A stacked field
1635
average power rating going in
Stronger than 92% of every rated contest
The field averaged a 1635 power rating going in — stronger than 92% of every contest tracked.
- top seed IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ (1990)
- 66 rated teams
Ottumwa Smoketoberfest
Oct 2–3, 2020 · Ottumwa, IA · 📍 1 Joe Lord Memorial Dr. · State championship
Reps: Cindy Juhl, Dena Milhous, Ron Milhous, Tom Juhl
IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ won Grand Champion at the Ottumwa Smoketoberfest on October 2, 2020 in Ottumwa, IA at 1 Joe Lord Memorial Dr., scoring 694.7884 in a field of 66 teams. BOOM CHICKA COW COW took Reserve Grand Champion with 688.4684. Category winners: Chicken — NEVER EASY BBQ (177.7372); Pork Ribs — BUFFALO'S BBQ (176.5828); Pork — ALL FORKED UP FOR Q (180.0000); Brisket — IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ (176.5600).
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.
462.77
median 667.92
694.79 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 177.74
- Pork Ribs 176.58
- Pork 180 🔥
- Brisket 176.56
131.93
180
Entries
66
4 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
694.7884
Winning margin
6.3200
GC over RC
Field average
658.41
462.77694.79
median 667.92 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Chicken
2.3316 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
681.6800
462.77694.79
10th place overall
Field spread
232.0224
winner to last place
Double threats
3
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 55%
beats 45% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.61 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,635
avg power rating going in · stronger than 92% of contests
Storylines (5 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 13 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 8–9: ALL FORKED UP FOR Q and BOOM CHICKA COW COW tied on 173.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 8–9: LUCKY'S Q and Shiggin aint easy tied on 171.9656 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 9–10: Shiggin aint easy and Heavy Smoke BBQ tied on 171.9656 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 8–9 · tie
- Brisket 8–9 · tie
- Brisket 9–10 · tie
- Pork Ribs 7–8 · 0.0112
How the title was won
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ took the title on 3 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was pork ribs at 24th.
- Chicken 5th
- Pork Ribs 24th
- Pork 4th
- Brisket 1st
One of the big ones
66
teams on the grounds
Bigger than 94% of the 5,462 contests in the data
66 teams — bigger than 94% of the 5,462 contests in the data.
A perfect score on the table
1
perfect 180s
1 perfect 180 was scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- ALL FORKED UP FOR Q · Pork
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)
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 177.7372 | 175.4056 | 173.1544 |
| Pork Ribs | 176.5828 | 172.5944 | 170.8800 |
| Pork | 180 | 175.4056 | 173.1544 |
| Brisket | 176.5600 | 172.5484 | 171.9656 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
66 entries · top 694.7884 · median 667.9200
Chicken
66 entries · top 177.7372 · median 168.0058
Pork Ribs
65 entries · top 176.5828 · median 164.5488
Pork
66 entries · top 180 · median 167.6914 · 🔥 perfect 180
Brisket
66 entries · top 176.5600 · median 165.7144
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 — Turkey
40 entries · top 176.5944 · median 162.0058
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bohica BBQ | |
| 2 | BAMBQ | |
| 3 | 2 CASE BBQ | |
| 4 | Hogline BBQ | |
| 5 | Que Magic | |
| 6 | BUFFALO'S BBQ | |
| 7 | BOOMERANG BBQ | |
| 8 | Phoenix BBQ | |
| 9 | GRINDERS BBQ KANSAS CITY | |
| 10 | Prince Stoecker | |
| 11 | BOOM CHICKA COW COW | |
| 12 | WAG'S BACKWOODS BBQ | |
| 13 | QUETOPIA | |
| 14 | Shiggin aint easy | |
| 15 | HOT DADDY'S BBQ | |
| 16 | Sweet and Saucy | |
| 17 | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ | |
| 18 | HOME FARM BBQ | |
| 19 | S&S BBQ | |
| 20 | Chillin N Grillin N Iowa BBQ | |
| 21 | Jebs BBQ | |
| 22 | NEW AMERICAN BBQ CREW | |
| 23 | UP FROM THE PITS BBQ | |
| 24 | BEND OF THE RIVER BBQ | |
| 25 | UNFAMOUS DAVE'S | |
| 26 | SHIGGIN & GRINNIN | |
| 27 | Three Stooges | |
| 28 | T-Rex BBQ | |
| 29 | LUCKY 19 SAUCE COMPANY | |
| 30 | PORKRASTINATORS | |
| 31 | Backwoods BBQ | |
| 32 | Matty Macks | |
| 33 | FAIRWAY SMOKERS | |
| 34 | iBQ'n | |
| 35 | Five Hawgs BBQ | |
| 36 | Masters BBQ | |
| 37 | LUCKY'S Q | |
| 38 | THE BBQ BUS | |
| 39 | NEVER EASY BBQ | |
| 40 | Heavy Smoke BBQ |