LOVE 2 Q | |
| 3 | MUNNY'S STOVE | |
| 4 | GETTIN' SAUCED | |
| 5 | WOOD HOOK BBQ | |
| 6 | Smoke This Drink That BBQ | |
| 7 | Aww Shucks BBQ | |
| 8 | MAN MEAT BBQ | |
| 9 | KEEP CALM & SAUCE ON | |
| 10 | FINGER LEIKAM GOOD | |
| 11 | Gomer & Barney BBQ | |
| 12 | Go Pig or Go Home | |
| 13 | Wea Street BBQ | |
| 14 | Bushwood BBQ | |
| 15 | Summa Dat Que | |
| 16 | PayHeed BBQ | |
| 17 | Taylor Made BBQ | |
| 18 | IN DEEP SAUCE | |
| 19 | SMOOTH SMOKE | |
| 20 | The Drunken Sailor | |
| 21 | Beaux Hogs BBQ | |
| 22 | Smokey and the Brisket | |
| 23 | Making BBQ Great Again | |
| 24 | AM & PM SMOKERS | |
| 25 | KC FINE SWINES | |
| 26 | Royal Smoke | |
| 27 | J & M BBQ |
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 — Sausage
10 entries · top 176.5600 · median 171.9886