Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 1)
2026-07-17 – 2026-07-18 · Miles, IA · 📍 99 Centennial St.
Reps: LAURIE TWETEN, PATRICK DILLER · Prize money: $2,450.00
Grand Champion: Must B Smokin' Somethin' BBQ Team (355.4172) · 27 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 Rudes 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
Came back for more
Form held
Field strength
Storylines
🧳 Out-of-towners took the title
Must B Smokin' Somethin' BBQ Team took the Grand Championship home to TN.
📸 Photo finishes
Chicken places 2–3: Must B Smokin' Somethin' BBQ Team and Rudes BBQ tied on 176.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 5–6: Kick Ash BBQ and DAWGS BBQ tied on 174.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 8–9: Killer Rex BBQ and SMOKIN E'S BBQ tied on 173.1084 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
🛡️ Back to defend
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: Chesters Twisted Que (won 2025), Bramble BBQ (won 2025).
🃏 An upset on the books
Must B Smokin' Somethin' BBQ Team came in rated below the field's top team, WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 24-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-07-12 | Miles, IA | 44 Centennial St. | 11 | 353.7144 | BBQ Pit Bros | — |
| 2025-07-11 | Miles, IA | 44 Centennial St. | 18 | 349.7028 | Chesters Twisted Que | — |
| 2025-07-12 | Miles, IA | 44 Centennial St. | 16 | 353.1316 | Bramble BBQ | — |
| 2026-07-17 ← this one | Miles, IA | 99 Centennial St. | 27 | 355.4172 | Must B Smokin' Somethin' BBQ Team | — |
| 2026-07-18 | Miles, IA | 99 Centennial St. | 28 | 353.7028 | Kick Ash BBQ | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 177.7144 | 174.2628 | 171.9656 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.8572 | 174.2628 | 171.9772 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Backyard Series
Overall
27 entries · top 355.4172 · median 337.6688
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Must B Smokin' Somethin' BBQ Team | |
| 2 | Rudes BBQ | |
| 3 | WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ | |
| 4 | Kick Ash BBQ | |
| 5 | Skinny Pig BBQ | |
| 6 | SMOKIN E'S BBQ | |
| 7 | SMOKEY GQ | |
| 8 | DAWGS BBQ | |
| 9 | FENDER BENDER BBQ | |
| 10 | Big Bear BBQ | |
| 11 | Smoke N Poke BBQ | |
| 12 | Killer Rex BBQ | |
| 13 | Bramble BBQ | |
| 14 | Chester's Twisted Que | |
| 15 | River City Smoque | |
| 16 | Shmack Q | |
| 17 | RedHog BBQ | |
| 18 | All Smoked Up BBQ | |
| 19 | Dagwoods BBQ | |
| 20 | Ribs For Your Pleasure | |
| 21 | Jessi James Smoking Guns BBQ | |
| 22 | T Daddys BBQ | |
| 23 | McDonald Family BBQ | |
| 24 | On the Spit BBQ, LLC | |
| 25 | JK Smokin BBQ | |
| 26 | Ole Mae I BBQ | |
| 27 | Smokey Bros Barbecue |
Chicken
27 entries · top 177.7144 · median 169.1544
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ | |
| 2 | Must B Smokin' Somethin' BBQ Team | |
| 3 | Rudes BBQ | |
| 4 | Skinny Pig BBQ | |
| 5 | Kick Ash BBQ | |
| 6 | DAWGS BBQ | |
| 7 | SMOKEY GQ | |
| 8 | Killer Rex BBQ | |
| 9 | SMOKIN E'S BBQ | |
| 10 | RedHog BBQ | |
| 11 | Chester's Twisted Que | |
| 12 | FENDER BENDER BBQ | |
| 13 | Shmack Q | |
| 14 | T Daddys BBQ | |
| 15 | McDonald Family BBQ | |
| 16 | Smoke N Poke BBQ | |
| 17 | All Smoked Up BBQ | |
| 18 | Big Bear BBQ | |
| 19 | River City Smoque | |
| 20 | Bramble BBQ | |
| 21 | Ribs For Your Pleasure | |
| 22 | Smokey Bros Barbecue | |
| 23 | Dagwoods BBQ | |
| 24 | On the Spit BBQ, LLC | |
| 25 | Jessi James Smoking Guns BBQ | |
| 26 | JK Smokin BBQ | |
| 27 | Ole Mae I BBQ |
Pork Ribs
26 entries · top 178.8572 · median 170.8458
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Must B Smokin' Somethin' BBQ Team | |
| 2 | Rudes BBQ | |
| 3 | SMOKIN E'S BBQ | |
| 4 | WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ | |
| 5 | SMOKEY GQ | |
| 6 | Kick Ash BBQ | |
| 7 | FENDER BENDER BBQ | |
| 8 | Ole Mae I BBQ | |
| 9 | Jessi James Smoking Guns BBQ | |
| 10 | Big Bear BBQ | |
| 11 | Bramble BBQ | |
| 12 | Skinny Pig BBQ | |
| 13 | Smoke N Poke BBQ | |
| 14 | DAWGS BBQ | |
| 15 | River City Smoque | |
| 16 | Dagwoods BBQ | |
| 17 | Killer Rex BBQ | |
| 18 | Chester's Twisted Que | |
| 19 | All Smoked Up BBQ | |
| 20 | Shmack Q | |
| 21 | Ribs For Your Pleasure | |
| 22 | RedHog BBQ | |
| 23 | JK Smokin BBQ | |
| 24 | On the Spit BBQ, LLC | |
| 25 | T Daddys BBQ | |
| 26 | McDonald Family 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 — Sausage
22 entries · top 178.8572 · median 168.5256
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SMOKIN E'S BBQ | |
| 2 | WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ | |
| 3 | Dagwoods BBQ | |
| 4 | Smokey Bros Barbecue | |
| 5 | DAWGS BBQ | |
| 6 | RedHog BBQ | |
| 7 | JK Smokin BBQ | |
| 8 | Must B Smokin' Somethin' BBQ Team | |
| 9 | Skinny Pig BBQ | |
| 10 | Rudes BBQ | |
| 11 | Smoke N Poke BBQ | |
| 12 | FENDER BENDER BBQ | |
| 13 | T Daddys BBQ | |
| 14 | Ole Mae I BBQ | |
| 15 | Killer Rex BBQ | |
| 16 | Big Bear BBQ | |
| 17 | Chester's Twisted Que | |
| 18 | All Smoked Up BBQ | |
| 19 | Kick Ash BBQ | |
| 20 | Bramble BBQ | |
| 21 | On the Spit BBQ, LLC | |
| 22 | Jessi James Smoking Guns BBQ |