2015-06-05 – 2015-06-06 · Lincoln, IL · 📍 Lincoln, IL 62656
Grand Champion: ST. LOUIS BLACK IRON BBQ (689.0740) · 40 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 THE CHILLY WATER SMOKERS
Overall totals, every team on the board — tall stacks are where the pack sat.
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
What it has taken to win here, 2013 to 2026 — this edition picked out.
Everything below is read straight out of the results — the number on each card is the one that made it a story.
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 70 times in 100
ST. LOUIS BLACK IRON BBQ came in rated below the field's top team, One2BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 30-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
ST. LOUIS BLACK IRON BBQ won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 3 calls from 4 boards, best of them 2nd. Consistency beat fireworks.
This was ST. LOUIS BLACK IRON BBQ's first Grand Championship in the data — it arrived at their 29th tracked contest.
Pork Ribs places 6–7: NUTHATCH HILL BBQ CO. and PORK PARADISE tied on 170.2744 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 9–10: TRUCKY'S TRUE BLU BBQ'UE and ONE2BBQ tied on 169.1200 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 8–9: MONSTERS OF THE RIBWAY and PORK PARADISE tied on 168.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
iBQ'n turned in 178.2972 in pork — past the 177.7372 that had stood across 2 earlier editions.
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: MONSTER-QUE (won 2014).
Records held by every edition of this contest put together, not just this one afternoon.
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-08-23 | Lincoln, IL | Lincoln, IL | 46 | 689.6916 | A BOY & HIS BBQ | Twyford's BBQ & Catering |
| 2014-08-22 | Lincoln, IL | Lincoln, IL 62656 | 50 | 699.4400 | MONSTER-QUE | IT'S 5 O'CLOCK SOMEWHERE |
| 2015-06-05 ← this one | Lincoln, IL | Lincoln, IL 62656 | 40 | 689.0740 | ST. LOUIS BLACK IRON BBQ | THE CHILLY WATER SMOKERS |
| 2016-06-03 | Lincoln, IL | Lincoln , IL 62656 | 52 | 685.6800 | OUTSIDERS BBQ | TRUCKY'S TRUE BLU BBQ'UE |
| 2017-06-02 | Lincoln, IL | Kilkapool/Plilaski | 32 | 695.8968 | IT'S 5 O'CLOCK SOMEWHERE | PORK PARADISE |
| 2018-06-01 | Lincoln, IL | Kilkapool/Plilaski | 40 | 687.3600 | SMOKIN ACES@THEBBQSUPERSTORE.COM | iBQ'n |
| 2019-05-31 | Lincoln, IL | Lincoln, IL 62656 | 36 | 682.8576 | The BBQ Bus | iBQ'n |
| 2021-06-04 | Lincoln, IL | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2023-08-25 | Lincoln, IL | 601 Pulaski Street | 26 | 346.8344 | 309 BBQ | — |
| 2024-08-23 | Lincoln, IL | 601 Pulaski Street | 28 | 350.8688 | Up From The Pits BBQ | — |
| 2025-08-22 | Lincoln, IL | 601 Pulaski Street | 31 | 357.7144 | Electro-Que-ted | — |
| 2026-08-28 | Lincoln, IL | 601 Pulaski Street | 16 | 349.6916 | Smokin E's BBQ | — |
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 176.5828 | 173.1200 | 167.9888 |
| Pork Ribs | 173.7028 | 170.2972 | 169.1084 |
| Pork | 178.2972 | 171.4284 | 169.1200 |
| Brisket | 174.2972 | 172.5828 | 168.5372 |
40 entries · top 689.0740 · median 645.3718
40 entries · top 176.5828 · median 164.2284
40 entries · top 173.7028 · median 165.6858
40 entries · top 178.2972 · median 162.2686
38 entries · top 174.2972 · median 163.0914
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.
21 entries · top 168.0116 · median 158.2400
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Big Foot BBQ | |
| 2 | Double D's Rack Shack | |
| 3 | JTA BBQ | |
| 4 | Doc's Rib Shack | |
| 5 | 12-24 BBQ | |
| 6 | OLD TYME BBQ | |
| 7 | Get Sauced BBQ | |
| 8 | Sugar Creek BBQ | |
| 9 | IJW Catering and Smoked Meats | |
| 10 | Paddy Que | |
| 11 | C J Smokehouse | |
| 12 | Smoke Shack Jack | |
| 13 | FIREHOUSE BBQ | |
| 14 | Gridiron Grillers | |
| 15 | Burnt Knuckles BBQ | |
| 16 | Pack-n-a-Charge BBQ | |
| 17 | 9-11 Q | |
| 18 | SMOKIN' A BONE BBQ | |
| 19 | BLUE BEAR'S BBQ | |
| 20 | Kennedy's Bad to the Bone BBQ | |
| 21 | Springfield Autobody Cook Team |
6 entries · top 177.1428 · median 170.0114
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Red, White $ BBQ | |
| 2 | Smoke Em All | |
| 3 | Sugar Creek Jr. BBQ | |
| 4 | Kicking Ash | |
| 5 | Desi Q | |
| 6 | Jet BBQ |
8 entries · top 175.4400 · median 169.9828
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Two Best Friends and a Grill | |
| 2 | Pantherburg | |
| 3 | Guardians of the Grill | |
| 4 | COUNTRY BOYS BBQ | |
| 5 | Little Nuthatch Hill | |
| 6 | Miller's Big Smoke | |
| 7 | Grilling in Style | |
| 8 | Rooney Que |
21 entries · top 169.1200 · median 156.5260
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Get Sauced BBQ | |
| 2 | BLUE BEAR'S BBQ | |
| 3 | 9-11 Q | |
| 4 | Pack-n-a-Charge BBQ | |
| 5 | JTA BBQ | |
| 6 | Smoke Shack Jack | |
| 7 | Paddy Que | |
| 8 | Sugar Creek BBQ | |
| 9 | OLD TYME BBQ | |
| 10 | Doc's Rib Shack | |
| 11 | SMOKIN' A BONE BBQ | |
| 12 | FIREHOUSE BBQ | |
| 13 | Kennedy's Bad to the Bone BBQ | |
| 14 | Gridiron Grillers | |
| 15 | Burnt Knuckles BBQ | |
| 16 | IJW Catering and Smoked Meats | |
| 17 | Double D's Rack Shack | |
| 18 | Big Foot BBQ | |
| 19 | 12-24 BBQ | |
| 20 | C J Smokehouse | |
| 21 | Springfield Autobody Cook Team |