A hat-trick of category wins
3
category wins in a day
Smoke, Fire & Brew won Chicken, Pork Ribs, Pork — a hat-trick, and took the Grand Championship on top of it.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 1st
Decatur's Smokin BBQ Festival Backyard Competition Presented by Kenney's Ace Hardware (BACKYARD ONLY)
— · Decatur, IL · 📍 Central Park Downtown Decatur
Reps: Jeanne Titus, Tina Weller · Prize money: $3,500
Smoke, Fire & Brew won Grand Champion at the Decatur's Smokin BBQ Festival Backyard Competition Presented by Kenney's Ace Hardware (BACKYARD ONLY) in Decatur, IL at Central Park Downtown Decatur, scoring 533.7716 in a field of 22 teams. T Daddy's BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 527.4400. Category winners: Chicken — Smoke, Fire & Brew (176.6172); Pork Ribs — Smoke, Fire & Brew (178.8572); Pork — Smoke, Fire & Brew (178.2972).
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.
341.13
median 478.56
533.77 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 176.62
- Pork Ribs 178.86
- Pork 178.30
20
178.86
Entries
22
3 judged meats
Top score
533.7716
Winning margin
6.3316
GC over RC
Field average
477.55
341.13533.77
median 478.56 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
4.6172 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
481.0284
341.13533.77
10th place overall
Field spread
192.6400
winner to last place
Prize money
$3,500
on the line
Double threats
3
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
Storylines (3 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.
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 6 calls decided inside half a point
Pork Ribs places 3–4: Big Truck BBQ and Doc's Rib Shack tied on 169.7260 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 7–8: Doc's Rib Shack edged Twin Maples BBQ by 0.0116. Chicken places 9–10: 309 BBQ edged A Couple of Pigs by 0.0228.
- Pork Ribs 3–4 · tie
- Pork 7–8 · 0.0116
- Chicken 9–10 · 0.0228
- Pork Ribs 4–5 · 0.0232
How the title was won
3 of 3
meats called to the stage
Smoke, Fire & Brew took the title on 3 calls from 3 meats, with 3 outright wins — their weakest board was chicken at 1st.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 1st
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
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 176.6172 | 172 | 166.2628 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.8572 | 169.7028 | 162.8344 |
| Pork | 178.2972 | 168.5944 | 162.2400 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Backyard Series
Overall
22 entries · top 533.7716 · median 478.5602 · out of 540, not the usual 360
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Smoke, Fire & Brew | |
| 2 | T Daddy's BBQ | |
| 3 | SMOKIN WINE-O'S | |
| 4 | PAPA JIM'S BBQ | |
| 5 | Smokin' Tinman | |
| 6 | Midwest Meat Sweats | |
| 7 | 309 BBQ | |
| 8 | Pineview BBQ | |
| 9 | BIG STEVE'S SMOKEM & CHOKEM BBQ | |
| 10 | A Couple of Pigs | |
| 11 | Doc's Rib Shack | |
| 12 | TBC BBQ | |
| 13 | Three Brother BBQ | |
| 14 | Twin Maples BBQ | |
| 15 | Daugherty BBQ | |
| 16 | Two Pigs In A Pod | |
| 17 | Bag of Bones BBQ | |
| 18 | Hot Embers BBQ | |
| 19 | Grumpy Old Ham | |
| 20 | TB's Rings of Fire | |
| 21 | Wilson Boys BBQ | |
| 22 | Big Truck BBQ |
Chicken
22 entries · top 176.6172 · median 164.3086
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Smoke, Fire & Brew | |
| 2 | T Daddy's BBQ | |
| 3 | Midwest Meat Sweats | |
| 4 | Smokin' Tinman | |
| 5 | SMOKIN WINE-O'S | |
| 6 | Pineview BBQ | |
| 7 | BIG STEVE'S SMOKEM & CHOKEM BBQ | |
| 8 | PAPA JIM'S BBQ | |
| 9 | 309 BBQ | |
| 10 | A Couple of Pigs | |
| 11 | Daugherty BBQ | |
| 12 | Two Pigs In A Pod | |
| 13 | Grumpy Old Ham | |
| 14 | Twin Maples BBQ | |
| 15 | Wilson Boys BBQ | |
| 16 | Three Brother BBQ | |
| 17 | Hot Embers BBQ | |
| 18 | TB's Rings of Fire | |
| 19 | Big Truck BBQ | |
| 20 | Bag of Bones BBQ | |
| 21 | TBC BBQ | |
| 22 | Doc's Rib Shack |
Pork Ribs
22 entries · top 178.8572 · median 158.8342
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Smoke, Fire & Brew | |
| 2 | T Daddy's BBQ | |
| 3 | Big Truck BBQ | |
| 4 | Doc's Rib Shack | |
| 5 | Three Brother BBQ | |
| 6 | Smokin' Tinman | |
| 7 | PAPA JIM'S BBQ | |
| 8 | SMOKIN WINE-O'S | |
| 9 | 309 BBQ | |
| 10 | Daugherty BBQ | |
| 11 | TBC BBQ | |
| 12 | Midwest Meat Sweats | |
| 13 | Pineview BBQ | |
| 14 | BIG STEVE'S SMOKEM & CHOKEM BBQ | |
| 15 | A Couple of Pigs | |
| 16 | Two Pigs In A Pod | |
| 17 | Hot Embers BBQ | |
| 18 | Bag of Bones BBQ | |
| 19 | Twin Maples BBQ | |
| 20 | Wilson Boys BBQ | |
| 21 | Grumpy Old Ham | |
| 22 | TB's Rings of Fire |
Pork
22 entries · top 178.2972 · median 160.5200
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Smoke, Fire & Brew | |
| 2 | T Daddy's BBQ | |
| 3 | SMOKIN WINE-O'S | |
| 4 | PAPA JIM'S BBQ | |
| 5 | TBC BBQ | |
| 6 | Midwest Meat Sweats | |
| 7 | Doc's Rib Shack | |
| 8 | Twin Maples BBQ | |
| 9 | Bag of Bones BBQ | |
| 10 | 309 BBQ | |
| 11 | A Couple of Pigs | |
| 12 | Smokin' Tinman | |
| 13 | TB's Rings of Fire | |
| 14 | Pineview BBQ | |
| 15 | BIG STEVE'S SMOKEM & CHOKEM BBQ | |
| 16 | Hot Embers BBQ | |
| 17 | Grumpy Old Ham | |
| 18 | Two Pigs In A Pod | |
| 19 | Three Brother BBQ | |
| 20 | Daugherty BBQ | |
| 21 | Wilson Boys BBQ | |
| 22 | Big Truck BBQ |