Jun 3–4, 2016 · Lincoln, IL
OUTSIDERS BBQ won Grand Champion at the Up In smoke on the Square on June 3, 2016 in Lincoln, IL, scoring 685.6800 in a field of 52 teams. TRUCKY'S TRUE BLU BBQ'UE took Reserve Grand Champion with 682.2284. Category winners: Chicken — CHANNABILLY BBQ (178.2972); Pork Ribs — TRUCKY'S TRUE BLU BBQ'UE (171.9772); Pork — ALL IN QUE (178.8572); Brisket — THUNDER HOG BBQ (177.7028). This is the 4th of 12 editions of this contest on record; the 2015 edition was won by ST. LOUIS BLACK IRON BBQ; the next was held in 2017.
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 2019 — 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 83 times in 100
Outsiders BBQ came in rated below the field's top team, YELLOW RIVER BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 17-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
OUTSIDERS BBQ won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 3 calls from 4 boards, best of them 2nd. Consistency beat fireworks.
This was OUTSIDERS BBQ's first Grand Championship in the data — it arrived at their 11th tracked contest.
Chicken places 6–7: ONE2BBQ and SLEEPY HOLLOW tied on 173.1200 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 5–6: JUGS BBQ and PITMASTERIQ BBQ tied on 174.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 3–4: RURAL ROUTE BBQ edged iBQ'n by 0.0116.
ALL IN QUE turned in 178.8572 in pork — past the 178.2972 that had stood across 3 earlier editions.
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: MONSTER-QUE (won 2014), ST. LOUIS BLACK IRON BBQ (won 2015).
This contest usually draws about 45 teams
52 teams is the deepest field this contest has drawn in the data, against a typical 45.
31 of 40 teams from 2015-06-05 came back
31 of the 40 teams that cooked the previous edition came back for this one — a contest people put on the calendar.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 23, 2013 | Lincoln, IL | Lincoln, IL | 46 | 689.6916 | A BOY & HIS BBQ | Twyford's BBQ & Catering |
| Aug 22, 2014 | Lincoln, IL | Lincoln, IL 62656 | 50 | 699.4400 | MONSTER-QUE | IT'S 5 O'CLOCK SOMEWHERE |
| Jun 5, 2015 | Lincoln, IL | Lincoln, IL 62656 | 40 | 689.0740 | ST. LOUIS BLACK IRON BBQ | THE CHILLY WATER SMOKERS |
| Jun 3, 2016 ← this one | Lincoln, IL | Lincoln , IL 62656 | 52 | 685.6800 | OUTSIDERS BBQ | TRUCKY'S TRUE BLU BBQ'UE |
| Jun 2, 2017 | Lincoln, IL | Kilkapool/Plilaski | 32 | 695.8968 | IT'S 5 O'CLOCK SOMEWHERE | PORK PARADISE |
| Jun 1, 2018 | Lincoln, IL | Kilkapool/Plilaski | 40 | 687.3600 | SMOKIN ACES@THEBBQSUPERSTORE.COM | iBQ'n |
| May 31, 2019 | Lincoln, IL | Lincoln, IL 62656 | 36 | 682.8576 | The BBQ Bus | iBQ'n |
| Jun 4, 2021 | Lincoln, IL | — | — | — | — | — |
| Aug 25, 2023 | Lincoln, IL | 601 Pulaski Street | 26 | 346.8344 | 309 BBQ | — |
| Aug 23, 2024 | Lincoln, IL | 601 Pulaski Street | 28 | 350.8688 | Up From The Pits BBQ | — |
| Aug 22, 2025 | Lincoln, IL | 601 Pulaski Street | 31 | 357.7144 | Electro-Que-ted | — |
| Aug 28, 2026 | Lincoln, IL | 601 Pulaski Street | 16 | 349.6916 | Smokin E's BBQ | — |
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 178.2972 | 173.1544 | 171.4172 |
| Pork Ribs | 171.9772 | 168.5372 | 166.8228 |
| Pork | 178.8572 | 172.5484 | 170.2972 |
| Brisket | 177.7028 | 174.2628 | 170.8228 |
52 entries · top 685.6800 · median 650.1542
52 entries · top 178.2972 · median 166.5428
52 entries · top 171.9772 · median 161.6800
52 entries · top 178.8572 · median 162.8342
52 entries · top 177.7028 · median 160.8286
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.
5 entries · top 165.7028 · median 154.8916
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | GRILLS GONE WILD | |
| 2 | COUNTRY BOYS BBQ | |
| 3 | Barbie Q | |
| 4 | Guardians of the Grill | |
| 5 | Nuthatch Hill |
5 entries · top 164 · median 163.3944
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | That one brown kid | |
| 2 | Red, White & BBQ | |
| 3 | Kill It and Grill It | |
| 4 | Kill It, Grill It | |
| 5 | LET'S KICK SOME ASH |
19 entries · top 169.6912 · median 150.8456
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sugar Creek BBQ | |
| 2 | Big Foot BBQ | |
| 3 | JTA BBQ | |
| 4 | BACKDRAFT BBQ | |
| 5 | FIREHOUSE BBQ | |
| 6 | TWISTED SMOKE | |
| 7 | TNT BBQ | |
| 8 | Double D's Rack Shack | |
| 9 | Pack-n-a-Charge | |
| 10 | Benny's Can I Get a Woo Woo BBQ | |
| 11 | Springfield, Autobody | |
| 12 | Mac Daddy and Sons | |
| 13 | OLD TYME BBQ | |
| 14 | No Limits BBQ | |
| 15 | 12-24 BBQ | |
| 16 | Doc's Rib Shack | |
| 17 | DeKalb County BBQ Pitmaster | |
| 18 | 9-11 Q | |
| 19 | The Irish Smokers |
19 entries · top 170.2744 · median 150.1828
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BACKDRAFT BBQ | |
| 2 | Double D's Rack Shack | |
| 3 | 12-24 BBQ | |
| 4 | OLD TYME BBQ | |
| 5 | Doc's Rib Shack | |
| 6 | Sugar Creek BBQ | |
| 7 | FIREHOUSE BBQ | |
| 8 | JTA BBQ | |
| 9 | No Limits BBQ | |
| 10 | Mac Daddy and Sons | |
| 11 | Pack-n-a-Charge | |
| 12 | 9-11 Q | |
| 13 | TNT BBQ | |
| 14 | TWISTED SMOKE | |
| 15 | Springfield, Autobody | |
| 16 | Big Foot BBQ | |
| 17 | DeKalb County BBQ Pitmaster | |
| 18 | Benny's Can I Get a Woo Woo BBQ | |
| 19 | The Irish Smokers |
19 entries · top 172.5716 · median 156.0228