Wild West BBQ Cook Off

2018-05-11 – 2018-05-12 · Lamar, CO · 📍 Willow Creek Park

Grand Champion: BACKDRAFT BBQ (680.5372) · 26 teams

Reserve Champion: 🥈 BIG DADDY'S BACKYARD BBQ

🥇

BACKDRAFT BBQ

680.5372 · Master Series — Overall

🥈

BIG DADDY'S BACKYARD BBQ

679.2908 · Master Series — Overall

🥉

B-S BBQ OUTLAWS

677.0056 · Master Series — Overall

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.

599.21 median 653.04 680.54 🏆

How the meats cooked

Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.

Chicken 176.00
Pork Ribs 178.30
Pork 177.70
Brisket 173.70

128.49 178.30

Winning score by edition

What it has taken to win here, 2016 to 2026 — this edition picked out.

Entries

4 judged meats

Top score

680.5372

Winning margin

1.2464

GC over RC

Field average

652.84

599.21680.54

median 653.04 · last place to winner

Perfect 180s

Tightest race

Chicken

2.8800 pts across the top 5

Top-10 cutoff

657.6684

599.21680.54

10th place overall

Field spread

81.3260

winner to last place

Most consistent

BACKDRAFT BBQ

avg finish 5.00 across 4 meats

Double threats

teams with 2+ top-5 calls

Widest winning margin

Pork Ribs

won by 4.0228 pts — BUTLER'S BACKDRAFT BBQ

How hot was the win?

Top 88%

beats 12% of 4707 Master Series wins in the data

Came back for more

48%

15 of 31 teams from the previous edition returned

Form held

Moderate

ρ = -0.5 between pre-contest rating and finish

Field strength

1573

avg power rating going in · stronger than 57% of contests

Top-rated in the field

4 LEGS UP BBQ

rated 1845 pre-contest

Storylines (5 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.

A razor-thin finish

1.2464 points between champion and reserve

Closer than 77% of the 4,742 championships in the data

The Grand Championship was decided by 1.2464 points — closer than 77% of every championship in the data.

BACKDRAFT BBQ
BIG DADDY'S BACKYARD BBQ

A dynasty in the making

3× wins at this contest

3 of 10 tracked editions

Gettin' Basted has won this contest 3 times across its 10 tracked editions.

2021
2024
2025

Photo finishes

Tie closest of 8 calls decided inside half a point

Pork Ribs places 8–9: Grauer's Family BBQ and LOST WEEKEND GRILL tied on 168.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 6–7: 4 LEGS UP BBQ and KRAZE-E'S BBQ tied on 168.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 8–9: Grauer's Family BBQ and BUTLER'S BACKDRAFT BBQ tied on 168.5372 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.

Pork Ribs 8–9 · tie
Pork 6–7 · tie
Pork 8–9 · tie
Brisket 7–8 · tie

How the title was won

3 of 4 meats called to the stage

BACKDRAFT BBQ took the title on 3 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was pork at 12th.

Chicken 1st
Pork Ribs 5th
Pork 12th
Brisket 2nd

A contest record in pork

177.7028 best pork ever cooked here

BIG DADDY'S BACKYARD BBQ turned in 177.7028 in pork — past the 176.5600 that had stood across 2 earlier editions.

old best 176.5600
across 2 past editions

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)

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
2016-05-13	Lamar, CO	Willow Creek Park	33	692.5488	CLARK CREW BBQ	BACKDRAFT BBQ
2017-05-12	Lamar, CO	Willow Creek Park	31	703.4400	THE AMERICAN DREAM BBQ	CLARK CREW BBQ
2018-05-11 ← this one	Lamar, CO	Willow Creek Park	26	680.5372	BACKDRAFT BBQ	BIG DADDY'S BACKYARD BBQ
2019-05-10	Lamar, CO	Willow Creek Park	28	691.4056	Bushmaster BBQ	PARROTHEAD SMOKERS
2021-05-07	Lamar, CO	Willow Creek Park	35	683.9428	Gettin' Basted	BIG DADDY'S BACKYARD BBQ
2022-05-06	Lamar, CO	Willow Creek Park	33	695.9772	Rise N Swine	CLARK CREW BBQ
2023-05-12	Lamar, CO	Willow Creek Park	30	702.8456	Bushmaster BBQ	GETTIN' BASTED
2024-05-10	Lamar, CO	Willow Creek Park	29	703.3828	Gettin' Basted	Colorado Bulldawg BBQ
2025-04-25	Lamar, CO	Willow Creek Park	30	691.9200	Gettin' Basted	TEXAS SMOKE WHISPERER
2026-04-24	Lamar, CO	Willow Creek Park	27	686.1828	BrewsCue	Brinkerhoff BBQ

What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)

Category	1st	5th	10th
Chicken	176.0000	173.1200	167.4288
Pork Ribs	178.2972	170.2628	167.9656
Pork	177.7028	169.7028	165.1772
Brisket	173.7028	166.8456	163.3828

Official results on kcbs.us ↗

Master Series

Overall

26 entries · top 680.5372 · median 653.0398

#	Team	Score
1	BACKDRAFT BBQ	680.5372
2	BIG DADDY'S BACKYARD BBQ	679.2908
3	B-S BBQ OUTLAWS	677.0056
4	GRILLIN' BEAVERS	670.7656
5	WOODY'S Q SHACK	667.9084
6	BUTLER'S BACKDRAFT BBQ	666.1832
7	Grauer's Family BBQ	662.1600
8	KRAZE-E'S BBQ	659.8516
9	Frank's BBQ Trading Post	658.9832
10	LUCKY'S HAVE BBQ WILL TRAVEL	657.6684
11	BURNIN BOBS BUTTS N BONES	656.9484
12	4 LEGS UP BBQ	654.7884
13	SMOKIN' BOXERS BBQ	653.5540
14	UNCLE J'S	652.5256
15	LOST WEEKEND GRILL	652.5028
16	LUCKY SMOKE	652.4800
17	BURNTOUT BBQ CO	652.4228
18	SMOKE EM UP BBQ	651.3600
19	SMOKIN TIMBERS BBQ	650.7884
20	BRACKEN RACKS BBQ	647.8396
21	ROCKET BOYS PYRO BBQ	647.2452
22	WILD HOGS BBQ	640.4228
23	THE MIGHTY QUINNS BBQ	639.3144
24	BAR-B-KILTS	623.8744
25	ROCKIN' D BARBEQUE	618.1372
26	Cohoon BBQ	599.2112

Chicken

26 entries · top 176.0000 · median 165.3828

#	Team	Score
1	BACKDRAFT BBQ	176.0000
2	Frank's BBQ Trading Post	175.4744
3	BIG DADDY'S BACKYARD BBQ	174.8456
4	WOODY'S Q SHACK	173.7028
5	SMOKIN' BOXERS BBQ	173.1200
6	GRILLIN' BEAVERS	172.5600
7	THE MIGHTY QUINNS BBQ	171.4628
8	B-S BBQ OUTLAWS	170.8228
9	BURNIN BOBS BUTTS N BONES	168.5372
10	UNCLE J'S	167.4288
11	ROCKET BOYS PYRO BBQ	167.4172
12	LOST WEEKEND GRILL	165.7028
13	KRAZE-E'S BBQ	165.6684
14	LUCKY SMOKE	165.0972
15	BAR-B-KILTS	163.9656
16	ROCKIN' D BARBEQUE	163.4172
17	WILD HOGS BBQ	162.2516
18	SMOKE EM UP BBQ	161.6684
19	4 LEGS UP BBQ	161.0972
20	BURNTOUT BBQ CO	160.5372
21	Grauer's Family BBQ	160.5256
22	LUCKY'S HAVE BBQ WILL TRAVEL	157.7028
23	BUTLER'S BACKDRAFT BBQ	156.5372
24	Cohoon BBQ	154.2284
25	SMOKIN TIMBERS BBQ	153.1084
26	BRACKEN RACKS BBQ	146.7772

Pork Ribs

26 entries · top 178.2972 · median 164.5314

#	Team	Score
1	BUTLER'S BACKDRAFT BBQ	178.2972
2	GRILLIN' BEAVERS	174.2744
3	BURNTOUT BBQ CO	171.9884
4	LUCKY'S HAVE BBQ WILL TRAVEL	171.4056
5	BACKDRAFT BBQ	170.2628
6	SMOKIN TIMBERS BBQ	168.5600
7	BRACKEN RACKS BBQ	168.5484
8	Grauer's Family BBQ	168.0000
9	LOST WEEKEND GRILL	168.0000
10	BIG DADDY'S BACKYARD BBQ	167.9656
11	KRAZE-E'S BBQ	167.3944
12	LUCKY SMOKE	165.6912
13	B-S BBQ OUTLAWS	164.5372
14	SMOKIN' BOXERS BBQ	164.5256
15	4 LEGS UP BBQ	164.0000
16	UNCLE J'S	163.9656
17	BAR-B-KILTS	162.2972
18	Frank's BBQ Trading Post	162.2972
19	SMOKE EM UP BBQ	161.7144
20	WOODY'S Q SHACK	161.6800
21	ROCKET BOYS PYRO BBQ	161.0856
22	BURNIN BOBS BUTTS N BONES	157.0856
23	WILD HOGS BBQ	156.5372
24	THE MIGHTY QUINNS BBQ	156.5144
25	ROCKIN' D BARBEQUE	153.7028
26	Cohoon BBQ	128.4916

Pork

26 entries · top 177.7028 · median 162.2514

#	Team	Score
1	BIG DADDY'S BACKYARD BBQ	177.7028
2	B-S BBQ OUTLAWS	174.2628
3	BURNIN BOBS BUTTS N BONES	173.1200
4	SMOKE EM UP BBQ	172.5600
5	BRACKEN RACKS BBQ	169.7028
6	4 LEGS UP BBQ	168.5600
7	KRAZE-E'S BBQ	168.5600
8	Grauer's Family BBQ	168.5372
9	BUTLER'S BACKDRAFT BBQ	168.5372
10	LUCKY'S HAVE BBQ WILL TRAVEL	165.1772
11	SMOKIN TIMBERS BBQ	165.1200
12	BACKDRAFT BBQ	164.0000
13	WOODY'S Q SHACK	163.3828
14	Cohoon BBQ	161.1200
15	UNCLE J'S	160.5484
16	WILD HOGS BBQ	159.9656
17	BURNTOUT BBQ CO	159.9428
18	ROCKET BOYS PYRO BBQ	159.9312
19	Frank's BBQ Trading Post	157.2116
20	GRILLIN' BEAVERS	157.0856
21	LOST WEEKEND GRILL	155.4172
22	SMOKIN' BOXERS BBQ	155.3828
23	ROCKIN' D BARBEQUE	154.8000
24	THE MIGHTY QUINNS BBQ	151.9428
25	BAR-B-KILTS	148.5144
26	LUCKY SMOKE	147.9888

Brisket

26 entries · top 173.7028 · median 161.3998

#	Team	Score
1	LUCKY SMOKE	173.7028
2	BACKDRAFT BBQ	170.2744
3	WOODY'S Q SHACK	169.1428
4	B-S BBQ OUTLAWS	167.3828
5	GRILLIN' BEAVERS	166.8456
6	Grauer's Family BBQ	165.0972
7	SMOKIN TIMBERS BBQ	164.0000
8	Frank's BBQ Trading Post	164.0000
9	LOST WEEKEND GRILL	163.3828
10	LUCKY'S HAVE BBQ WILL TRAVEL	163.3828
11	BUTLER'S BACKDRAFT BBQ	162.8116
12	BRACKEN RACKS BBQ	162.8112
13	WILD HOGS BBQ	161.6684
14	4 LEGS UP BBQ	161.1312
15	UNCLE J'S	160.5828
16	SMOKIN' BOXERS BBQ	160.5256
17	BURNTOUT BBQ CO	159.9544
18	THE MIGHTY QUINNS BBQ	159.3944
19	ROCKET BOYS PYRO BBQ	158.8112
20	BIG DADDY'S BACKYARD BBQ	158.7768
21	KRAZE-E'S BBQ	158.2288
22	BURNIN BOBS BUTTS N BONES	158.2056
23	SMOKE EM UP BBQ	155.4172
24	Cohoon BBQ	155.3712
25	BAR-B-KILTS	149.0972
26	ROCKIN' D BARBEQUE	146.2172

Wild West BBQ Cook Off

The contest at a glance (read off the scored boards)

How the field scored

How the meats cooked

Winning score by edition

Entries

Top score

Winning margin

Field average

Perfect 180s

Tightest race

Top-10 cutoff

Field spread

Most consistent

Double threats

Widest winning margin

How hot was the win?

Came back for more

Form held

Field strength

Top-rated in the field

Storylines (5 found in this contest's numbers)

A razor-thin finish

A dynasty in the making

Photo finishes

How the title was won

A contest record in pork

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 →

What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)

Official results on kcbs.us ↗

Master Series

Overall

Chicken

Pork Ribs

Pork

Brisket