A new contest record
706.2744
highest overall ever cooked here
706.2744 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 700.5144 CLARK CREW BBQ set in 2016.
- old record 700.5144
- set 2016 by CLARK CREW BBQ
Smoke in the Spring 2020
Oct 30–31, 2020 · Osage City, KS · 📍 Jones Park (in Osage City) · State championship
Reps: Dave Rogers, Dennis Polson, Kim Collier, Linda Polson, Mark Collier, Peg Rogers · Prize money: $24,675
AMERICAN FIRE BBQ won Grand Champion at the Smoke in the Spring on October 30, 2020 in Osage City, KS at Jones Park (in Osage City), scoring 706.2744 in a field of 93 teams. TRIPLE H BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 701.1432. Category winners: Chicken — AMERICAN FIRE BBQ (180.0000); Pork Ribs — LAST CALL HEROES BBQ (178.8572); Pork — Happy Grillmore - KS (179.4400); Brisket — Who Dat BBQ (178.2972). This is the 7th of 14 editions of this contest on record; the 2018 edition was won by HOGLINE; 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.
576.48
median 673.62
706.27 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 180 🔥
- Pork Ribs 178.86
- Pork 179.44
- Brisket 178.30
137.10
180
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2013 to 2026 — this edition picked out.
Entries
93
4 judged meats · 4 ancillary
Top score
706.2744
Winning margin
5.1312
GC over RC
Field average
668.24
576.48706.27
median 673.62 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Brisket
2.2628 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
692.5372
576.48706.27
10th place overall
Field spread
129.7944
winner to last place
Prize money
$24,675
on the line
Double threats
2
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 10%
beats 90% of 4714 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
29%
30 of 103 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.65 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,632
avg power rating going in · stronger than 91% of contests
Storylines (10 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.
An upset on the books
32-in-100
shot on pre-contest ratings
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 68 times in 100
AMERICAN FIRE BBQ came in rated below the field's top team, BOOMERANG BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 32-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
- champion 1826
- top seed 1958
A dynasty in the making
2×
wins at this contest
2 of 14 tracked editions
IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ has won this contest 2 times across its 14 tracked editions.
- 2014
- 2015
A stacked field
1632
average power rating going in
Stronger than 91% of every rated contest
The field averaged a 1632 power rating going in — stronger than 91% of every contest tracked.
- top seed BOOMERANG BBQ (1958)
- 93 rated teams
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 18 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 1–2: AMERICAN FIRE BBQ and B-S BBQ OUTLAWS tied on 180.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 4–5: Who Dat BBQ and BYO GRILL tied on 177.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 5–6: BYO GRILL and SMOKE RINGERS tied on 177.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 1–2 · tie
- Chicken 4–5 · tie
- Chicken 5–6 · tie
- Chicken 6–7 · tie
How the title was won
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
AMERICAN FIRE BBQ took the title on 3 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was brisket at 20th.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 10th
- Pork 2nd
- Brisket 20th
Back to defend
2
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: GRILLIN' BEAVERS (won 2013), HOGLINE (won 2018).
- GRILLIN' BEAVERS · 2013
- HOGLINE · 2018
One of the big ones
93
teams on the grounds
Bigger than 98% of the 5,468 contests in the data
93 teams — bigger than 98% of the 5,468 contests in the data.
The contest returns
2.6 yrs
since the last edition
This contest was away for 2.6 years — the previous tracked edition ran on 2018-04-06.
- previous edition 2018-04-06
A perfect score on the table
2
perfect 180s
2 perfect 180s were scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- AMERICAN FIRE BBQ · Chicken
- B-S BBQ OUTLAWS · Chicken
This contest's own records (3 in the KCBS record book)
Records held by every edition of this contest put together, not just this one afternoon.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 12, 2013 | Osage City, KS | Osage City, KS | 71 | 685.7142 | GRILLIN' BEAVERS | PELLET ENVY |
| Apr 11, 2014 | Osage City, KS | Osage City, KS 66523 | 73 | 689.6916 | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ | CHICKHOOVENSWINE BBQ |
| Apr 10, 2015 | Osage City, KS | Osage City, KS 66523 | 97 | 698.2516 | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ | SMOKE N BABES BBQ |
| Apr 8, 2016 | Osage City, KS | Osage City, KS | 109 | 700.5144 | CLARK CREW BBQ | LUCKY'S Q |
| Apr 7, 2017 | Osage City, KS | 517 South 1st St (Jones Park) | 100 | 700.0116 | CLARK CREW BBQ | THE SMOKING HILLS |
| Apr 6, 2018 | Osage City, KS | 517 South 1st St (Jones Park) | 103 | 699.3712 | HOGLINE | 4 LEGS UP BBQ |
| Oct 30, 2020 ← this one | Osage City, KS | Jones Park (in Osage City) | 93 | 706.2744 | Tebo Creek BBQ | TRIPLE H BBQ |
| Apr 9, 2021 | Osage City, KS | Jones Park (in Osage City) | 105 | 703.4400 | Piggin Whiskey O.G. | FINGER LEIKAM GOOD |
| Apr 8, 2022 | Osage City, KS | 517 South 1st Street | 94 | 700.0228 | Last Call Heroes BBQ | HIGH i QUE |
| Apr 8, 2022 | Osage City, KS | 517 South 1st Street | — | — | — | — |
| Apr 7, 2023 | Osage City, KS | 517 South 1st Street | 103 | 707.9772 | Janky Leg BBQ | MEAT RUSHMORE BBQ |
| Apr 5, 2024 | Osage City, KS | 517 South 1st Street | 97 | 706.2628 | Burnt Trees | Damn Fine Beef & Swine |
| Apr 11, 2025 | Osage City, KS | 517 South 1st Street | 92 | 708.6060 | Parts 'R' Smokin | Cow Creek BBQ |
| Apr 10, 2026 | Osage City, KS | 517 South 1st Street | 101 | 709.7028 | Blind Fox BBQ | SLAPS BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180 | 177.7028 | 176.5716 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.8572 | 176.5600 | 174.8572 |
| Pork | 179.4400 | 176.5600 | 175.4172 |
| Brisket | 178.2972 | 176.0344 | 174.8456 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
93 entries · top 706.2744 · median 673.6228
Chicken
93 entries · top 180 · median 169.6800 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork Ribs
93 entries · top 178.8572 · median 167.9772
Pork
93 entries · top 179.4400 · median 168.5372
Brisket
93 entries · top 178.2972 · median 167.9772
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 — Cooks Choice
28 entries · top 179.4400 · median 169.1142
Ancillary — Dessert
23 entries · top 180 · median 177.1428 · 🔥 perfect 180
Kids-Q — Kids Q 11-16
5 entries · top 178.8572 · median 173.1544
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Logan Moore | |
| 2 | Hunter Hoisington | |
| 3 | Rylie Fischer | |
| 4 | Payton Moore | |
| 5 | Perri Wagner |
Kids-Q — Kids Q 5-10
6 entries · top 173.1656 · median 163.9942
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chase King | |
| 2 | Abigail Nessinger | |
| 3 | Bentlie Master | |
| 4 | Tyler Hoisington | |
| 5 | Harmony Linton | |
| 6 | Sloan Bohannon |