The Great Wisconsin Tune Up BBQ Contest
2019-04-26 – 2019-04-27 · Manawa, WI · 📍 Bear Lake Resort & Campground · State championship
Reps: DENA MILHOUS, RON MILHOUS · Prize money: $5,000.00
Grand Champion: Iowa's Smokey D's (675.9312) · 26 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 ACES HIGH BBQ
Entries
Top score
Winning margin
Field average
Perfect 180s
Tightest race
Top-10 cutoff
Field spread
Prize money
Double threats
How hot was the win?
Traveled in
Form held
Field strength
Storylines
🪒 A razor-thin finish
The Grand Championship was decided by 0.5828 points — closer than 88% of every championship in the data.
📸 Photo finishes
Chicken places 3–4: Littles BBQ Co edged SHIGGIN & GRINNIN by 0.0116. Brisket places 5–6: 43RD PARALLEL BBQ edged C R BUTTS SMOKE by 0.0116. Chicken places 5–6: ACES HIGH BBQ edged FLYIN' FINN BREWERY & BBQ by 0.0116.
🛡️ Back to defend
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ (won 2018).
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)
Where the field came from (home regions on file)
This contest over the years full contest page →
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-04-27 | Bear Lake Resort & Campground | 26 | 683.3832 | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ | SHIGGIN & GRINNIN | |
| 2019-04-26 ← this one | Manawa, WI | Bear Lake Resort & Campground | 26 | 675.9312 | Iowa's Smokey D's | ACES HIGH BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 173.1428 | 169.1200 | 163.9428 |
| Pork Ribs | 172.0000 | 168.5944 | 162.2516 |
| Pork | 172.0000 | 165.1772 | 160.5716 |
| Brisket | 174.2628 | 162.8344 | 161.0856 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
26 entries · top 675.9312 · median 635.7884
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ | |
| 2 | ACES HIGH BBQ | |
| 3 | SHIGGIN & GRINNIN | |
| 4 | 43RD PARALLEL BBQ | |
| 5 | BIG "E" BBQ | |
| 6 | TIM'S FULL BELLI DELI | |
| 7 | QUE U | |
| 8 | SMOKIN HIGHWAYMEN | |
| 9 | THE BBQ BUS | |
| 10 | Littles BBQ Co | |
| 11 | C R BUTTS SMOKE | |
| 12 | FLYIN' FINN BREWERY & BBQ | |
| 13 | CRASH TEST SMOKERS | |
| 14 | SMOKE INFUSION | |
| 15 | Phoenix BBQ | |
| 16 | BUCKAROO BBQ | |
| 17 | BIG BELLY BBQ | |
| 18 | FREEMAN BROTHERS BBQ | |
| 19 | BURNITA BAR-B-QUE | |
| 20 | Bodacious BBQ Babes! | |
| 21 | PURPLE SHADOW | |
| 22 | SMOKE 'N SANITY | |
| 23 | Pit Snipe BBQ | |
| 24 | 2 CAN SMOKE BBQ | |
| 25 | CRACKHOUSE BBQ | |
| 26 | BIG HORNED BBQ |
Chicken
26 entries · top 173.1428 · median 163.1258
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | TIM'S FULL BELLI DELI | |
| 2 | SMOKIN HIGHWAYMEN | |
| 3 | Littles BBQ Co | |
| 4 | SHIGGIN & GRINNIN | |
| 5 | ACES HIGH BBQ | |
| 6 | FLYIN' FINN BREWERY & BBQ | |
| 7 | 43RD PARALLEL BBQ | |
| 8 | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ | |
| 9 | QUE U | |
| 10 | THE BBQ BUS | |
| 11 | BUCKAROO BBQ | |
| 12 | CRACKHOUSE BBQ | |
| 13 | SMOKE INFUSION | |
| 14 | Bodacious BBQ Babes! | |
| 15 | Pit Snipe BBQ | |
| 16 | BIG "E" BBQ | |
| 17 | C R BUTTS SMOKE | |
| 18 | BIG BELLY BBQ | |
| 19 | Phoenix BBQ | |
| 20 | 2 CAN SMOKE BBQ | |
| 21 | FREEMAN BROTHERS BBQ | |
| 22 | CRASH TEST SMOKERS | |
| 23 | BIG HORNED BBQ | |
| 24 | SMOKE 'N SANITY | |
| 25 | PURPLE SHADOW | |
| 26 | BURNITA BAR-B-QUE |
Pork Ribs
26 entries · top 172.0000 · median 158.8400
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ | |
| 2 | ACES HIGH BBQ | |
| 3 | QUE U | |
| 4 | 43RD PARALLEL BBQ | |
| 5 | Phoenix BBQ | |
| 6 | SMOKIN HIGHWAYMEN | |
| 7 | TIM'S FULL BELLI DELI | |
| 8 | BIG "E" BBQ | |
| 9 | THE BBQ BUS | |
| 10 | FLYIN' FINN BREWERY & BBQ | |
| 11 | SMOKE INFUSION | |
| 12 | Pit Snipe BBQ | |
| 13 | 2 CAN SMOKE BBQ | |
| 14 | CRASH TEST SMOKERS | |
| 15 | BIG HORNED BBQ | |
| 16 | Littles BBQ Co | |
| 17 | SHIGGIN & GRINNIN | |
| 18 | BUCKAROO BBQ | |
| 19 | FREEMAN BROTHERS BBQ | |
| 20 | BURNITA BAR-B-QUE | |
| 21 | C R BUTTS SMOKE | |
| 22 | SMOKE 'N SANITY | |
| 23 | BIG BELLY BBQ | |
| 24 | PURPLE SHADOW | |
| 25 | Bodacious BBQ Babes! | |
| 26 | CRACKHOUSE BBQ |
Pork
26 entries · top 172.0000 · median 159.3772
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BIG "E" BBQ | |
| 2 | SHIGGIN & GRINNIN | |
| 3 | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ | |
| 4 | 43RD PARALLEL BBQ | |
| 5 | C R BUTTS SMOKE | |
| 6 | ACES HIGH BBQ | |
| 7 | CRASH TEST SMOKERS | |
| 8 | BIG BELLY BBQ | |
| 9 | THE BBQ BUS | |
| 10 | BUCKAROO BBQ | |
| 11 | Phoenix BBQ | |
| 12 | TIM'S FULL BELLI DELI | |
| 13 | QUE U | |
| 14 | SMOKE INFUSION | |
| 15 | SMOKIN HIGHWAYMEN | |
| 16 | PURPLE SHADOW | |
| 17 | FREEMAN BROTHERS BBQ | |
| 18 | Littles BBQ Co | |
| 19 | FLYIN' FINN BREWERY & BBQ | |
| 20 | BURNITA BAR-B-QUE | |
| 21 | BIG HORNED BBQ | |
| 22 | CRACKHOUSE BBQ | |
| 23 | Bodacious BBQ Babes! | |
| 24 | Pit Snipe BBQ | |
| 25 | SMOKE 'N SANITY | |
| 26 | 2 CAN SMOKE BBQ |
Brisket
26 entries · top 174.2628 · median 157.4058
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SHIGGIN & GRINNIN | |
| 2 | ACES HIGH BBQ | |
| 3 | BURNITA BAR-B-QUE | |
| 4 | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ | |
| 5 | 43RD PARALLEL BBQ | |
| 6 | C R BUTTS SMOKE | |
| 7 | FREEMAN BROTHERS BBQ | |
| 8 | BIG "E" BBQ | |
| 9 | SMOKE 'N SANITY | |
| 10 | CRASH TEST SMOKERS | |
| 11 | Littles BBQ Co | |
| 12 | QUE U | |
| 13 | BIG BELLY BBQ | |
| 14 | PURPLE SHADOW | |
| 15 | SMOKIN HIGHWAYMEN | |
| 16 | THE BBQ BUS | |
| 17 | TIM'S FULL BELLI DELI | |
| 18 | Bodacious BBQ Babes! | |
| 19 | FLYIN' FINN BREWERY & BBQ | |
| 20 | SMOKE INFUSION | |
| 21 | CRACKHOUSE BBQ | |
| 22 | BUCKAROO BBQ | |
| 23 | 2 CAN SMOKE BBQ | |
| 24 | Phoenix BBQ | |
| 25 | Pit Snipe BBQ | |
| 26 | BIG HORNED BBQ |
Ancillary categories
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.
Ancillary — Dessert
6 entries · top 176.5716 · median 163.4400
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Littles BBQ Co | |
| 2 | Phoenix BBQ | |
| 3 | SMOKIN HIGHWAYMEN | |
| 4 | BIG HORNED BBQ | |
| 5 | SMOKE 'N SANITY | |
| 6 | CRACKHOUSE BBQ |