A knife fight at the top
4.5832
points across the top five
First to fifth in the overall standings covered just 4.5832 points.
- 1st HICKORY HANGOVER
- 2nd Serial Grillers
- 3rd Electro-Que-ted
- 4th Gustoso BBQ
- 5th PUDDLEDUCK BBQ
WhistleStop BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) 2025
Oct 17–18, 2025 · Huntsville, AL · 📍 1030 Mid City Drive
Reps: Carol Bigler, Randy G Bigler · Prize money: $4,300
HICKORY HANGOVER won Grand Champion at the WhistleStop BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) on October 17, 2025 in Huntsville, AL at 1030 Mid City Drive, scoring 354.2744 in a field of 39 teams. Serial Grillers took Reserve Grand Champion with 353.1200. Category winners: Chicken — Electro-Que-ted (178.8572); Pork Ribs — PUDDLEDUCK BBQ (178.8800). This is the 2nd of 3 editions of this contest on record; the 2024 edition was won by Deviant Smoke; the next is scheduled for October 16, 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.
161.67
median 334.87
354.27 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 178.86
- Pork Ribs 178.88
144.53
178.88
Entries
39
2 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
354.2744
Winning margin
1.1544
GC over RC
Field average
327.37
161.67354.27
median 334.87 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
1.1544 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
345.1088
161.67354.27
10th place overall
Field spread
192.6060
winner to last place
Prize money
$4,300
on the line
How hot was the win?
Top 19%
beats 81% of 610 Backyard Series wins in the data
Came back for more
40%
20 of 50 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.41 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,535
avg power rating going in · stronger than 25% of contests
Storylines (2 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.
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 7 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 1–2: Electro-Que-ted and HICKORY HANGOVER tied on 178.8572 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 2–3: HICKORY HANGOVER and Wee Daddy's BBQ tied on 178.8572 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 6–7: Smoke'Em All and Serial Grillers tied on 176.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 1–2 · tie
- Chicken 2–3 · tie
- Chicken 6–7 · tie
- Pork Ribs 3–4 · tie
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 18, 2024 | Huntsville, AL | Mid-City District | 50 | 358.2972 | Deviant Smoke |
| Oct 17, 2025 ← this one | Huntsville, AL | 1030 Mid City Drive | 39 | 354.2744 | Hickory Hangover |
| Oct 16, 2026 | Huntsville, AL | — | — | — | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 178.8572 | 177.7028 | 170.8456 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.8800 | 175.4516 | 173.7372 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Backyard Series
Overall
39 entries · top 354.2744 · median 334.8688
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | HICKORY HANGOVER | |
| 2 | Serial Grillers | |
| 3 | Electro-Que-ted | |
| 4 | Gustoso BBQ | |
| 5 | PUDDLEDUCK BBQ | |
| 6 | Hensel Phelps | |
| 7 | Wee Daddy's BBQ | |
| 8 | LEE LA Q | |
| 9 | Smoke Rings & BBQ Dreams | |
| 10 | Los Diablos | |
| 11 | Smoke'Em All | |
| 12 | GSP Barbecue | |
| 13 | Window World | |
| 14 | All Things Covered in Smoke | |
| 15 | Smokeaholics | |
| 16 | Big Back BBQ | |
| 17 | Say My Name BBQ | |
| 18 | Coldwater Creek | |
| 19 | Beefis and Butthead | |
| 20 | You Don't Win Friends with Salad | |
| 21 | Full Throttle BBQ | |
| 22 | Blood, Sweat, & Titos | |
| 23 | Slice to Meat You | |
| 24 | SportsPage Smokers | |
| 25 | Big Beautiful BBQ | |
| 26 | Just For Fun BBQ | |
| 27 | El Heffe Q | |
| 28 | PIG'N AND CHICK'N | |
| 29 | Boob-B-Q | |
| 30 | Boar on the Floor | |
| 31 | Butt Dust Backyard BBQ | |
| 32 | Limp Brizkit | |
| 33 | Last Place Chicken | |
| 34 | RFCU SMOKE WHISPERERS | |
| 35 | A BBQ Team Divided | |
| 36 | TWO CATS | |
| 37 | Boss Hawgs | |
| 38 | 4th and Pork | |
| 39 | Last Place Last Year |
Chicken
38 entries · top 178.8572 · median 168.5428
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Electro-Que-ted | |
| 2 | HICKORY HANGOVER | |
| 3 | Wee Daddy's BBQ | |
| 4 | Gustoso BBQ | |
| 5 | Say My Name BBQ | |
| 6 | Smoke'Em All | |
| 7 | Serial Grillers | |
| 8 | Los Diablos | |
| 9 | LEE LA Q | |
| 10 | Hensel Phelps | |
| 11 | GSP Barbecue | |
| 12 | PUDDLEDUCK BBQ | |
| 13 | Beefis and Butthead | |
| 14 | Slice to Meat You | |
| 15 | Full Throttle BBQ | |
| 16 | Smoke Rings & BBQ Dreams | |
| 17 | Smokeaholics | |
| 18 | Boar on the Floor | |
| 19 | Window World | |
| 20 | Big Back BBQ | |
| 21 | PIG'N AND CHICK'N | |
| 22 | All Things Covered in Smoke | |
| 23 | You Don't Win Friends with Salad | |
| 24 | Big Beautiful BBQ | |
| 25 | SportsPage Smokers | |
| 26 | Blood, Sweat, & Titos | |
| 27 | Last Place Chicken | |
| 28 | Butt Dust Backyard BBQ | |
| 29 | RFCU SMOKE WHISPERERS | |
| 30 | A BBQ Team Divided | |
| 31 | El Heffe Q | |
| 32 | Boss Hawgs | |
| 33 | Just For Fun BBQ | |
| 34 | Last Place Last Year | |
| 35 | Boob-B-Q | |
| 36 | Coldwater Creek | |
| 37 | Limp Brizkit | |
| 38 | TWO CATS |
Pork Ribs
38 entries · top 178.8800 · median 169.1258
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | PUDDLEDUCK BBQ | |
| 2 | Hensel Phelps | |
| 3 | Coldwater Creek | |
| 4 | Serial Grillers | |
| 5 | Smoke Rings & BBQ Dreams | |
| 6 | HICKORY HANGOVER | |
| 7 | LEE LA Q | |
| 8 | All Things Covered in Smoke | |
| 9 | Gustoso BBQ | |
| 10 | Window World | |
| 11 | Electro-Que-ted | |
| 12 | GSP Barbecue | |
| 13 | Big Back BBQ | |
| 14 | Smokeaholics | |
| 15 | Los Diablos | |
| 16 | You Don't Win Friends with Salad | |
| 17 | Limp Brizkit | |
| 18 | Just For Fun BBQ | |
| 19 | El Heffe Q | |
| 20 | Wee Daddy's BBQ | |
| 21 | Blood, Sweat, & Titos | |
| 22 | Smoke'Em All | |
| 23 | 4th and Pork | |
| 24 | SportsPage Smokers | |
| 25 | Boob-B-Q | |
| 26 | Big Beautiful BBQ | |
| 27 | TWO CATS | |
| 28 | Beefis and Butthead | |
| 29 | Full Throttle BBQ | |
| 30 | Slice to Meat You | |
| 31 | Butt Dust Backyard BBQ | |
| 32 | Say My Name BBQ | |
| 33 | PIG'N AND CHICK'N | |
| 34 | Boar on the Floor | |
| 35 | RFCU SMOKE WHISPERERS | |
| 36 | Last Place Chicken | |
| 37 | A BBQ Team Divided | |
| 38 | Boss Hawgs |
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
8 entries · top 180 · median 173.1314 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Angie Siddiqui | |
| 2 | Full Throttle BBQ | |
| 3 | Big Back BBQ | |
| 4 | Slice to Meat You | |
| 5 | Electro-Que-ted | |
| 6 | LEE LA Q | |
| 7 | Bethany Brown | |
| 8 | All Things Covered in Smoke |