A new contest record
698.8344
highest overall ever cooked here
698.8344 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 695.9544 ELEGANTLY VIOLENT BBQ set in 2017.
- old record 695.9544
- set 2017 by ELEGANTLY VIOLENT BBQ
Smokin in the Hills 2020
Sep 18–19, 2020 · Hillsboro, OH · 📍 604 John Street · State championship
Reps: Becky Druetzler, Dave Druetzler · Prize money: $9,000
ONE2BBQ won Grand Champion at the Smokin in the Hills on September 18, 2020 in Hillsboro, OH at 604 John Street, scoring 698.8344 in a field of 41 teams. HIGH ON THE HAWG took Reserve Grand Champion with 688.5256. Category winners: Chicken — ONE2BBQ (178.8572); Pork Ribs — BURNING PIG BBQ (177.1544); Pork — SmokinGhost BBQ (178.2972); Brisket — THE BBQ BUS (178.8572). This is the 4th of 5 editions of this contest on record; the 2019 edition was won by Uncle Toads; 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.
602.70
median 667.93
698.83 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 178.86
- Pork Ribs 177.15
- Pork 178.30
- Brisket 178.86
140.50
178.86
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2017 to 2021 — this edition picked out.
Entries
41
4 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
698.8344
Winning margin
10.3088
GC over RC
Field average
660.73
602.70698.83
median 667.93 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork
3.9656 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
679.3600
602.70698.83
10th place overall
Field spread
96.1372
winner to last place
Prize money
$9,000
on the line
Double threats
5
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 38%
beats 62% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
39%
15 of 38 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.76 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,596
avg power rating going in · stronger than 75% of contests
Storylines (6 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.
A statement win
10.3088
points clear of the field
Wider than 88% of the 4,710 championships in the data
The champion won by 10.3088 points — a wider margin than 88% of championships in the data.
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 13 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 3–4: TIRE SMOKE BBQ and SmokinGhost BBQ tied on 176.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 5–6: LOCAL YOKELS BBQ and CONVICTED PIGS BBQ tied on 174.8572 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 7–8: SMOKIN' 4-PLAY BBQ and Butts-N-Racks BBQ tied on 170.8572 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 3–4 · tie
- Chicken 5–6 · tie
- Pork Ribs 7–8 · tie
- Pork Ribs 9–10 · tie
How the title was won
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
ONE2BBQ took the title on 3 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was brisket at 11th.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 4th
- Pork 2nd
- Brisket 11th
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: BRISKETS-BONES & BREWS BBQ (won 2018).
- BRISKETS-BONES & BREWS BBQ · 2018
The biggest field yet
41
teams — a contest high
This contest usually draws about 31 teams
41 teams is the deepest field this contest has drawn in the data, against a typical 31.
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 22, 2017 | Hillsboro, OH | Rocky Fork Lake | 25 | 695.9544 | ELEGANTLY VIOLENT BBQ | SMOKIN' 4-PLAY BBQ |
| Sep 21, 2018 | Hillsboro, OH | Rocky Fork Lake State Park,6452 Lucas Lane | 30 | 684.5144 | BRISKETS-BONES & BREWS BBQ | ALE YEAH BBQ |
| Sep 20, 2019 | Rocky Fork Lake State Park | 38 | 694.7768 | Uncle Toads | VICTORY SMOKERS | |
| Sep 18, 2020 ← this one | Hillsboro, OH | 604 John Street | 41 | 698.8344 | one2bbq | HIGH ON THE HAWG |
| Sep 24, 2021 | Hillsboro, OH | 604 John Street | 26 | 705.7144 | Local Yokels | HIGH ON THE HOG OHIO |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 178.8572 | 174.8572 | 173.1200 |
| Pork Ribs | 177.1544 | 171.9656 | 170.2628 |
| Pork | 178.2972 | 174.3316 | 169.6800 |
| Brisket | 178.8572 | 172.5600 | 171.9656 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
41 entries · top 698.8344 · median 667.9312
Chicken
41 entries · top 178.8572 · median 169.1200
Pork Ribs
41 entries · top 177.1544 · median 165.7144
Pork
41 entries · top 178.2972 · median 165.6800
Brisket
41 entries · top 178.8572 · median 166.8228
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
15 entries · top 180 · median 170.2512 · 🔥 perfect 180