First State BBQ Bash

2025-09-26 – 2025-09-27 · Milford, DE · 📍 20142 Beaver Dam Dr · State championship

Reps: BILL JONES, LOUISE WEIDNER · Prize money: $3,600.00

Grand Champion: Drilling & Grilling (697.6688) · 25 teams

Reserve Champion: 🥈 OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE

🥇

DRILLING & GRILLING

697.6688 · Master Series — Overall

🥈

OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE

697.0856 · Master Series — Overall

🥉

Mispillion Meat Works

694.2172 · Master Series — Overall

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.

606.66 median 681.65 697.67 🏆

How the meats cooked

Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.

Master Series — Chicken 178.86
Master Series — Pork Ribs 179.44
Master Series — Pork 177.70
Master Series — Brisket 180.00 🔥
Backyard Series — Chicken 177.71
Backyard Series — Pork Ribs 174.27

143.94 180.00

Winning score by edition

What it has taken to win here, 2025 to 2025 — this edition picked out.

Entries

6 judged meats

Top score

697.6688

Winning margin

0.5832

GC over RC

Field average

672.56

606.66697.67

median 681.65 · last place to winner

Perfect 180s

1 🔥

HotMess BBQ (Brisket)

Tightest race

Pork

2.2856 pts across the top 5

Top-10 cutoff

685.0972

606.66697.67

10th place overall

Field spread

91.0060

winner to last place

Prize money

$3,600.00

on the line

Most consistent

OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE

avg finish 6.50 across 4 meats

Double threats

teams with 2+ top-5 calls

Widest winning margin

Pork Ribs

won by 1.7256 pts — OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE

How hot was the win?

Top 42%

beats 58% of 4707 Master Series wins in the data

Form held

Strong

ρ = -0.76 between pre-contest rating and finish

Field strength

1593

avg power rating going in · stronger than 74% of contests

Top-rated in the field

BOGGS HOG BBQ

rated 1823 pre-contest

Storylines (6 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.

A razor-thin finish

0.5832 points between champion and reserve

Closer than 89% of the 4,742 championships in the data

The Grand Championship was decided by 0.5832 points — closer than 89% of every championship in the data.

Drilling & Grilling
OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE

An upset on the books

30-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings

The ratings favoured the top seed the other 70 times in 100

DRILLING & GRILLING came in rated below the field's top team, BOGGS HOG BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 30-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.

champion 1673
top seed 1823

Won without a category win

3 of 4 meats called to the stage

DRILLING & GRILLING won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 3 calls from 4 boards, best of them 4th. Consistency beat fireworks.

Chicken 13th
Pork Ribs 5th
Pork 7th
Brisket 4th

A dynasty in the making

2× wins at this contest

2 of 4 tracked editions

Fire & Shine BBQ has won this contest 2 times across its 4 tracked editions.

2025
2025

Photo finishes

Tie closest of 16 calls decided inside half a point

Master Series — Chicken places 1–2: 3 EYZ BBQ and HotMess BBQ tied on 178.8572 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Master Series — Chicken places 6–7: OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE and B'S QUE tied on 174.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Master Series — Pork Ribs places 4–5: Mispillion Meat Works and DRILLING & GRILLING tied on 175.4172 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.

Master Series — Chicken 1–2 · tie
Master Series — Chicken 6–7 · tie
Master Series — Pork Ribs 4–5 · tie
Master Series — Pork Ribs 7–8 · tie

A perfect score on the table

1 perfect 180s

1 perfect 180 was scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.

HotMess BBQ · Brisket

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)

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
2025-09-26 ← this one	Milford, DE	20142 Beaver Dam Dr	25	697.6688	Drilling & Grilling	OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE
2025-09-26	Milford, DE	20142 Beaver Dam Dr	16	176.0116	Fire & Shine BBQ	—
2025-09-26	Milford, DE	20142 Beaver Dam Dr	12	178.8572	Rough Cut Q	—
2025-09-28	Milford, DE	20142 Beaver Dam Dr	14	352.0000	Fire & Shine BBQ	—
2026-09-25	Milford, DE	—	—	—	—	—
2026-09-27	Milford, DE	—	—	—	—	—

What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)

Category	1st	5th	10th
Master Series — Chicken	178.8572	174.2744	172.0000
Master Series — Pork Ribs	179.4400	175.4172	171.4056
Master Series — Pork	177.7028	175.4172	173.1200
Master Series — Brisket	180.0000	177.7028	170.2628
Backyard Series — Chicken	177.7144	173.1200	163.9772
Backyard Series — Pork Ribs	174.2744	170.8228	166.2516

Official results on kcbs.us ↗

Master Series

Overall

25 entries · top 697.6688 · median 681.6456

#	Team	Score
1	DRILLING & GRILLING	697.6688
2	OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE	697.0856
3	Mispillion Meat Works	694.2172
4	HotMess BBQ	693.6572
5	BOGGS HOG BBQ	690.7656
6	Dog Bite Barbecue	690.7656
7	SWEET BELLY'S BBQ	687.3604
8	BLUE & GRAY BBQ	687.3600
9	GLAZED AND INFUSED NEW JERSEY BBQ	685.6456
10	PIG CANDY BARBEQUE CO.	685.0972
11	3 EYZ BBQ	684.4684
12	MRC_Barbecue	683.9200
13	UP IN SMOKERS	681.6456
14	B'S QUE	679.8972
15	Sasquatch Inferno	671.9316
16	PHILLY BLIND PIG BBQ	669.5656
17	SMOKIN' WITH POPS BBQ TEAM	666.7660
18	smokey anderson bbq	662.1256
19	BLUE EYED BBQ	661.6116
20	Rollin' Smoke	658.1712
21	LAKEVIEW BBQ	647.7712
22	BIG D'S BBQ - DE	643.8860
23	PHAT BASTERDZ BBQ	643.3260
24	FAT MAXINE'S BBQ	642.7316
25	Whiskey Business BBQ	606.6628

Chicken

25 entries · top 178.8572 · median 170.2744

#	Team	Score
1	3 EYZ BBQ	178.8572
2	HotMess BBQ	178.8572
3	BOGGS HOG BBQ	177.7028
4	UP IN SMOKERS	175.4056
5	BLUE EYED BBQ	174.2744
6	OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE	174.2628
7	B'S QUE	174.2628
8	Mispillion Meat Works	173.1200
9	PIG CANDY BARBEQUE CO.	172.5600
10	GLAZED AND INFUSED NEW JERSEY BBQ	172.0000
11	BLUE & GRAY BBQ	171.4056
12	SMOKIN' WITH POPS BBQ TEAM	170.8228
13	DRILLING & GRILLING	170.2744
14	FAT MAXINE'S BBQ	168.5256
15	Dog Bite Barbecue	168.5256
16	PHILLY BLIND PIG BBQ	167.3828
17	Sasquatch Inferno	164.5372
18	MRC_Barbecue	162.2744
19	PHAT BASTERDZ BBQ	161.6916
20	Rollin' Smoke	161.6572
21	smokey anderson bbq	161.0856
22	SWEET BELLY'S BBQ	160.5144
23	BIG D'S BBQ - DE	157.0972
24	LAKEVIEW BBQ	157.0512
25	Whiskey Business BBQ	151.9428

Pork Ribs

25 entries · top 179.4400 · median 169.6800

#	Team	Score
1	OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE	179.4400
2	BOGGS HOG BBQ	177.7144
3	Sasquatch Inferno	175.4744
4	Mispillion Meat Works	175.4172
5	DRILLING & GRILLING	175.4172
6	Dog Bite Barbecue	174.8572
7	MRC_Barbecue	173.1200
8	PIG CANDY BARBEQUE CO.	173.1200
9	UP IN SMOKERS	171.9772
10	Rollin' Smoke	171.4056
11	SWEET BELLY'S BBQ	170.8344
12	B'S QUE	170.2628
13	smokey anderson bbq	169.6800
14	PHILLY BLIND PIG BBQ	168.5372
15	LAKEVIEW BBQ	166.2284
16	3 EYZ BBQ	165.6684
17	HotMess BBQ	165.1200
18	BLUE & GRAY BBQ	164.5372
19	GLAZED AND INFUSED NEW JERSEY BBQ	163.3828
20	BIG D'S BBQ - DE	162.8688
21	SMOKIN' WITH POPS BBQ TEAM	162.8344
22	FAT MAXINE'S BBQ	161.0972
23	BLUE EYED BBQ	157.6800
24	PHAT BASTERDZ BBQ	155.3944
25	Whiskey Business BBQ	145.6572

Pork

25 entries · top 177.7028 · median 169.6800

#	Team	Score
1	MRC_Barbecue	177.7028
2	SWEET BELLY'S BBQ	177.1544
3	GLAZED AND INFUSED NEW JERSEY BBQ	176.0000
4	PIG CANDY BARBEQUE CO.	175.4400
5	Mispillion Meat Works	175.4172
6	OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE	174.8572
7	DRILLING & GRILLING	174.2744
8	BLUE & GRAY BBQ	173.1200
9	BOGGS HOG BBQ	173.1200
10	Dog Bite Barbecue	173.1200
11	Sasquatch Inferno	171.9656
12	B'S QUE	169.6916
13	HotMess BBQ	169.6800
14	BLUE EYED BBQ	168.5372
15	UP IN SMOKERS	165.7372
16	SMOKIN' WITH POPS BBQ TEAM	165.1200
17	Rollin' Smoke	164.5256
18	Whiskey Business BBQ	163.9772
19	LAKEVIEW BBQ	163.3944
20	BIG D'S BBQ - DE	163.3828
21	PHILLY BLIND PIG BBQ	163.3828
22	PHAT BASTERDZ BBQ	162.8228
23	smokey anderson bbq	162.8000
24	3 EYZ BBQ	162.2400
25	FAT MAXINE'S BBQ	158.2744

Brisket

25 entries · top 180.0000 · median 168.5256 · 🔥 perfect 180

#	Team	Score
1	HotMess BBQ	180.0000 🔥
2	SWEET BELLY'S BBQ	178.8572
3	BLUE & GRAY BBQ	178.2972
4	DRILLING & GRILLING	177.7028
5	3 EYZ BBQ	177.7028
6	Dog Bite Barbecue	174.2628
7	GLAZED AND INFUSED NEW JERSEY BBQ	174.2628
8	MRC_Barbecue	170.8228
9	PHILLY BLIND PIG BBQ	170.2628
10	Mispillion Meat Works	170.2628
11	smokey anderson bbq	168.5600
12	UP IN SMOKERS	168.5256
13	OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE	168.5256
14	SMOKIN' WITH POPS BBQ TEAM	167.9888
15	B'S QUE	165.6800
16	PIG CANDY BARBEQUE CO.	163.9772
17	PHAT BASTERDZ BBQ	163.4172
18	BOGGS HOG BBQ	162.2284
19	BLUE EYED BBQ	161.1200
20	LAKEVIEW BBQ	161.0972
21	Rollin' Smoke	160.5828
22	BIG D'S BBQ - DE	160.5372
23	Sasquatch Inferno	159.9544
24	FAT MAXINE'S BBQ	154.8344
25	Whiskey Business BBQ	145.0856

Backyard Series

Overall

16 entries · top 348.5372 · median 337.3658

#	Team	Score
1	FIRE & SHINE BBQ	348.5372
2	Rough Cut Q	348.5256
3	Better Half Barbecue	346.2400
4	Capt. Blue BBQ	343.9888
5	Oink N' Doink BBQ	343.9428
6	All About the Wood	342.8232
7	Hot Thang BBQ	337.6916
8	Backwooder BBQ	337.6572
9	Brewski's BBQ Competition Team	337.0744
10	Leaning Jowler BBQ	335.3600
11	Castleton Q	329.6916
12	Ol' Blue BBQ	326.2856
13	30Q	319.3260
14	Squeals like the First Time	314.1828
15	Bay Brothers BBQ	313.0284
16	BONE A FIDE	306.7428

Chicken

16 entries · top 177.7144 · median 169.6858

#	Team	Score
1	FIRE & SHINE BBQ	177.7144
2	Rough Cut Q	177.7028
3	Better Half Barbecue	176.5600
4	Oink N' Doink BBQ	174.2628
5	Brewski's BBQ Competition Team	173.1200
6	Capt. Blue BBQ	172.0116
7	Backwooder BBQ	171.4056
8	Leaning Jowler BBQ	170.8228
9	All About the Wood	168.5488
10	Hot Thang BBQ	163.9772
11	Castleton Q	162.8572
12	BONE A FIDE	162.8000
13	Ol' Blue BBQ	160.0000
14	30Q	159.3716
15	Bay Brothers BBQ	158.8000
16	Squeals like the First Time	152.5256

Pork Ribs

16 entries · top 174.2744 · median 166.5600

#	Team	Score
1	All About the Wood	174.2744
2	Hot Thang BBQ	173.7144
3	Capt. Blue BBQ	171.9772
4	FIRE & SHINE BBQ	170.8228
5	Rough Cut Q	170.8228
6	Oink N' Doink BBQ	169.6800
7	Better Half Barbecue	169.6800
8	Castleton Q	166.8344
9	Ol' Blue BBQ	166.2856
10	Backwooder BBQ	166.2516
11	Leaning Jowler BBQ	164.5372
12	Brewski's BBQ Competition Team	163.9544
13	Squeals like the First Time	161.6572
14	30Q	159.9544
15	Bay Brothers BBQ	154.2284
16	BONE A FIDE	143.9428

First State BBQ Bash

The contest at a glance (read off the scored boards)

How the field scored

How the meats cooked

Winning score by edition

Entries

Top score

Winning margin

Field average

Perfect 180s

Tightest race

Top-10 cutoff

Field spread

Prize money

Most consistent

Double threats

Widest winning margin

How hot was the win?

Form held

Field strength

Top-rated in the field

Storylines (6 found in this contest's numbers)

A razor-thin finish

An upset on the books

Won without a category win

A dynasty in the making

Photo finishes

A perfect score on the table

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 →

What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)

Official results on kcbs.us ↗

Master Series

Overall

Chicken

Pork Ribs

Pork

Brisket

Backyard Series

Overall

Chicken

Pork Ribs