Big Blue Barbecue
2021-08-13 – 2021-08-14 · Shelbyville, IN · 📍 500 Frank ST · State championship
Reps: BECKY DRUETZLER, DAVE DRUETZLER · Prize money: $7,800.00
Grand Champion: THE REAL SMOKIN ACES (698.2628) · 30 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 SMOKE-N-PEPPERS
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 dynasty in the making
The Real Smokin Aces has won this contest 2 times across its 4 tracked editions.
🪒 A razor-thin finish
The Grand Championship was decided by 0.5828 points — closer than 88% of every championship in the data.
🧹 A double category winner
CONTINENTAL BARBEQUE CO. won Pork Ribs, Pork — a double.
📸 Photo finishes
Chicken places 1–2: BLUE CHIP BBQ and Risky Brisket tied on 178.8572 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 6–7: THE REAL SMOKIN ACES and BBQ Maestros tied on 174.8456 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 8–9: ONE2BBQ and Risky Brisket tied on 173.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
🛡️ Back to defend
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: One2BBQ (won 2019), The Real Smokin Aces (won 2020).
🃏 An upset on the books
THE REAL SMOKIN ACES came in rated below the field's top team, ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 31-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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-08-10 | Shelbyville, IN 46176 | 27 | 695.9428 | WV LOC-N-LOADED BBQ | CONTINENTAL BARBEQUE CO. | |
| 2019-08-09 | Shelbyville, IN | 500 Frank ST | 29 | 692.5028 | One2BBQ | THE BBQ BUS |
| 2020-08-14 | Shelbyville, IN | 500 Frank ST | 50 | 707.4400 | The Real Smokin Aces | ONE2BBQ |
| 2021-08-13 ← this one | Shelbyville, IN | 500 Frank ST | 30 | 698.2628 | THE REAL SMOKIN ACES | SMOKE-N-PEPPERS |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 178.8572 | 174.8572 | 170.8228 |
| Pork Ribs | 179.4400 | 177.1544 | 171.4172 |
| Pork | 175.4172 | 174.8456 | 170.2628 |
| Brisket | 177.1428 | 175.4172 | 170.2628 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
30 entries · top 698.2628 · median 670.1830
Chicken
30 entries · top 178.8572 · median 168.5372
Pork Ribs
30 entries · top 179.4400 · median 169.4058
Pork
30 entries · top 175.4172 · median 167.6914
Brisket
30 entries · top 177.1428 · median 165.9600
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 — Dessert
10 entries · top 180.0000 · median 172.2914 · 🔥 perfect 180
Kids-Q — Kids Q 11-14
3 entries · top 173.1544 · median 169.1084
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bubba Q | |
| 2 | Hogwarts BBQ | |
| 3 | Continental Barbecue |