2021-09-10 – 2021-09-11 · Mt. Vernon, IN · 📍 110 East Water St. · State championship
Reps: DEBRA GAGE, WILLIAM GAGE · Prize money: $7,000.00
Grand Champion: Local Yokels (702.2400) · 16 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 SCUFFLETOWN SMOKERS
Overall totals, every team on the board — tall stacks are where the pack sat.
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
What it has taken to win here, 2017 to 2025 — this edition picked out.
Everything below is read straight out of the results — the number on each card is the one that made it a story.
Closer than 81% of the 4,742 championships in the data
The Grand Championship was decided by 1.1428 points — closer than 81% of every championship in the data.
702.2400 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 701.1088 Scuffletown Smokers set in 2019.
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 69 times in 100
LOCAL YOKELS BBQ came in rated below the field's top team, SCUFFLETOWN SMOKERS, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 31-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
2 of 8 tracked editions
Scuffletown Smokers has won this contest 2 times across its 8 tracked editions.
Pork Ribs places 3–4: OWENSBORO PORK PULLERS and FARMER'S RETREAT SMOKIN BARBEQUE tied on 170.8228 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 5–6: Smoke N Hope and Hawg Boyz BBQ tied on 169.1200 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 2–3: OWENSBORO PORK PULLERS and SCUFFLETOWN SMOKERS tied on 174.2744 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
LOCAL YOKELS BBQ won Chicken, Pork — a double, and took the Grand Championship on top of it.
LOCAL YOKELS BBQ took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 2 outright wins — their weakest board was pork ribs at 2nd.
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: FARMER'S RETREAT SMOKIN BARBEQUE (won 2017), LOCAL YOKELS BBQ (won 2018), Scuffletown Smokers (won 2019).
1 perfect 180 was scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-09-08 | Mt.Vernon, IN | Water St | 29 | 693.0856 | FARMER'S RETREAT SMOKIN BARBEQUE | GRUMPY GOOSE BBQ |
| 2018-09-07 | Mt.Vernon, IN | Water St | 28 | 701.0856 | LOCAL YOKELS BBQ | SHAKE 'N BAKE BBQ |
| 2019-09-13 | Mt.Vernon, IN | 1 Locust | 28 | 701.1088 | Scuffletown Smokers | ONE2BBQ |
| 2021-09-10 ← this one | Mt. Vernon, IN | 110 East Water St. | 16 | 702.2400 | Local Yokels | SCUFFLETOWN SMOKERS |
| 2022-09-09 | Mt. Vernon, IN | Riverbend Park | 12 | 716.0000 | Local Yokels | DB BBQ |
| 2023-09-08 | Mt. Vernon, IN | Riverbend Park | 25 | 709.6684 | Scuffletown Smokers | DB BBQ |
| 2024-09-13 | Mt. Vernon, IN | Riverbend Park | 28 | 703.9428 | Mulkey's BBQ | JaBs BBQ |
| 2025-09-12 | Mt. Vernon, IN | Riverbend Park | 27 | 709.1428 | JaBs | SCUFFLETOWN SMOKERS |
| 2026-09-11 | Mt. Vernon, IN | — | — | — | — | — |
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 175.4056 | 169.7028 | 163.4400 |
| Pork Ribs | 177.1544 | 169.1200 | 161.1084 |
| Pork | 176.5716 | 173.1200 | 160.5256 |
| Brisket | 180.0000 | 169.7028 | 160.5256 |
16 entries · top 702.2400 · median 650.1886
16 entries · top 175.4056 · median 165.9658
16 entries · top 177.1544 · median 162.5256
16 entries · top 176.5716 · median 161.1142
16 entries · top 180.0000 · median 163.6914 · 🔥 perfect 180
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.
10 entries · top 176.5944 · median 167.1028
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gary Hobgood | |
| 2 | Jess Bubba | |
| 3 | Alby Ransom | |
| 4 | Justin Wink | |
| 5 | Tim Onstott | |
| 6 | Darl Henderson | |
| 7 | Chris Howton | |
| 8 | Brad Cox | |
| 9 | Lee Reeves | |
| 10 | Tom Utley |