A new contest record
703.4288
highest overall ever cooked here
703.4288 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 702.8228 DIRT ROAD BBQ set in 2019.
- old record 702.8228
- set 2019 by DIRT ROAD BBQ
Septemberfest BBQ & Rib-eye Steak cook-off challenge 2021
Sep 4–5, 2021 · Omaha, NE · 📍 455 N 105 St. Lot D · State championship
Reps: Donna Young, Ed Young · Prize money: $7,400
DIRT ROAD BBQ won Grand Champion at the Septemberfest BBQ & Rib-eye Steak cook-off challenge on September 4, 2021 in Omaha, NE at 455 N 105 St. Lot D, scoring 703.4288 in a field of 25 teams. MEAT RUSHMORE BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 700.0116. Category winners: Chicken — Chingon BBQ (177.7028); Pork Ribs — DIRT ROAD BBQ (178.2972); Pork — TEAM CRAWFORD (180.0000); Brisket — DIRT ROAD BBQ (180.0000). This is the 2nd of 2 editions of this contest on record; the 2019 edition was won by DIRT ROAD BBQ.
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.
611.75
median 678.78
703.43 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 177.70
- Pork Ribs 178.30
- Pork 180 🔥
- Brisket 180 🔥
130.19
180
Entries
25
4 judged meats · 5 ancillary
Top score
703.4288
Winning margin
3.4172
GC over RC
Field average
670.66
611.75703.43
median 678.78 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Chicken
3.4284 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
686.7656
611.75703.43
10th place overall
Field spread
91.6804
winner to last place
Prize money
$7,400
on the line
Double threats
6
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 19%
beats 81% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
39%
11 of 28 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.73 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,620
avg power rating going in · stronger than 87% 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.
Back-to-back
2 in a row
editions of this contest
Dirt Road BBQ won here last time out too — 2 straight editions of this contest.
- 2019
- 2021
A dynasty in the making
2×
wins at this contest
2 of 2 tracked editions
DIRT ROAD BBQ has won this contest 2 times across its 2 tracked editions.
- 2019
- 2021
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 12 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 1–2: Chingon BBQ and GETTIN' SAUCED tied on 177.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 6–7: Bushmaster BBQ and SMOKIN DAN tied on 174.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 4–5: SMOKIN' LEFTY'S BBQ and Papa Linda's Barbecue tied on 175.4056 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 1–2 · tie
- Chicken 6–7 · tie
- Pork 4–5 · tie
- Pork 7–8 · tie
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
DIRT ROAD BBQ won Pork Ribs, Brisket — a double, and took the Grand Championship on top of it.
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Brisket 1st
How the title was won
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
DIRT ROAD BBQ took the title on 3 calls from 4 meats, with 2 outright wins — their weakest board was chicken at 12th.
- Chicken 12th
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 6th
- Brisket 1st
A contest record in pork ribs
178.2972
best pork ribs ever cooked here
DIRT ROAD BBQ turned in 178.2972 in pork ribs — past the 177.1428 that had stood across 1 earlier editions.
- old best 177.1428
- across 1 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: DIRT ROAD BBQ (won 2019).
- DIRT ROAD BBQ · 2019
The contest returns
2 yrs
since the last edition
This contest was away for 2 years — the previous tracked edition ran on 2019-08-31.
- previous edition 2019-08-31
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.
- DIRT ROAD BBQ · Brisket
- TEAM CRAWFORD · 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)
This contest over the years full contest page →
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 31, 2019 | Omaha, NE | 455 N 105 St. Lot D | 28 | 702.8228 | DIRT ROAD BBQ | SPITFIRE |
| Sep 4, 2021 ← this one | Omaha, NE | 455 N 105 St. Lot D | 25 | 703.4288 | Dirt Road BBQ | MEAT RUSHMORE BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 177.7028 | 174.2744 | 171.9884 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.2972 | 174.8572 | 172.5484 |
| Pork | 180 | 175.4056 | 173.1200 |
| Brisket | 180 | 174.2744 | 171.9772 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
25 entries · top 703.4288 · median 678.7772
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DIRT ROAD BBQ | |
| 2 | MEAT RUSHMORE BBQ | |
| 3 | SMOKIN' LEFTY'S BBQ | |
| 4 | Chingon BBQ | |
| 5 | Mr. Dudes BBQ | |
| 6 | GETTIN' SAUCED | |
| 7 | Bushmaster BBQ | |
| 8 | SIN CIRCLE BBQ | |
| 9 | All Forked Up for Q | |
| 10 | Happy Grillmore | |
| 11 | Papa Linda's Barbecue | |
| 12 | SPITFIRE | |
| 13 | HELPING U BBQ | |
| 14 | PORKY MCBEEF AND THE CLUCKERS | |
| 15 | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS | |
| 16 | FAIRWAY SMOKERS | |
| 17 | TEAM CRAWFORD | |
| 18 | SAUCE BOSSES | |
| 19 | SMOKIN DAN | |
| 20 | Dirt Crüe BBQ | |
| 21 | Country Roads BBQ | |
| 22 | Spice Your Life Rub Your Meat | |
| 23 | Quelicious | |
| 24 | ELWOOD BBQ | |
| 25 | The Barn and Grill |
Chicken
25 entries · top 177.7028 · median 171.4400
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chingon BBQ | |
| 2 | GETTIN' SAUCED | |
| 3 | MEAT RUSHMORE BBQ | |
| 4 | Mr. Dudes BBQ | |
| 5 | SMOKIN' LEFTY'S BBQ | |
| 6 | Bushmaster BBQ | |
| 7 | SMOKIN DAN | |
| 8 | FAIRWAY SMOKERS | |
| 9 | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS | |
| 10 | SPITFIRE | |
| 11 | HELPING U BBQ | |
| 12 | DIRT ROAD BBQ | |
| 13 | SAUCE BOSSES | |
| 14 | SIN CIRCLE BBQ | |
| 15 | Happy Grillmore | |
| 16 | Papa Linda's Barbecue | |
| 17 | PORKY MCBEEF AND THE CLUCKERS | |
| 18 | TEAM CRAWFORD | |
| 19 | All Forked Up for Q | |
| 20 | Quelicious | |
| 21 | ELWOOD BBQ | |
| 22 | Spice Your Life Rub Your Meat | |
| 23 | Dirt Crüe BBQ | |
| 24 | The Barn and Grill | |
| 25 | Country Roads BBQ |
Pork Ribs
25 entries · top 178.2972 · median 167.4172
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DIRT ROAD BBQ | |
| 2 | Bushmaster BBQ | |
| 3 | Happy Grillmore | |
| 4 | SIN CIRCLE BBQ | |
| 5 | MEAT RUSHMORE BBQ | |
| 6 | Papa Linda's Barbecue | |
| 7 | All Forked Up for Q | |
| 8 | SMOKIN' LEFTY'S BBQ | |
| 9 | Mr. Dudes BBQ | |
| 10 | Chingon BBQ | |
| 11 | HELPING U BBQ | |
| 12 | GETTIN' SAUCED | |
| 13 | FAIRWAY SMOKERS | |
| 14 | SPITFIRE | |
| 15 | PORKY MCBEEF AND THE CLUCKERS | |
| 16 | ELWOOD BBQ | |
| 17 | SAUCE BOSSES | |
| 18 | Country Roads BBQ | |
| 19 | SMOKIN DAN | |
| 20 | TEAM CRAWFORD | |
| 21 | Dirt Crüe BBQ | |
| 22 | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS | |
| 23 | Spice Your Life Rub Your Meat | |
| 24 | The Barn and Grill | |
| 25 | Quelicious |
Pork
25 entries · top 180 · median 172.5484 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | TEAM CRAWFORD | |
| 2 | Happy Grillmore | |
| 3 | GETTIN' SAUCED | |
| 4 | SMOKIN' LEFTY'S BBQ | |
| 5 | Papa Linda's Barbecue | |
| 6 | DIRT ROAD BBQ | |
| 7 | MEAT RUSHMORE BBQ | |
| 8 | SIN CIRCLE BBQ | |
| 9 | Bushmaster BBQ | |
| 10 | All Forked Up for Q | |
| 11 | PORKY MCBEEF AND THE CLUCKERS | |
| 12 | Mr. Dudes BBQ | |
| 13 | SMOKIN DAN | |
| 14 | HELPING U BBQ | |
| 15 | Chingon BBQ | |
| 16 | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS | |
| 17 | SPITFIRE | |
| 18 | Dirt Crüe BBQ | |
| 19 | Spice Your Life Rub Your Meat | |
| 20 | SAUCE BOSSES | |
| 21 | ELWOOD BBQ | |
| 22 | FAIRWAY SMOKERS | |
| 23 | Country Roads BBQ | |
| 24 | The Barn and Grill | |
| 25 | Quelicious |
Brisket
25 entries · top 180 · median 167.4400 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DIRT ROAD BBQ | |
| 2 | MEAT RUSHMORE BBQ | |
| 3 | SPITFIRE | |
| 4 | SMOKIN' LEFTY'S BBQ | |
| 5 | Chingon BBQ | |
| 6 | FAIRWAY SMOKERS | |
| 7 | All Forked Up for Q | |
| 8 | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS | |
| 9 | SIN CIRCLE BBQ | |
| 10 | Mr. Dudes BBQ | |
| 11 | Quelicious | |
| 12 | GETTIN' SAUCED | |
| 13 | Bushmaster BBQ | |
| 14 | PORKY MCBEEF AND THE CLUCKERS | |
| 15 | Papa Linda's Barbecue | |
| 16 | SAUCE BOSSES | |
| 17 | HELPING U BBQ | |
| 18 | Happy Grillmore | |
| 19 | Dirt Crüe BBQ | |
| 20 | TEAM CRAWFORD | |
| 21 | Country Roads BBQ | |
| 22 | SMOKIN DAN | |
| 23 | The Barn and Grill | |
| 24 | Spice Your Life Rub Your Meat | |
| 25 | ELWOOD BBQ |
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 — Desserts
8 entries · top 180 · median 179.4286 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | All Forked Up for Q | |
| 2 | SMOKIN DAN | |
| 3 | PORKY MCBEEF AND THE CLUCKERS | |
| 4 | Quelicious | |
| 5 | DIRT ROAD BBQ | |
| 6 | Bushmaster BBQ | |
| 7 | Country Roads BBQ | |
| 8 | SAUCE BOSSES |
Kids-Q — Kids Q 5-10
2 entries · top 179.4400 · median 179.4400
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sam Elliott | |
| 2 | Landon Elliott |
Ancillary — Sides
7 entries · top 176.5600 · median 172.6056
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SMOKIN' LEFTY'S BBQ | |
| 2 | Country Roads BBQ | |
| 3 | Spice Your Life Rub Your Meat | |
| 4 | SMOKIN DAN | |
| 5 | Bushmaster BBQ | |
| 6 | Quelicious | |
| 7 | SAUCE BOSSES |
Ancillary — Steak 1
14 entries · top 176.0228 · median 169.1086
Ancillary — Steak 2
10 entries · top 179.4400 · median 169.1314
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Happy Grillmore | |
| 2 | SAUCE BOSSES | |
| 3 | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS | |
| 4 | SMOKIN DAN | |
| 5 | SMOKIN' LEFTY'S BBQ | |
| 6 | Country Roads BBQ | |
| 7 | Quelicious | |
| 8 | FAIRWAY SMOKERS | |
| 9 | PORKY MCBEEF AND THE CLUCKERS | |
| 10 | GETTIN' SAUCED |