2018-10-05 – 2018-10-06 · Independence, MO · 📍 19100 East Valley View Parkway
Grand Champion: SMOOTH SMOKE (699.9312) · 56 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 THE SMOKING HILLS
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 2018 — 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 76 times in 100
SMOOTH SMOKE came in rated below the field's top team, SHAKE 'N BAKE BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 24-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
SMOOTH SMOKE won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 4 calls from 4 boards, best of them 2nd. Consistency beat fireworks.
3 perfect 180s were scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
Pork Ribs places 3–4: BOOM CHICKA COW COW and SCOTTS BBQ SHACK tied on 177.7144 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 2–3: THE SMOKING HILLS and MAN MEAT FIRE tied on 175.4172 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 5–6: BOOMERANG BBQ edged 2 DRUNK 2 QUE by 0.0116.
SHAKE 'N BAKE BBQ turned in 180.0000 in chicken — past the 177.7600 that had stood across 2 earlier editions.
Bigger than 90% of the 5,410 contests in the data
56 teams made this a bigger field than 90% of every contest tracked.
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-09-09 | Independence, MO | 1900 E Valley View | 76 | 703.4056 | PORKY BUTTS BBQ | THE SMOKING HILLS |
| 2017-10-06 | Independence, MO | 19100 E valley view parkway | 76 | 700.5488 | THE TWISTED TAIL | THUMP & STRUM BBQ |
| 2018-10-05 ← this one | Independence, MO | 19100 East Valley View Parkway | 56 | 699.9312 | SMOOTH SMOKE | THE SMOKING HILLS |
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180.0000 | 173.1428 | 171.4056 |
| Pork Ribs | 180.0000 | 177.2000 | 172.0228 |
| Pork | 180.0000 | 176.0116 | 174.2628 |
| Brisket | 177.7372 | 174.8572 | 171.4400 |
56 entries · top 699.9312 · median 642.7430
56 entries · top 180.0000 · median 163.6858 · 🔥 perfect 180
56 entries · top 180.0000 · median 164.5544 · 🔥 perfect 180
56 entries · top 180.0000 · median 166.2456 · 🔥 perfect 180
55 entries · top 177.7372 · median 161.6572
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.
17 entries · top 180.0000 · median 177.7028 · 🔥 perfect 180
4 entries · top 176.0000 · median 166.2514
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mason Little | |
| 2 | Jensen Rousseau | |
| 3 | Jordan Dyce | |
| 4 | Jackson Lawless |
11 entries · top 177.7028 · median 171.4172
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lincoln Vopel | |
| 2 | Peyton Ryder | |
| 3 | Cooper Qualls | |
| 4 | Brooke Denney | |
| 5 | Mary Kate Ingram | |
| 6 | Paxton Wheeler | |
| 7 | Winston Rousseau | |
| 8 | Guinness George | |
| 9 | Makenzie Denney | |
| 10 | Rylan Wheeler | |
| 11 | Christopher Ingram |
26 entries · top 175.4056 · median 169.7086
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | VALLEY OAKS STEAK COMPANY | |
| 2 | NICKL BOYS BBQ | |
| 3 | IHC BBQ | |
| 4 | SPLITLOG SMOKERS | |
| 5 | UNFAMOUS DAVE'S | |
| 6 | KC OUTLAWS BBQ | |
| 7 | BBQ GUYS | |
| 8 | Fat Cat BBQ LSMO | |
| 9 | BLUE SQUIRREL BBQ | |
| 10 | SONS OF A BRISKET | |
| 11 | Hi-Tech Smokers | |
| 12 | SMOKIN OUTLAWS | |
| 13 | ARNING SMOKED MEATS | |
| 14 | WHISKEY SMOKERS | |
| 15 | ROADKILL BBQ | |
| 16 | SWAG BBQ | |
| 17 | MAN MEAT FIRE | |
| 18 | B&D BBQ | |
| 19 | James Brothers BBQ | |
| 20 | A Slew of Sows and a Smoker | |
| 21 | WHISTLE BRITCHES | |
| 22 | BOOM CHICKA COW COW | |
| 23 | Rib Busters | |
| 24 | JUST RIB'N & PORK'N FUN | |
| 25 | WABASH BBQ | |
| 26 | Mullet Brother's BBQ |