Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 2)
2026-07-18 – 2026-07-19 · Miles, IA · 📍 99 Centennial St.
Reps: LAURIE TWETEN, PATRICK DILLER · Prize money: $2,550.00
Grand Champion: Kick Ash BBQ (353.7028) · 28 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ
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
⚖️ Decided by a tiebreaker
The top two teams finished on identical totals — the Grand Championship came down to the KCBS tiebreaker rules.
🧳 Out-of-towners took the title
Kick Ash BBQ took the Grand Championship home to WI.
📸 Photo finishes
Pork Ribs places 5–6: Skinny Pig BBQ and T Daddys BBQ tied on 175.4172 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 9–10: RedHog BBQ and Bramble BBQ tied on 173.1316 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 4–5: Smokey Bros Barbecue edged SMOKEY GQ by 0.0116.
🛡️ Back to defend
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: Chesters Twisted Que (won 2025), Bramble BBQ (won 2025), Must B Smokin' Somethin' BBQ Team (won 2026).
🃏 An upset on the books
Kick Ash BBQ came in rated below the field's top team, WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 13-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 | Miles, IA | 99 Centennial St. | 27 | 355.4172 | Must B Smokin' Somethin' BBQ Team | — |
| 2026-07-18 ← this one | 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 | 180.0000 | 175.4172 | 173.1200 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.8572 | 175.4172 | 173.1316 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Backyard Series
Overall
28 entries · top 353.7028 · median 339.6744
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kick Ash BBQ | |
| 2 | WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ | |
| 3 | Smoke N Poke BBQ | |
| 4 | T Daddys BBQ | |
| 5 | Bramble BBQ | |
| 6 | Must B Smokin' Somethin' BBQ Team | |
| 7 | RedHog BBQ | |
| 8 | Chester's Twisted Que | |
| 9 | All Smoked Up BBQ | |
| 10 | SMOKEY GQ | |
| 11 | Skinny Pig BBQ | |
| 12 | SMOKIN E'S BBQ | |
| 13 | FENDER BENDER BBQ | |
| 14 | Rudes BBQ | |
| 15 | DAWGS BBQ | |
| 16 | Big Bear BBQ | |
| 17 | Family Tradition BBQ | |
| 18 | Shmack Q | |
| 19 | River City Smoque | |
| 20 | Smokey Bros Barbecue | |
| 21 | Jessi James Smoking Guns BBQ | |
| 22 | Killer Rex BBQ | |
| 23 | Ribs For Your Pleasure | |
| 24 | McDonald Family BBQ | |
| 25 | Ole Mae I BBQ | |
| 26 | JK Smokin BBQ | |
| 27 | Dagwoods BBQ | |
| 28 | On the Spit BBQ, LLC |
Chicken
28 entries · top 180.0000 · median 169.6916 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kick Ash BBQ | |
| 2 | WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ | |
| 3 | All Smoked Up BBQ | |
| 4 | Smokey Bros Barbecue | |
| 5 | SMOKEY GQ | |
| 6 | Bramble BBQ | |
| 7 | RedHog BBQ | |
| 8 | SMOKIN E'S BBQ | |
| 9 | T Daddys BBQ | |
| 10 | Smoke N Poke BBQ | |
| 11 | Rudes BBQ | |
| 12 | Big Bear BBQ | |
| 13 | Family Tradition BBQ | |
| 14 | Skinny Pig BBQ | |
| 15 | Chester's Twisted Que | |
| 16 | Must B Smokin' Somethin' BBQ Team | |
| 17 | Shmack Q | |
| 18 | DAWGS BBQ | |
| 19 | FENDER BENDER BBQ | |
| 20 | Ole Mae I BBQ | |
| 21 | Jessi James Smoking Guns BBQ | |
| 22 | Ribs For Your Pleasure | |
| 23 | Killer Rex BBQ | |
| 24 | River City Smoque | |
| 25 | JK Smokin BBQ | |
| 26 | McDonald Family BBQ | |
| 27 | Dagwoods BBQ | |
| 28 | On the Spit BBQ, LLC |
Pork Ribs
28 entries · top 178.8572 · median 170.2686
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Must B Smokin' Somethin' BBQ Team | |
| 2 | Smoke N Poke BBQ | |
| 3 | Chester's Twisted Que | |
| 4 | WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ | |
| 5 | Skinny Pig BBQ | |
| 6 | T Daddys BBQ | |
| 7 | FENDER BENDER BBQ | |
| 8 | Kick Ash BBQ | |
| 9 | RedHog BBQ | |
| 10 | Bramble BBQ | |
| 11 | River City Smoque | |
| 12 | SMOKEY GQ | |
| 13 | SMOKIN E'S BBQ | |
| 14 | DAWGS BBQ | |
| 15 | All Smoked Up BBQ | |
| 16 | Rudes BBQ | |
| 17 | Jessi James Smoking Guns BBQ | |
| 18 | McDonald Family BBQ | |
| 19 | Shmack Q | |
| 20 | Killer Rex BBQ | |
| 21 | Family Tradition BBQ | |
| 22 | Big Bear BBQ | |
| 23 | Ribs For Your Pleasure | |
| 24 | Smokey Bros Barbecue | |
| 25 | JK Smokin BBQ | |
| 26 | Ole Mae I BBQ | |
| 27 | Dagwoods BBQ | |
| 28 | On the Spit BBQ, LLC |
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 180.0000 · median 170.5544 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Smokey Bros Barbecue | |
| 2 | SMOKIN E'S BBQ | |
| 3 | JK Smokin BBQ | |
| 4 | WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ | |
| 5 | Rudes BBQ | |
| 6 | FENDER BENDER BBQ | |
| 7 | Skinny Pig BBQ | |
| 8 | Smoke N Poke BBQ | |
| 9 | Dagwoods BBQ | |
| 10 | DAWGS BBQ | |
| 11 | Big Bear BBQ | |
| 12 | On the Spit BBQ, LLC | |
| 13 | Kick Ash BBQ | |
| 14 | Chester's Twisted Que | |
| 15 | All Smoked Up BBQ | |
| 16 | Jessi James Smoking Guns BBQ | |
| 17 | T Daddys BBQ | |
| 18 | RedHog BBQ | |
| 19 | Must B Smokin' Somethin' BBQ Team | |
| 20 | Killer Rex BBQ | |
| 21 | Ole Mae I BBQ | |
| 22 | Bramble BBQ |