2018-08-24 – 2018-08-25 · Bozeman, MT · 📍 1243 Oak St
Grand Champion: MONTANA OUTLAW BBQ (698.2740) · 26 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 GRATE EXPECTATIONS
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, 2017 to 2026 — 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.
698.2740 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 681.6684 MONTANA OUTLAW BBQ set in 2017.
MONTANA OUTLAW BBQ won here last time out too — 2 straight editions of this contest.
MONTANA OUTLAW BBQ won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 4 calls from 4 boards, best of them 2nd. Consistency beat fireworks.
Wider than 93% of the 4,742 championships in the data
The champion won by 12.6512 points — a wider margin than 93% of championships in the data.
3 of 8 tracked editions
MONTANA OUTLAW BBQ has won this contest 3 times across its 8 tracked editions.
Brisket places 4–5: BLUE LINE BBQ and GRATE EXPECTATIONS tied on 171.4172 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 3–4: MONTANA OUTLAW BBQ edged UP IN SMOKE BBQ by 0.0228. Brisket places 8–9: SMOKIN JERKS edged Mountain Smoke by 0.0228.
SMOKERS PURGATORY turned in 180.0000 in chicken — past the 167.9884 that had stood across 1 earlier editions.
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: MONTANA OUTLAW BBQ (won 2017).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-08-25 | Bozeman, MT | 1243 Oak St | 20 | 681.6684 | MONTANA OUTLAW BBQ | BEER BELLY BBQ |
| 2018-08-24 ← this one | Bozeman, MT | 1243 Oak St | 26 | 698.2740 | MONTANA OUTLAW BBQ | GRATE EXPECTATIONS |
| 2019-08-23 | Bozeman, MT | 1243 Oak St | 29 | 691.9888 | MONTANA OUTLAW BBQ | CAMP HOUSE BBQ |
| 2022-08-26 | Bozeman, MT | 1243 Oak Street | 37 | 706.8688 | BEER BELLY BBQ | MONTANA OUTLAW BBQ |
| 2023-08-25 | Bozeman, MT | 1243 Oak Street | 44 | 705.2116 | Bushmaster BBQ | SMELLAQUE |
| 2024-08-23 | Bozeman, MT | 1243 Oak Street | 39 | 713.1544 | Piggin' Whiskey | BURNT TREES BBQ |
| 2025-08-22 | Bozeman, MT | 1243 Oak Street | 38 | 704.5600 | Brinkerhoff BBQ | Mountain Smoke BBQ |
| 2026-08-28 | Bozeman, MT | 1243 Oak Street | 39 | 706.8460 | Cocamoke Smoke BBQ | SmellaQue |
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180.0000 | 168.5256 | 162.8000 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.8572 | 173.1200 | 165.6800 |
| Pork | 175.4056 | 170.2744 | 163.9884 |
| Brisket | 176.5600 | 171.4172 | 162.8912 |
26 entries · top 698.2740 · median 640.4684
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | MONTANA OUTLAW BBQ | |
| 2 | GRATE EXPECTATIONS | |
| 3 | UP IN SMOKE BBQ | |
| 4 | YOU NEED A BBQ | |
| 5 | SMOKERS PURGATORY | |
| 6 | Beer Belly BBQ | |
| 7 | SMELLAQUE | |
| 8 | Mountain Smoke | |
| 9 | NATURAL BORN GRILLER'S ALBERTA | |
| 10 | BBQ NERDS | |
| 11 | BLUE LINE BBQ | |
| 12 | 12 BAR BLUES CUE | |
| 13 | BROKEN BARREL BBQ & KITCHEN | |
| 14 | SMOKIN JERKS | |
| 15 | SMOKAPALOOZA | |
| 16 | CAMP CHEF | |
| 17 | Spice Grills | |
| 18 | GSTRONG | |
| 19 | CHEFS TABLE FOOD TRUCK AND CATERING | |
| 20 | POPPIN' SMOKE | |
| 21 | Smokin' In the Dark | |
| 22 | HORN & CANTLE | |
| 23 | Que Mc B's | |
| 24 | Mixers Smoker | |
| 25 | Kick Back BBQ | |
| 26 | RUSTY GRILLSWALD |
25 entries · top 180.0000 · median 159.4628 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SMOKERS PURGATORY | |
| 2 | MONTANA OUTLAW BBQ | |
| 3 | Mountain Smoke | |
| 4 | NATURAL BORN GRILLER'S ALBERTA | |
| 5 | SMELLAQUE | |
| 6 | YOU NEED A BBQ | |
| 7 | CAMP CHEF | |
| 8 | Beer Belly BBQ | |
| 9 | GRATE EXPECTATIONS | |
| 10 | UP IN SMOKE BBQ | |
| 11 | BBQ NERDS | |
| 12 | BROKEN BARREL BBQ & KITCHEN | |
| 13 | POPPIN' SMOKE | |
| 14 | SMOKAPALOOZA | |
| 15 | Spice Grills | |
| 16 | Que Mc B's | |
| 17 | SMOKIN JERKS | |
| 18 | Kick Back BBQ | |
| 19 | BLUE LINE BBQ | |
| 20 | Smokin' In the Dark | |
| 21 | CHEFS TABLE FOOD TRUCK AND CATERING | |
| 22 | 12 BAR BLUES CUE | |
| 23 | Mixers Smoker | |
| 24 | GSTRONG | |
| 25 | HORN & CANTLE |
26 entries · top 178.8572 · median 155.3944
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | YOU NEED A BBQ | |
| 2 | SMOKERS PURGATORY | |
| 3 | GRATE EXPECTATIONS | |
| 4 | SMELLAQUE | |
| 5 | MONTANA OUTLAW BBQ | |
| 6 | 12 BAR BLUES CUE | |
| 7 | UP IN SMOKE BBQ | |
| 8 | BLUE LINE BBQ | |
| 9 | NATURAL BORN GRILLER'S ALBERTA | |
| 10 | Mountain Smoke | |
| 11 | Beer Belly BBQ | |
| 12 | BROKEN BARREL BBQ & KITCHEN | |
| 13 | SMOKIN JERKS | |
| 14 | SMOKAPALOOZA | |
| 15 | CAMP CHEF | |
| 16 | CHEFS TABLE FOOD TRUCK AND CATERING | |
| 17 | GSTRONG | |
| 18 | BBQ NERDS | |
| 19 | RUSTY GRILLSWALD | |
| 20 | Que Mc B's | |
| 21 | HORN & CANTLE | |
| 22 | Smokin' In the Dark | |
| 23 | Kick Back BBQ | |
| 24 | Spice Grills | |
| 25 | Mixers Smoker | |
| 26 | POPPIN' SMOKE |
26 entries · top 175.4056 · median 161.9428
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | GRATE EXPECTATIONS | |
| 2 | BBQ NERDS | |
| 3 | MONTANA OUTLAW BBQ | |
| 4 | UP IN SMOKE BBQ | |
| 5 | YOU NEED A BBQ | |
| 6 | SMELLAQUE | |
| 7 | CAMP CHEF | |
| 8 | Beer Belly BBQ | |
| 9 | NATURAL BORN GRILLER'S ALBERTA | |
| 10 | Spice Grills | |
| 11 | Mountain Smoke | |
| 12 | 12 BAR BLUES CUE | |
| 13 | GSTRONG | |
| 14 | SMOKERS PURGATORY | |
| 15 | BROKEN BARREL BBQ & KITCHEN | |
| 16 | SMOKIN JERKS | |
| 17 | SMOKAPALOOZA | |
| 18 | POPPIN' SMOKE | |
| 19 | HORN & CANTLE | |
| 20 | BLUE LINE BBQ | |
| 21 | CHEFS TABLE FOOD TRUCK AND CATERING | |
| 22 | Mixers Smoker | |
| 23 | Kick Back BBQ | |
| 24 | Smokin' In the Dark | |
| 25 | RUSTY GRILLSWALD | |
| 26 | Que Mc B's |
25 entries · top 176.5600 · median 157.6800
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beer Belly BBQ | |
| 2 | UP IN SMOKE BBQ | |
| 3 | MONTANA OUTLAW BBQ | |
| 4 | BLUE LINE BBQ | |
| 5 | GRATE EXPECTATIONS | |
| 6 | BROKEN BARREL BBQ & KITCHEN | |
| 7 | BBQ NERDS | |
| 8 | SMOKIN JERKS | |
| 9 | Mountain Smoke | |
| 10 | SMOKAPALOOZA | |
| 11 | YOU NEED A BBQ | |
| 12 | 12 BAR BLUES CUE | |
| 13 | POPPIN' SMOKE | |
| 14 | SMOKERS PURGATORY | |
| 15 | SMELLAQUE | |
| 16 | NATURAL BORN GRILLER'S ALBERTA | |
| 17 | Spice Grills | |
| 18 | Que Mc B's | |
| 19 | CAMP CHEF | |
| 20 | Smokin' In the Dark | |
| 21 | GSTRONG | |
| 22 | CHEFS TABLE FOOD TRUCK AND CATERING | |
| 23 | Mixers Smoker | |
| 24 | HORN & CANTLE | |
| 25 | RUSTY GRILLSWALD |