A new contest record
701.1088
highest overall ever cooked here
701.1088 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 701.0856 LOCAL YOKELS BBQ set in 2018.
- old record 701.0856
- set 2018 by LOCAL YOKELS BBQ
Smoke On the Ohio 2019
Sep 13–14, 2019 · Mt.Vernon, IN · 📍 1 Locust · State championship
Reps: Merrialyce Alvarez, Steve Alvarez · Prize money: $7,000
SCUFFLETOWN SMOKERS won Grand Champion at the Smoke On the Ohio on September 13, 2019 in Mt.Vernon, IN at 1 Locust, scoring 701.1088 in a field of 28 teams. ONE2BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 693.0972. Category winners: Chicken — SCUFFLETOWN SMOKERS (180.0000); Pork Ribs — FARMER'S RETREAT SMOKIN BARBEQUE (180.0000); Pork — SCUFFLETOWN SMOKERS (180.0000); Brisket — JANKY LEG BBQ (180.0000). This is the 3rd of 9 editions of this contest on record; the 2018 edition was won by LOCAL YOKELS BBQ; the next was held in 2021.
The contest at a glance (read off the scored boards)
How the field scored
Overall totals, every team on the board — tall stacks are where the pack sat.
587.23
median 645.26
701.11 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 180 🔥
- Pork Ribs 180 🔥
- Pork 180 🔥
- Brisket 180 🔥
133.60
180
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2017 to 2026 — this edition picked out.
Entries
28
4 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
701.1088
Winning margin
8.0116
GC over RC
Field average
645.74
587.23701.11
median 645.26 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
4 🔥
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
6.8800 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
666.7084
587.23701.11
10th place overall
Field spread
113.8748
winner to last place
Prize money
$7,000
on the line
Double threats
6
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 28%
beats 72% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
32%
9 of 28 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.46 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,522
avg power rating going in · stronger than 15% of contests
Storylines (9 found in this contest's numbers)
Everything below is read straight out of the results — the number on each card is the one that made it a story.
An upset on the books
32-in-100
shot on pre-contest ratings
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 68 times in 100
SCUFFLETOWN SMOKERS came in rated below the field's top team, One2BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 32-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
- champion 1798
- top seed 1931
A day of perfect scores
4
perfect 180s
4 perfect 180s were scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- JANKY LEG BBQ · Brisket
- SCUFFLETOWN SMOKERS · Chicken
- SCUFFLETOWN SMOKERS · Pork
A dynasty in the making
3×
wins at this contest
3 of 9 tracked editions
Scuffletown Smokers has won this contest 3 times across its 9 tracked editions.
- 2019
- 2023
- 2026
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 5 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 7–8: JANKY LEG BBQ and GLAD TO MEAT YOU tied on 168.5256 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 6–7: HOBBIE BAR-B-Q edged FARMER'S RETREAT SMOKIN BARBEQUE by 0.0116. Pork places 7–8: Schmitz House BBQ edged Z-Smoke by 0.0228.
- Chicken 7–8 · tie
- Brisket 6–7 · 0.0116
- Pork 7–8 · 0.0228
- Chicken 4–5 · 0.0228
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
SCUFFLETOWN SMOKERS won Chicken, Pork — a double, and took the Grand Championship on top of it.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork 1st
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
SCUFFLETOWN SMOKERS took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 2 outright wins — their weakest board was brisket at 10th.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 3rd
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 10th
A contest record in pork ribs
180.0000
best pork ribs ever cooked here
FARMER'S RETREAT SMOKIN BARBEQUE turned in 180.0000 in pork ribs — past the 176.5944 that had stood across 2 earlier editions.
- old best 176.5944
- across 2 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: FARMER'S RETREAT SMOKIN BARBEQUE (won 2017).
- FARMER'S RETREAT SMOKIN BARBEQUE · 2017
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)
This contest over the years full contest page →
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 8, 2017 | Mt.Vernon, IN | Water St | 29 | 693.0856 | FARMER'S RETREAT SMOKIN BARBEQUE | GRUMPY GOOSE BBQ |
| Sep 7, 2018 | Mt.Vernon, IN | Water St | 28 | 701.0856 | LOCAL YOKELS BBQ | SHAKE 'N BAKE BBQ |
| Sep 13, 2019 ← this one | Mt.Vernon, IN | 1 Locust | 28 | 701.1088 | Scuffletown Smokers | ONE2BBQ |
| Sep 10, 2021 | Mt. Vernon, IN | 110 East Water St. | 16 | 702.2400 | Local Yokels | SCUFFLETOWN SMOKERS |
| Sep 9, 2022 | Mt. Vernon, IN | Riverbend Park | 12 | 716 | Local Yokels | DB BBQ |
| Sep 8, 2023 | Mt. Vernon, IN | Riverbend Park | 25 | 709.6684 | Scuffletown Smokers | DB BBQ |
| Sep 13, 2024 | Mt. Vernon, IN | Riverbend Park | 28 | 703.9428 | Mulkey's BBQ | JaBs BBQ |
| Sep 12, 2025 | Mt. Vernon, IN | Riverbend Park | 27 | 709.1428 | JaBs | SCUFFLETOWN SMOKERS |
| Sep 11, 2026 | Mt. Vernon, IN | 1817 Glen Eagles Dr. | 26 | 708 | Scuffletown Smokers | Mulkey's BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180 | 170.8344 | 164.5600 |
| Pork Ribs | 180 | 173.1200 | 165.7028 |
| Pork | 180 | 170.2628 | 166.8344 |
| Brisket | 180 | 170.8572 | 164.5488 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
28 entries · top 701.1088 · median 645.2572
Chicken
28 entries · top 180 · median 161.6740 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork Ribs
28 entries · top 180 · median 161.6858 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork
28 entries · top 180 · median 165.3942 · 🔥 perfect 180
Brisket
28 entries · top 180 · median 159.3884 · 🔥 perfect 180
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 — Steak
15 entries · top 178.2972 · median 154.8344
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | zzsRANDY PRUDEN | |
| 2 | zzsALBY RANSON | |
| 3 | zzsJORDON KIRKPATRICK | |
| 4 | zzsMIKE GANGEL | |
| 5 | zzsJASON PERRY | |
| 6 | zzsCHRIS HOWTON | |
| 7 | zzyGREG NEWTON | |
| 8 | zzsTIM ONSTOTT | |
| 9 | zzsTOM UTLEY | |
| 10 | zzsJOE ASSENZA | |
| 11 | zzsBOBBIE SIMPSON | |
| 12 | zzsERIC HERSHBERGER | |
| 13 | zzsLEE REEVES | |
| 14 | zzsTOMMY GROSS | |
| 15 | zzsJOHN WANNEMUEHLER |