Buckeye BBQ Classic
2026-07-17 – 2026-07-18 · Hillsboro, OH · 📍 604 John St · State championship
Reps: BECKY DRUETZLER, DAVE DRUETZLER · Prize money: $4,500.00
Grand Champion: TIRE SMOKE BBQ (700.5944) · 30 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN
Entries
Top score
Winning margin
Field average
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
🪒 A razor-thin finish
The Grand Championship was decided by 0.0804 points — closer than 94% of every championship in the data.
🧳 Out-of-towners took the title
TIRE SMOKE BBQ took the Grand Championship home to IN.
📸 Photo finishes
Chicken places 2–3: LOCAL YOKELS BBQ and Bleacher Bums BBQ tied on 177.1428 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 1–2: ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN and Thin Blue BBQ tied on 177.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 3–4: Cotton BBQ and Drum Smoke BBQ tied on 176.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
🛡️ Back to defend
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: BLUE CHIP BBQ (won 2025).
🃏 An upset on the books
TIRE SMOKE BBQ came in rated below the field's top team, ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 26-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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-07-18 | Hillsboro, OH | 604 John St | 40 | 703.3944 | BLUE CHIP BBQ | UNCLE TOAD'S COMPETITION BBQ |
| 2026-07-17 ← this one | Hillsboro, OH | 604 John St | 30 | 700.5944 | TIRE SMOKE BBQ | ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180.0000 | 176.0116 | 174.2744 |
| Pork Ribs | 177.7028 | 175.4172 | 173.1544 |
| Pork | 179.4400 | 175.4172 | 174.2628 |
| Brisket | 179.4400 | 174.2744 | 170.8228 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
30 entries · top 700.5944 · median 685.9314
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | TIRE SMOKE BBQ | |
| 2 | ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN | |
| 3 | LOCAL YOKELS BBQ | |
| 4 | Cotton BBQ | |
| 5 | Sailor Nicks BBQ | |
| 6 | BLUE CHIP BBQ | |
| 7 | BooyaQ | |
| 8 | Salted Anchor | |
| 9 | BEER TIME BBQ | |
| 10 | Butts-N-Racks BBQ | |
| 11 | Littledoodle BBQ | |
| 12 | Team Cookie | |
| 13 | Shiggin aint easy | |
| 14 | Brisket Bones n Brews | |
| 15 | UNCLE TOAD'S COMPETITION BBQ | |
| 16 | Bleacher Bums BBQ | |
| 17 | Q-Jitsu | |
| 18 | FLAT BOTTOM BBQ | |
| 19 | With a 180 | |
| 20 | The Hogfathers Barbecue | |
| 21 | Pink Piggy BBQ | |
| 22 | Thin Blue BBQ | |
| 23 | Drum Smoke BBQ | |
| 24 | JAYRHEA BBQ | |
| 25 | Team BS BBQ | |
| 26 | THE REAL OG BBQ | |
| 27 | OUI OUI OUI BBQ | |
| 28 | Bones, Rubs, and Harmony | |
| 29 | Meat Stroke BBQ | |
| 30 | Whistle Pig BBQ |
Chicken
30 entries · top 180.0000 · median 171.1142 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Team Cookie | |
| 2 | LOCAL YOKELS BBQ | |
| 3 | Bleacher Bums BBQ | |
| 4 | Cotton BBQ | |
| 5 | Sailor Nicks BBQ | |
| 6 | BEER TIME BBQ | |
| 7 | Butts-N-Racks BBQ | |
| 8 | TIRE SMOKE BBQ | |
| 9 | ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN | |
| 10 | Salted Anchor | |
| 11 | BooyaQ | |
| 12 | FLAT BOTTOM BBQ | |
| 13 | Brisket Bones n Brews | |
| 14 | Littledoodle BBQ | |
| 15 | Shiggin aint easy | |
| 16 | BLUE CHIP BBQ | |
| 17 | UNCLE TOAD'S COMPETITION BBQ | |
| 18 | The Hogfathers Barbecue | |
| 19 | THE REAL OG BBQ | |
| 20 | With a 180 | |
| 21 | Thin Blue BBQ | |
| 22 | Meat Stroke BBQ | |
| 23 | Q-Jitsu | |
| 24 | Pink Piggy BBQ | |
| 25 | OUI OUI OUI BBQ | |
| 26 | Team BS BBQ | |
| 27 | Bones, Rubs, and Harmony | |
| 28 | JAYRHEA BBQ | |
| 29 | Drum Smoke BBQ | |
| 30 | Whistle Pig BBQ |
Pork Ribs
30 entries · top 177.7028 · median 171.9714
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN | |
| 2 | Thin Blue BBQ | |
| 3 | Cotton BBQ | |
| 4 | Drum Smoke BBQ | |
| 5 | Brisket Bones n Brews | |
| 6 | BooyaQ | |
| 7 | Sailor Nicks BBQ | |
| 8 | JAYRHEA BBQ | |
| 9 | BEER TIME BBQ | |
| 10 | TIRE SMOKE BBQ | |
| 11 | Team Cookie | |
| 12 | Littledoodle BBQ | |
| 13 | With a 180 | |
| 14 | Shiggin aint easy | |
| 15 | OUI OUI OUI BBQ | |
| 16 | Q-Jitsu | |
| 17 | Butts-N-Racks BBQ | |
| 18 | Team BS BBQ | |
| 19 | Salted Anchor | |
| 20 | LOCAL YOKELS BBQ | |
| 21 | FLAT BOTTOM BBQ | |
| 22 | Bleacher Bums BBQ | |
| 23 | The Hogfathers Barbecue | |
| 24 | UNCLE TOAD'S COMPETITION BBQ | |
| 25 | Pink Piggy BBQ | |
| 26 | BLUE CHIP BBQ | |
| 27 | THE REAL OG BBQ | |
| 28 | Bones, Rubs, and Harmony | |
| 29 | Meat Stroke BBQ | |
| 30 | Whistle Pig BBQ |
Pork
30 entries · top 179.4400 · median 170.8286
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | LOCAL YOKELS BBQ | |
| 2 | BLUE CHIP BBQ | |
| 3 | TIRE SMOKE BBQ | |
| 4 | ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN | |
| 5 | Salted Anchor | |
| 6 | With a 180 | |
| 7 | Cotton BBQ | |
| 8 | Q-Jitsu | |
| 9 | Shiggin aint easy | |
| 10 | Littledoodle BBQ | |
| 11 | BooyaQ | |
| 12 | BEER TIME BBQ | |
| 13 | Team Cookie | |
| 14 | Butts-N-Racks BBQ | |
| 15 | UNCLE TOAD'S COMPETITION BBQ | |
| 16 | Brisket Bones n Brews | |
| 17 | Sailor Nicks BBQ | |
| 18 | The Hogfathers Barbecue | |
| 19 | FLAT BOTTOM BBQ | |
| 20 | Bleacher Bums BBQ | |
| 21 | JAYRHEA BBQ | |
| 22 | Pink Piggy BBQ | |
| 23 | Drum Smoke BBQ | |
| 24 | Bones, Rubs, and Harmony | |
| 25 | THE REAL OG BBQ | |
| 26 | OUI OUI OUI BBQ | |
| 27 | Thin Blue BBQ | |
| 28 | Meat Stroke BBQ | |
| 29 | Team BS BBQ | |
| 30 | Whistle Pig BBQ |
Brisket
30 entries · top 179.4400 · median 169.6914
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | UNCLE TOAD'S COMPETITION BBQ | |
| 2 | BLUE CHIP BBQ | |
| 3 | TIRE SMOKE BBQ | |
| 4 | Sailor Nicks BBQ | |
| 5 | LOCAL YOKELS BBQ | |
| 6 | Team BS BBQ | |
| 7 | Salted Anchor | |
| 8 | ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN | |
| 9 | Pink Piggy BBQ | |
| 10 | Shiggin aint easy | |
| 11 | BooyaQ | |
| 12 | Butts-N-Racks BBQ | |
| 13 | Q-Jitsu | |
| 14 | FLAT BOTTOM BBQ | |
| 15 | Littledoodle BBQ | |
| 16 | Bleacher Bums BBQ | |
| 17 | The Hogfathers Barbecue | |
| 18 | Drum Smoke BBQ | |
| 19 | Cotton BBQ | |
| 20 | BEER TIME BBQ | |
| 21 | Brisket Bones n Brews | |
| 22 | THE REAL OG BBQ | |
| 23 | With a 180 | |
| 24 | Thin Blue BBQ | |
| 25 | JAYRHEA BBQ | |
| 26 | Team Cookie | |
| 27 | Bones, Rubs, and Harmony | |
| 28 | OUI OUI OUI BBQ | |
| 29 | Meat Stroke BBQ | |
| 30 | Whistle Pig 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 — Anything Butt
8 entries · top 179.4400 · median 172.8628
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | LOCAL YOKELS BBQ | |
| 2 | Thin Blue BBQ | |
| 3 | UNCLE TOAD'S COMPETITION BBQ | |
| 4 | Meat Stroke BBQ | |
| 5 | THE REAL OG BBQ | |
| 6 | JAYRHEA BBQ | |
| 7 | Whistle Pig BBQ | |
| 8 | Pink Piggy BBQ |