Smoke in the Mitten
2025-05-09 – 2025-05-10 · Westland, MI · 📍 Bova VFW 9885 · State championship
Reps: KENT SCHUETZ, RACHEL SCHUETZ · Prize money: $6,100.00
Grand Champion: iBQ'n (700.5256) · 26 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 TIRE SMOKE BBQ
Entries
26
4 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
700.5256
Winning margin
7.4860
GC over RC
Field average
671.25
median 678.17
Tightest race
Chicken
2.2972 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
681.5884
10th place overall
Field spread
105.3828
winner to last place
Prize money
$6,100.00
on the line
Double threats
4
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 46%
beats 54% of 1951 Master Series wins in the data
Traveled in
58%
of the 26 teams with a home region came from outside MI
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.65 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1581
avg power rating going in · stronger than 80% of contests
Storylines
🧳 Out-of-towners took the title
iBQ'n took the Grand Championship home to IN.
📸 Photo finishes
Chicken places 1–2: Sailor Nicks BBQ and iBQ'n tied on 180.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 4–5: TIRE SMOKE BBQ and BooyaQ tied on 177.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 2–3: Sailor Nicks BBQ and THE BBQ BUS tied on 176.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
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)
This contest over the years full contest page →
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-05-09 ← this one | Westland, MI | Bova VFW 9885 | 26 | 700.5256 | iBQ'n | TIRE SMOKE BBQ |
| 2025-05-09 | Westland, MI | Bova VFW 9885 | 21 | 180.0000 | Full Belly BBQ | — |
| 2026-05-01 | Westland, MI | Bova VFW 9885 | 34 | 697.0740 | Shiggin Aint Easy | WE WILL ROCK QUE |
| 2026-05-01 | Westland, MI | Bova VFW 9885 | 24 | 177.7144 | BO-B-Q | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180.0000 | 177.7028 | 171.9772 |
| Pork Ribs | 177.7028 | 174.2628 | 169.6916 |
| Pork | 177.7372 | 174.8456 | 170.8228 |
| Brisket | 178.8572 | 173.1428 | 171.9656 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
26 entries · top 700.5256 · median 678.1712
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | iBQ'n | |
| 2 | TIRE SMOKE BBQ | |
| 3 | MAC ATTACK BBQ | |
| 4 | Sailor Nicks BBQ | |
| 5 | Shiggin aint easy | |
| 6 | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS | |
| 7 | WE WILL ROCK QUE | |
| 8 | BooyaQ | |
| 9 | Backdraft BBQ | |
| 10 | M R BBQ | |
| 11 | Buckeye Flavor | |
| 12 | THE REAL SMOKIN ACES | |
| 13 | Bleacher Bums BBQ | |
| 14 | Q-JITSU | |
| 15 | Buckeye Blue Smoke BBQ | |
| 16 | DAT'S BBQ | |
| 17 | THE BBQ BUS | |
| 18 | BBQ Maestros | |
| 19 | MEAN MOE'S BBQ | |
| 20 | JAYBIRD'S BBQ | |
| 21 | Sky High BBQ | |
| 22 | Thin Blue BBQ | |
| 23 | BO B Q BBQ | |
| 24 | SUCKA BONE BBQ TEAM | |
| 25 | Drum Smoke BBQ | |
| 26 | On The Brink Barbecue |
Chicken
26 entries · top 180.0000 · median 170.5428 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sailor Nicks BBQ | |
| 2 | iBQ'n | |
| 3 | DAT'S BBQ | |
| 4 | TIRE SMOKE BBQ | |
| 5 | BooyaQ | |
| 6 | MAC ATTACK BBQ | |
| 7 | Buckeye Blue Smoke BBQ | |
| 8 | M R BBQ | |
| 9 | WE WILL ROCK QUE | |
| 10 | BO B Q BBQ | |
| 11 | Sky High BBQ | |
| 12 | Backdraft BBQ | |
| 13 | JAYBIRD'S BBQ | |
| 14 | Buckeye Flavor | |
| 15 | THE BBQ BUS | |
| 16 | THE REAL SMOKIN ACES | |
| 17 | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS | |
| 18 | Bleacher Bums BBQ | |
| 19 | Shiggin aint easy | |
| 20 | BBQ Maestros | |
| 21 | Q-JITSU | |
| 22 | MEAN MOE'S BBQ | |
| 23 | Thin Blue BBQ | |
| 24 | On The Brink Barbecue | |
| 25 | SUCKA BONE BBQ TEAM | |
| 26 | Drum Smoke BBQ |
Pork Ribs
26 entries · top 177.7028 · median 168.5372
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Q-JITSU | |
| 2 | Sailor Nicks BBQ | |
| 3 | THE BBQ BUS | |
| 4 | MEAN MOE'S BBQ | |
| 5 | iBQ'n | |
| 6 | TIRE SMOKE BBQ | |
| 7 | MAC ATTACK BBQ | |
| 8 | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS | |
| 9 | WE WILL ROCK QUE | |
| 10 | Buckeye Blue Smoke BBQ | |
| 11 | THE REAL SMOKIN ACES | |
| 12 | M R BBQ | |
| 13 | BBQ Maestros | |
| 14 | Backdraft BBQ | |
| 15 | Shiggin aint easy | |
| 16 | Bleacher Bums BBQ | |
| 17 | Buckeye Flavor | |
| 18 | BooyaQ | |
| 19 | JAYBIRD'S BBQ | |
| 20 | Thin Blue BBQ | |
| 21 | Sky High BBQ | |
| 22 | SUCKA BONE BBQ TEAM | |
| 23 | DAT'S BBQ | |
| 24 | Drum Smoke BBQ | |
| 25 | BO B Q BBQ | |
| 26 | On The Brink Barbecue |
Pork
26 entries · top 177.7372 · median 169.6914
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | iBQ'n | |
| 2 | THE REAL SMOKIN ACES | |
| 3 | Shiggin aint easy | |
| 4 | MEAN MOE'S BBQ | |
| 5 | M R BBQ | |
| 6 | Buckeye Flavor | |
| 7 | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS | |
| 8 | Backdraft BBQ | |
| 9 | Bleacher Bums BBQ | |
| 10 | TIRE SMOKE BBQ | |
| 11 | THE BBQ BUS | |
| 12 | DAT'S BBQ | |
| 13 | BooyaQ | |
| 14 | WE WILL ROCK QUE | |
| 15 | SUCKA BONE BBQ TEAM | |
| 16 | Q-JITSU | |
| 17 | MAC ATTACK BBQ | |
| 18 | Buckeye Blue Smoke BBQ | |
| 19 | Thin Blue BBQ | |
| 20 | BBQ Maestros | |
| 21 | Sailor Nicks BBQ | |
| 22 | JAYBIRD'S BBQ | |
| 23 | Sky High BBQ | |
| 24 | BO B Q BBQ | |
| 25 | Drum Smoke BBQ | |
| 26 | On The Brink Barbecue |
Brisket
26 entries · top 178.8572 · median 169.4000
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shiggin aint easy | |
| 2 | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS | |
| 3 | MAC ATTACK BBQ | |
| 4 | Bleacher Bums BBQ | |
| 5 | Backdraft BBQ | |
| 6 | JAYBIRD'S BBQ | |
| 7 | WE WILL ROCK QUE | |
| 8 | BBQ Maestros | |
| 9 | BooyaQ | |
| 10 | DAT'S BBQ | |
| 11 | Buckeye Flavor | |
| 12 | TIRE SMOKE BBQ | |
| 13 | Thin Blue BBQ | |
| 14 | Sky High BBQ | |
| 15 | Sailor Nicks BBQ | |
| 16 | iBQ'n | |
| 17 | Q-JITSU | |
| 18 | THE REAL SMOKIN ACES | |
| 19 | Drum Smoke BBQ | |
| 20 | Buckeye Blue Smoke BBQ | |
| 21 | M R BBQ | |
| 22 | BO B Q BBQ | |
| 23 | MEAN MOE'S BBQ | |
| 24 | THE BBQ BUS | |
| 25 | SUCKA BONE BBQ TEAM | |
| 26 | On The Brink Barbecue |
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
7 entries · top 179.4400 · median 169.1428
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DAT'S BBQ | |
| 2 | Shiggin aint easy | |
| 3 | Buckeye Flavor | |
| 4 | Feathered Fire | |
| 5 | SUCKA BONE BBQ TEAM | |
| 6 | On The Brink Barbecue | |
| 7 | iBQ'n |