Apr 20–21, 2018 · Hagerstown, MD · 📍 7313 Sharpsburg Pike
SMOKESTACK REDEMPTION won Grand Champion at the Interstate BBQ Festival on April 20, 2018 in Hagerstown, MD at 7313 Sharpsburg Pike, scoring 688.5140 in a field of 67 teams. SHORTSVILLE SMOKERS took Reserve Grand Champion with 685.6344. Category winners: Chicken — BONE TO BARK BBQ (178.3200); Pork Ribs — WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ (176.5600); Pork — 3 EYZ BBQ (178.8572); Brisket — PIGGIN' WHISKEY (177.7028). This is the 4th of 5 editions of this contest on record; the 2018 edition came before it; the next was held in 2019.
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, 2016 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
Smokestack Redemption came in rated below the field's top team, WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 17-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
SMOKESTACK REDEMPTION won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 2 calls from 4 boards, best of them 5th. Consistency beat fireworks.
This was SMOKESTACK REDEMPTION's first Grand Championship in the data — it arrived at their 38th tracked contest.
Chicken places 4–5: SHORTSVILLE SMOKERS and PIGGIN' WHISKEY tied on 175.4172 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 9–10: SWEET BELLY'S BBQ and CONVICTED PIGS BBQ tied on 171.4056 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 2–3: 3N1 Q edged OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE by 0.0116.
3 EYZ BBQ turned in 178.8572 in pork — past the 175.4516 that had stood across 2 earlier editions.
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: ROCKIN ROBYNS BBQ (won 2016), GOOD SMOKE BBQ (won 2017).
Bigger than 94% of the 5,462 contests in the data
67 teams — bigger than 94% of the 5,462 contests in the data.
This contest usually draws about 50 teams
67 teams is the deepest field this contest has drawn in the data, against a typical 50.
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 15, 2016 | Hagerstown, MD | Hagerstown, MD | 41 | 689.7372 | ROCKIN ROBYNS BBQ | OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE |
| Apr 14, 2017 | Hagerstown, MD | 7313 Sharpsburg Pike | 58 | 695.9428 | GOOD SMOKE BBQ | DRILLING & GRILLING |
| Apr 20, 2018 | Hagerstown, MD | 7313 Sharpsburg Pike | — | — | — | — |
| Apr 20, 2018 ← this one | Hagerstown, MD | 7313 Sharpsburg Pike | 67 | 688.5140 | SMOKESTACK REDEMPTION | SHORTSVILLE SMOKERS |
| Apr 19, 2019 | Hagerstown, MD | 7313 Sharpsburg Pike | 54 | 689.0856 | Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit | DRILLING & GRILLING |
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 178.3200 | 175.4172 | 170.8344 |
| Pork Ribs | 176.5600 | 174.8572 | 171.4172 |
| Pork | 178.8572 | 174.2972 | 172.0344 |
| Brisket | 177.7028 | 174.8572 | 171.4056 |
67 entries · top 688.5140 · median 652.4000
67 entries · top 178.3200 · median 164.5600
67 entries · top 176.5600 · median 162.8228
67 entries · top 178.8572 · median 164
67 entries · top 177.7028 · median 162.8228
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.
12 entries · top 175.4400 · median 167.3828
13 entries · top 180 · median 172.5828 · 🔥 perfect 180
6 entries · top 180 · median 172.5600 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BROTHER-UNCLE BARBEQUE | |
| 2 | S&S BEERBQ | |
| 3 | Twisted Sisters BBQ | |
| 4 | WE RIB U LONG TIME | |
| 5 | Piggy Tails | |
| 6 | Pine's Fine Swine |