Aug 24–25, 2018 · Paola, KS · 📍 Park Square
DIRT ROAD BBQ won Grand Champion at the East Central State BBQ Cook-Off, Paola Roots Festival on August 24, 2018 in Paola, KS at Park Square, scoring 690.7996 in a field of 67 teams. GETTIN' BASTED took Reserve Grand Champion with 689.0512. Category winners: Chicken — SMOKE RINGERS (177.7028); Pork Ribs — HIGH i QUE (176.5716); Pork — GETTIN' SAUCED (180.0000); Brisket — Happy Grillmore (180.0000). This is the 6th of 8 editions of this contest on record; the 2017 edition was won by SLAPS BBQ; 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, 2013 to 2022 — 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.
DIRT ROAD BBQ won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 3 calls from 4 boards, best of them 2nd. Consistency beat fireworks.
2 of 8 tracked editions
BIG WIGS BBQ has won this contest 2 times across its 8 tracked editions.
First to fifth in the overall standings covered just 4.5712 points.
Chicken places 3–4: GETTIN' BASTED and AMERICAN FIRE BBQ tied on 175.4056 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 4–5: AMERICAN FIRE BBQ and BIG WIGS BBQ tied on 175.4056 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 1–2: HIGH i QUE and BEAUX HAWG BBQ tied on 176.5716 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: BIG WIGS BBQ (won 2013, 2015), DEAD LAST BBQ (won 2014), B & C SMOKERS (won 2016), SLAPS BBQ (won 2017).
Bigger than 94% of the 5,482 contests in the data
67 teams — bigger than 94% of the 5,482 contests in the data.
2 perfect 180s were scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 23, 2013 | Paola, KS | Paola, KS | 68 | 681.1200 | BIG WIGS BBQ | SWEET PETE'S SMOKIN' HOT MEAT |
| Aug 22, 2014 | Paola, KS | Paola, KS 66071 | 69 | 685.7372 | DEAD LAST BBQ | SMOKIN' R'S 2.0 |
| Aug 28, 2015 | Paola, KS | Paola, KS 66071 | 65 | 682.2860 | BIG WIGS BBQ | SMOKIN' R'S |
| Aug 26, 2016 | Paola, KS | Park Square | 61 | 690.8228 | B & C SMOKERS | SMOKIN' R'S |
| Aug 25, 2017 | Paola, KS | Park Square | 57 | 703.3712 | SLAPS BBQ | JOUSTING PIGS BBQ 2.0 |
| Aug 24, 2018 ← this one | Paola, KS | Park Square | 67 | 690.7996 | DIRT ROAD BBQ | GETTIN' BASTED |
| Aug 23, 2019 | Paola, KS | Town Square | 66 | 696.4912 | Man Meat BBQ | SHAKE 'N BAKE BBQ |
| Aug 26, 2022 | Paola, KS | Town Square | 45 | 705.1428 | FERGOLICIOUS BBQ | HIGH i QUE |
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 177.7028 | 175.4056 | 170.8456 |
| Pork Ribs | 176.5716 | 175.4172 | 172.0232 |
| Pork | 180 | 176.5600 | 174.2628 |
| Brisket | 180 | 176 | 172 |
67 entries · top 690.7996 · median 653.0172
67 entries · top 177.7028 · median 160.5144
67 entries · top 176.5716 · median 163.9656
67 entries · top 180 · median 162.8000 · 🔥 perfect 180
65 entries · top 180 · median 159.9544 · 🔥 perfect 180
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.
34 entries · top 177.7144 · median 168.5256