A new contest record
713.1200
highest overall ever cooked here
713.1200 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 706.8344 BILLY RAY BBQ set in 2019.
- old record 706.8344
- set 2019 by BILLY RAY BBQ
Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship 2026
Mar 20–21, 2026 · Lebanon, TN · 📍 945 E. Baddour Pkwy · State championship
Reps: Carolyn Wells, Charlie Brinza, Connie Amidei, David Burstein, Jeanne Titus, Jonathan Amidei · Prize money: $10,000
RAZORRACKS won Grand Champion at the Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship on March 20, 2026 in Lebanon, TN at 945 E. Baddour Pkwy, scoring 713.1200 in a field of 125 teams. Kith n' Kin took Reserve Grand Champion with 710.8460. Category winners: Chicken — Kith n' Kin (180.0000); Pork Ribs — THUNDER HOG BBQ (180.0000); Pork — Killer B Backyard BBQ (180.0000); Brisket — TRIPLE H BBQ (180.0000). The Backyard Series standings were won by NORALA BBQ TEAM with 358.8572. This is the 9th of 14 editions of this contest on record; the 2025 edition was won by Smokey Bees BBQ - MS; the next was held in 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.
488.49
median 683.92
713.12 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Master Series — Chicken 180 🔥
- Master Series — Pork Ribs 180 🔥
- Master Series — Pork 180 🔥
- Master Series — Brisket 180 🔥
- Backyard Series — Chicken 180 🔥
- Backyard Series — Pork Ribs 178.86
- Ancillary — Pork 180 🔥
141.70
180
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2019 to 2026 — this edition picked out.
Entries
125
7 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
713.1200
Winning margin
2.2740
GC over RC
Field average
677.85
488.49713.12
median 683.92 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
23 🔥
Tightest race
Chicken
0 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
702.2400
488.49713.12
10th place overall
Field spread
224.6284
winner to last place
Prize money
$10,000
on the line
Double threats
4
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 1%
beats 99% of 4715 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.48 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,616
avg power rating going in · stronger than 86% of contests
Storylines (8 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.
Won without a category win
1 of 4
meats called to the stage
RAZORRACKS won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 1 call from 4 boards, best of them 2nd. Consistency beat fireworks.
- Chicken 14th
- Pork Ribs 2nd
- Pork 13th
- Brisket 13th
A day of perfect scores
23
perfect 180s
23 perfect 180s were scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- 2 Swine Crew · Pork
- WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ · Pork
- NORALA BBQ TEAM · Chicken
A dynasty in the making
2×
wins at this contest
2 of 11 tracked editions
TRIPLE H BBQ has won this contest 2 times across its 11 tracked editions.
- 2023
- 2025
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 40 calls decided inside half a point
Master Series — Chicken places 1–2: Kith n' Kin and POOH BEAR BBQ tied on 180.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Master Series — Chicken places 2–3: POOH BEAR BBQ and LOCAL YOKELS BBQ tied on 180.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Master Series — Chicken places 3–4: LOCAL YOKELS BBQ and BAD ROOSTER BBQ tied on 180.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Master Series — Chicken 1–2 · tie
- Master Series — Chicken 2–3 · tie
- Master Series — Chicken 3–4 · tie
- Master Series — Chicken 4–5 · tie
Back to defend
6
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: BILLY RAY BBQ (won 2019), THE BBQ BUS (won 2021), TRIPLE H BBQ (won 2023, 2025), KITH N' KIN (won 2023), Meat Me in St. Louis (won 2024), Smokey Bees BBQ - MS (won 2025).
- BILLY RAY BBQ · 2019
- THE BBQ BUS · 2021
- TRIPLE H BBQ · 2023, 2025
- KITH N' KIN · 2023
- Meat Me in St. Louis · 2024
- Smokey Bees BBQ - MS · 2025
One of the big ones
125
teams on the grounds
Bigger than 99% of the 5,469 contests in the data
125 teams — bigger than 99% of the 5,469 contests in the data.
The biggest field yet
125
teams — a contest high
This contest usually draws about 75 teams
125 teams is the deepest field this contest has drawn in the data, against a typical 75.
In the record book (2 in the KCBS record book)
What happened at this contest that stands in the all-time KCBS record book. A gold line is a record nobody has beaten.
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 | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 8, 2019 | Nashville, TN | 4001 Bell RD | 67 | 706.8344 | BILLY RAY BBQ | ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN |
| Mar 19, 2021 | Lebanon, TN | 954 E Baddour Pky | 57 | 701.6456 | THE BBQ BUS | BLUE CHIP BBQ |
| Mar 17, 2023 | Lebanon, TN | 954 E Baddour Pky | 80 | 705.6800 | TRIPLE H BBQ | LOCAL YOKELS BBQ |
| Mar 17, 2023 | Lebanon, TN | 954 E Baddour Pky | 59 | 177.1544 | KITH N' KIN | — |
| Mar 15, 2024 | Lebanon, TN | 945 E Baddour Pky | 93 | 701.6572 | Continental Barbecue Co. | TRIPLE H BBQ |
| Mar 15, 2024 | Lebanon, TN | 945 E Baddour Pky | 72 | 178.8572 | Meat Me in St. Louis | — |
| Mar 14, 2025 | Lebanon, TN | 945 E Baddour Pky | 100 | 704.5372 | Triple H BBQ | ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN |
| Mar 14, 2025 | Lebanon, TN | 945 E Baddour Pky | 72 | 179.4400 | Smokey Bees BBQ - MS | — |
| Mar 20, 2026 ← this one | Lebanon, TN | 945 E. Baddour Pkwy | 125 | 713.1200 | Razorracks | Kith n' Kin |
| Mar 20, 2026 | Lebanon, TN | 945 E. Baddour Pkwy | 88 | 180 | Alpine Smoke Works | — |
| Mar 20, 2026 | Lebanon, TN | 945 E. Baddour Pkwy | 71 | 180 | Bourbon & Blues BBQ | — |
| Mar 19, 2027 | Lebanon, TN | — | — | — | — | — |
| Mar 19, 2027 | Lebanon, TN | — | — | — | — | — |
| Mar 19, 2027 | Lebanon, TN | — | — | — | — | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Master Series — Chicken | 180 | 180 | 178.8572 |
| Master Series — Pork Ribs | 180 | 178.8572 | 177.7028 |
| Master Series — Pork | 180 | 178.8572 | 177.7144 |
| Master Series — Brisket | 180 | 178.8572 | 177.7144 |
| Backyard Series — Chicken | 180 | 177.7028 | 176.5600 |
| Backyard Series — Pork Ribs | 178.8572 | 176.0116 | 172.5600 |
| Ancillary — Pork | 180 | 175.4172 | 174.2628 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
125 entries · top 713.1200 · median 683.9200
Chicken
125 entries · top 180 · median 171.9656 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork Ribs
125 entries · top 180 · median 169.6800 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork
125 entries · top 180 · median 171.9656 · 🔥 perfect 180
Brisket
124 entries · top 180 · median 170.2628 · 🔥 perfect 180
Backyard Series
Overall
52 entries · top 358.8572 · median 339.9774
Chicken
52 entries · top 180 · median 171.6914 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork Ribs
51 entries · top 178.8572 · median 169.6684
Ancillary
Pork
52 entries · top 180 · median 168.5314 · 🔥 perfect 180
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
79 entries · top 180 · median 175.4172 · 🔥 perfect 180