2018-09-14 – 2018-09-15 · Worthington, MN · 📍 Downtown Worthington
Grand Champion: ACES HIGH BBQ (693.6800) · 25 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 MUSTANG SALLY BBQ
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 2024 — 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 69 times in 100
ACES HIGH BBQ came in rated below the field's top team, SPITFIRE, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 31-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
ACES HIGH BBQ won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 4 calls from 4 boards, best of them 3rd. Consistency beat fireworks.
This was ACES HIGH BBQ's first Grand Championship in the data — it arrived at their 44th tracked contest.
2 of 13 tracked editions
Hot Daddy's BBQ has won this contest 2 times across its 13 tracked editions.
Pork Ribs places 1–2: SMOKEY AND HIS BANDITS and SWAMPVIEW BBQ tied on 174.3088 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 2–3: REBEL FIRE QUE'N COMPANY and ACES HIGH BBQ tied on 176.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 7–8: SMOKIN BONES - MN and THE DOCFATHER BBQ tied on 172.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
TRUE SMOKE BBQ turned in 180.0000 in brisket — past the 178.8800 that had stood across 4 earlier editions.
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: SONS OF BUTCHERS (won 2013), MUSTANG SALLY BBQ (won 2015).
1 perfect 180 was scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-09-13 | Worthington, MN | Worthington, MN | 39 | 695.4516 | SONS OF BUTCHERS | BIG T'Z Q CRU |
| 2015-09-18 | Worthington, MN | Worthington, MN 56187 | 26 | 700.5944 | MUSTANG SALLY BBQ | TOTALLY SAUCED |
| 2016-09-16 | Worthington, MN | Nobles County Fairgrounds | 29 | 700.0000 | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS | SPITFIRE |
| 2017-09-15 | Worthington, MN | Downtown Worthington | 27 | 690.2628 | LUCKY'S Q | YOU QUE'D ME ALL NIGHT LONG |
| 2018-09-14 ← this one | Worthington, MN | Downtown Worthington | 25 | 693.6800 | ACES HIGH BBQ | MUSTANG SALLY BBQ |
| 2019-09-13 | Worthington, MN | Downtown Worthington | 26 | 686.1944 | WHO DAT BBQ | MUSTANG SALLY BBQ |
| 2020-09-18 | Worthington, MN | Downtown Worthington | 35 | 696.6516 | Wags Backwoods BBQ | MACHETE BOYS BBQ |
| 2021-07-16 | Worthington, MN | Nobles County Fairgrounds | 33 | 693.2004 | Richie Z | HOGLINE |
| 2022-07-15 | Worthington, MN | Nobles County Fairgrounds | 40 | 695.3940 | Shiggin & Grinnin | Ash Kickin' BBQ |
| 2022-07-15 | Worthington, MN | Nobles County Fairgrounds | 17 | 176.0000 | Smokin' Big | — |
| 2023-07-14 | Worthington, MN | Nobles County Fairgrounds | 39 | 694.8456 | Pittie Q | PORKY BUTTS BBQ |
| 2024-07-12 | Worthington, MN | 700 2nd Avenue | 34 | 695.9084 | Hot Daddy's BBQ | Dirty Little Pigs BBQ |
| 2024-07-12 | Worthington, MN | 700 2nd Avenue | 13 | 178.8572 | Hot Daddy's BBQ | — |
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 179.4400 | 174.2628 | 169.7144 |
| Pork Ribs | 174.3088 | 173.1200 | 169.1200 |
| Pork | 177.1428 | 173.1200 | 171.4056 |
| Brisket | 180.0000 | 173.7028 | 167.9772 |
25 entries · top 693.6800 · median 670.2284
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ACES HIGH BBQ | |
| 2 | MUSTANG SALLY BBQ | |
| 3 | TRUE SMOKE BBQ | |
| 4 | SONS OF BUTCHERS | |
| 5 | Who Dat BBQ | |
| 6 | SMOKEY AND HIS BANDITS | |
| 7 | THE DOCFATHER BBQ | |
| 8 | WHEN PIGS DIE | |
| 9 | SMOKIN EGGHEADS | |
| 10 | PO PO PORK | |
| 11 | BIG CHAIN BBQ GANG | |
| 12 | SPITFIRE | |
| 13 | GOOD OL BOYS BBQ | |
| 14 | SMOKIN BONES - MN | |
| 15 | BARK 'N BONES BBQ | |
| 16 | BSQ'S | |
| 17 | REBEL FIRE QUE'N COMPANY | |
| 18 | SWAMPVIEW BBQ | |
| 19 | RUM N' SMOKE BBQ | |
| 20 | SIX BUTT BBQ | |
| 21 | New to BBQ | |
| 22 | HELLFIRE BBQ | |
| 23 | HOT DADDY'S BBQ | |
| 24 | FNG BBQ | |
| 25 | TEAM PIT |
25 entries · top 179.4400 · median 167.3944
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | MUSTANG SALLY BBQ | |
| 2 | Who Dat BBQ | |
| 3 | SMOKIN EGGHEADS | |
| 4 | GOOD OL BOYS BBQ | |
| 5 | BARK 'N BONES BBQ | |
| 6 | ACES HIGH BBQ | |
| 7 | PO PO PORK | |
| 8 | SONS OF BUTCHERS | |
| 9 | New to BBQ | |
| 10 | THE DOCFATHER BBQ | |
| 11 | SPITFIRE | |
| 12 | TRUE SMOKE BBQ | |
| 13 | REBEL FIRE QUE'N COMPANY | |
| 14 | BIG CHAIN BBQ GANG | |
| 15 | TEAM PIT | |
| 16 | HELLFIRE BBQ | |
| 17 | BSQ'S | |
| 18 | RUM N' SMOKE BBQ | |
| 19 | SMOKIN BONES - MN | |
| 20 | SMOKEY AND HIS BANDITS | |
| 21 | WHEN PIGS DIE | |
| 22 | HOT DADDY'S BBQ | |
| 23 | SWAMPVIEW BBQ | |
| 24 | FNG BBQ | |
| 25 | SIX BUTT BBQ |
25 entries · top 174.3088 · median 167.9656
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SMOKEY AND HIS BANDITS | |
| 2 | SWAMPVIEW BBQ | |
| 3 | GOOD OL BOYS BBQ | |
| 4 | RUM N' SMOKE BBQ | |
| 5 | BSQ'S | |
| 6 | ACES HIGH BBQ | |
| 7 | THE DOCFATHER BBQ | |
| 8 | WHEN PIGS DIE | |
| 9 | MUSTANG SALLY BBQ | |
| 10 | TRUE SMOKE BBQ | |
| 11 | HOT DADDY'S BBQ | |
| 12 | BIG CHAIN BBQ GANG | |
| 13 | PO PO PORK | |
| 14 | SMOKIN EGGHEADS | |
| 15 | BARK 'N BONES BBQ | |
| 16 | SIX BUTT BBQ | |
| 17 | SPITFIRE | |
| 18 | SMOKIN BONES - MN | |
| 19 | SONS OF BUTCHERS | |
| 20 | Who Dat BBQ | |
| 21 | HELLFIRE BBQ | |
| 22 | REBEL FIRE QUE'N COMPANY | |
| 23 | New to BBQ | |
| 24 | FNG BBQ | |
| 25 | TEAM PIT |
24 entries · top 177.1428 · median 168.2742
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SONS OF BUTCHERS | |
| 2 | REBEL FIRE QUE'N COMPANY | |
| 3 | ACES HIGH BBQ | |
| 4 | MUSTANG SALLY BBQ | |
| 5 | WHEN PIGS DIE | |
| 6 | Who Dat BBQ | |
| 7 | SMOKIN BONES - MN | |
| 8 | THE DOCFATHER BBQ | |
| 9 | SPITFIRE | |
| 10 | PO PO PORK | |
| 11 | SMOKEY AND HIS BANDITS | |
| 12 | SIX BUTT BBQ | |
| 13 | TRUE SMOKE BBQ | |
| 14 | SWAMPVIEW BBQ | |
| 15 | SMOKIN EGGHEADS | |
| 16 | BARK 'N BONES BBQ | |
| 17 | BIG CHAIN BBQ GANG | |
| 18 | New to BBQ | |
| 19 | RUM N' SMOKE BBQ | |
| 20 | HOT DADDY'S BBQ | |
| 21 | HELLFIRE BBQ | |
| 22 | GOOD OL BOYS BBQ | |
| 23 | BSQ'S | |
| 24 | FNG BBQ |
25 entries · top 180.0000 · median 165.7028 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | TRUE SMOKE BBQ | |
| 2 | BIG CHAIN BBQ GANG | |
| 3 | Who Dat BBQ | |
| 4 | SONS OF BUTCHERS | |
| 5 | ACES HIGH BBQ | |
| 6 | WHEN PIGS DIE | |
| 7 | SMOKEY AND HIS BANDITS | |
| 8 | SIX BUTT BBQ | |
| 9 | BSQ'S | |
| 10 | THE DOCFATHER BBQ | |
| 11 | SMOKIN EGGHEADS | |
| 12 | MUSTANG SALLY BBQ | |
| 13 | SMOKIN BONES - MN | |
| 14 | PO PO PORK | |
| 15 | SPITFIRE | |
| 16 | New to BBQ | |
| 17 | REBEL FIRE QUE'N COMPANY | |
| 18 | RUM N' SMOKE BBQ | |
| 19 | GOOD OL BOYS BBQ | |
| 20 | SWAMPVIEW BBQ | |
| 21 | HELLFIRE BBQ | |
| 22 | BARK 'N BONES BBQ | |
| 23 | HOT DADDY'S BBQ | |
| 24 | TEAM PIT | |
| 25 | FNG BBQ |
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.
7 entries · top 175.4172 · median 169.1084
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | TRUE SMOKE BBQ | |
| 2 | FNG BBQ | |
| 3 | WHEN PIGS DIE | |
| 4 | HOT DADDY'S BBQ | |
| 5 | BSQ'S | |
| 6 | GOOD OL BOYS BBQ | |
| 7 | TEAM PIT |