Smoke in the Grove
2021-07-30 – 2021-07-31 · Spring Grove, PA · 📍 Spring Grove, PA 17362 · State championship
Reps: ALEX JR BROWN, ANGELA MCKEE, LOUISE WEIDNER, ROBERT MCKEE · Prize money: $10,300.00
Grand Champion: Not So Famous Dave's BBQ (692.5256) · 54 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 TOP GUN BARBECUE
Entries
Top score
Winning margin
Field average
Perfect 180s
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 0.0228 points — closer than 97% of every championship in the data.
📸 Photo finishes
Master Series — Chicken places 1–2: JD'S SMOKIN MISFITS and SMOKEY DOG BBQ tied on 178.8572 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Master Series — Chicken places 2–3: SMOKEY DOG BBQ and Rogue Hog BBQ tied on 178.8572 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Master Series — Pork Ribs places 6–7: GOOD GOOGLY GOO BBQ and BLUE EYED BBQ tied on 172.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
🛡️ Back to defend
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ (won 2018), Team Meat Coma (won 2019), Dign N Pign (won 2020).
🃏 An upset on the books
Not So Famous Dave's BBQ came in rated below the field's top team, WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 20-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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-07-28 | 205 E Railroad Street | 51 | 675.8972 | CHECKERED FLAG 500 BBQ | PAVONE BROTHERS BBQ | |
| 2018-07-27 | 205 E Railroad Street | 54 | 688.4912 | WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ | APORKALYPSE NOW | |
| 2019-07-26 | Spring Grove, PA | 205 E Railroad Street | 53 | 692.5488 | Team Meat Coma | SMOKIN' TEX BBQ |
| 2020-07-24 | Spring Grove, PA | 205 East Railroad St | 59 | 697.7372 | Dign N Pign | UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT |
| 2021-07-30 ← this one | Spring Grove, PA | Spring Grove, PA 17362 | 54 | 692.5256 | Not So Famous Dave's BBQ | TOP GUN BARBECUE |
| 2022-07-29 | Spring Grove, PA | 205 East Railroad Street | 54 | 697.6688 | Piggin' Whiskey | OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE |
| 2022-07-30 | Spring Grove, PA | 205 East Railroad Street | 42 | 703.9888 | Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit | WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ |
| 2023-07-28 | Spring Grove, PA | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2023-07-29 | Spring Grove, PA | — | — | — | — | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Master Series — Chicken | 178.8572 | 175.4172 | 172.5828 |
| Master Series — Pork Ribs | 175.4400 | 173.1200 | 170.8228 |
| Master Series — Pork | 177.7144 | 173.7028 | 172.5600 |
| Master Series — Brisket | 177.7028 | 171.9656 | 169.1200 |
| Backyard Series — Chicken | 178.8572 | 173.1200 | 169.1428 |
| Backyard Series — Pork Ribs | 174.2628 | 169.1200 | 166.2516 |
| Open Comp — Pork Ribs | 169.6800 | 158.2400 | 126.2628 |
| Ancillary — Pork | 170.2628 | 167.4744 | 163.4172 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
54 entries · top 692.5256 · median 662.4170
Chicken
54 entries · top 178.8572 · median 167.7086
Pork Ribs
54 entries · top 175.4400 · median 166.2342
Pork
54 entries · top 177.7144 · median 165.7258
Brisket
54 entries · top 177.7028 · median 162.2456
Backyard Series
Overall
35 entries · top 343.9428 · median 328.5828
Chicken
35 entries · top 178.8572 · median 165.7028
Pork Ribs
35 entries · top 174.2628 · median 161.6916
Open Comp
Overall
11 entries · top 336.5144 · median 314.1828
Pork Ribs
10 entries · top 169.6800 · median 157.0972
Ancillary
Pork
28 entries · top 170.2628 · median 161.6628
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.
Open Comp — Frc Wings
11 entries · top 169.1200 · median 156.4912
Turkey Smoke Series — Turkey Smoke
49 entries · top 178.8800 · median 159.3828