A new contest record
690.2744
highest overall ever cooked here
690.2744 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 686.8000 LO' -N- SLO' BBQ set in 2018.
- old record 686.8000
- set 2018 by LO' -N- SLO' BBQ
Smoke in the Park 2021
Sep 24–25, 2021 · Lemoyne, PA · 📍 Memorial Park · State championship
Reps: Louise Weidner, Robert McKee · Prize money: $9,625
GOOD GOOGLY GOO BBQ won Grand Champion at the Smoke in the Park on September 24, 2021 in Lemoyne, PA at Memorial Park, scoring 690.2744 in a field of 31 teams. Checkered Flag 500 took Reserve Grand Champion with 686.2400. Category winners: Chicken — GOOD GOOGLY GOO BBQ (178.2972); Pork Ribs — BAD AZZ MULE BBQ (176.5944); Pork — TEAM MEAT COMA (177.7144); Brisket — Checkered Flag 500 (177.1428). This is the 6th of 6 editions of this contest on record; the 2019 edition was won by Old Virginia Smoke.
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.
331.92
median 665.01
690.27 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 178.30
- Pork Ribs 176.59
- Pork 177.71
- Brisket 177.14
143.91
178.30
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2015 to 2021 — this edition picked out.
Entries
31
4 judged meats · 2 ancillary
Top score
690.2744
Winning margin
4.0344
GC over RC
Field average
646.23
331.92690.27
median 665.01 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
2.2972 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
669.0284
331.92690.27
10th place overall
Field spread
358.3544
winner to last place
Prize money
$9,625
on the line
Double threats
4
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 70%
beats 30% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
43%
17 of 40 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.52 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,568
avg power rating going in · stronger than 53% of contests
Storylines (8 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
22-in-100
shot on pre-contest ratings
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 78 times in 100
GOOD GOOGLY GOO BBQ came in rated below the field's top team, OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 22-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
- champion 1623
- top seed 1841
A first Grand Championship
58
tracked contests to get there
This was Good Googly Goo BBQ's first Grand Championship in the data — it arrived at their 58th tracked contest.
A dynasty in the making
2×
wins at this contest
2 of 6 tracked editions
OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE has won this contest 2 times across its 6 tracked editions.
- 2017
- 2019
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 7 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 2–3: SOUTH BOWIE SMOKE and THE GRILLER B’S tied on 176.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 6–7: Deans Rockn Rednecks and PIG CANDY BARBEQUE CO. tied on 168.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 8–9: HotMess BBQ and Checkered Flag 500 tied on 167.9772 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 2–3 · tie
- Pork Ribs 6–7 · tie
- Pork Ribs 8–9 · tie
- Pork 6–7 · tie
How the title was won
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
GOOD GOOGLY GOO BBQ took the title on 3 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was pork ribs at 13th.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 13th
- Pork 3rd
- Brisket 10th
A contest record in pork ribs
176.5944
best pork ribs ever cooked here
BAD AZZ MULE BBQ turned in 176.5944 in pork ribs — past the 174.2856 that had stood across 5 earlier editions.
- old best 174.2856
- across 5 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE (won 2017, 2019).
- OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE · 2017, 2019
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 25, 2015 | Lemoyne, PA | Lemoyne, PA | 34 | 674.8000 | 3 EYZ BBQ | UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT |
| Sep 23, 2016 | Lemoyne, PA | Memorial Park | 38 | 686.2744 | CHECKERED FLAG 500 BBQ | 3 EYZ BBQ |
| Sep 22, 2017 | Lemoyne, PA | 60 Hummel Av, Memorial Park | 44 | 682.7656 | OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE | 4:20 Q |
| Sep 28, 2018 | Lemoyne, PA | 60 Hummel Av, Memorial Park | 31 | 686.8000 | LO' -N- SLO' BBQ | 3 EYZ BBQ |
| Sep 27, 2019 | Lemoyne, PA | Hummel Ave | 40 | 680.4796 | Old Virginia Smoke | SMOKIN' TEX BBQ |
| Sep 24, 2021 ← this one | Lemoyne, PA | Memorial Park | 31 | 690.2744 | Good Googly Goo BBQ | Checkered Flag 500 |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 178.2972 | 176 | 169.6800 |
| Pork Ribs | 176.5944 | 170.2628 | 167.9656 |
| Pork | 177.7144 | 174.2628 | 168.5484 |
| Brisket | 177.1428 | 173.1544 | 169.1200 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
31 entries · top 690.2744 · median 665.0056
Chicken
30 entries · top 178.2972 · median 167.3942
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | GOOD GOOGLY GOO BBQ | |
| 2 | SOUTH BOWIE SMOKE | |
| 3 | THE GRILLER B’S | |
| 4 | Nice Racks | |
| 5 | CHUNKY BBQ | |
| 6 | Deans Rockn Rednecks | |
| 7 | Checkered Flag 500 | |
| 8 | BOGGS HOG BBQ | |
| 9 | GLAZED AND INFUSED NEW JERSEY BBQ | |
| 10 | SMOKESTACK REDEMPTION | |
| 11 | RGDBBQ | |
| 12 | DIG'N N PIG'N | |
| 13 | BAD AZZ MULE BBQ | |
| 14 | PIG CANDY BARBEQUE CO. | |
| 15 | 50 SHADES OF PORK | |
| 16 | SMOKIN' STUFF BBQ | |
| 17 | Hoos Smokin' | |
| 18 | BUBBA'S BARBECUE | |
| 19 | TEAM MEAT COMA | |
| 20 | BAR-B-QUE MAYHAM | |
| 21 | OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE | |
| 22 | HotMess BBQ | |
| 23 | Dante's Inferno | |
| 24 | Pappy & Roleys | |
| 25 | UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT | |
| 26 | Cobia Smoke | |
| 27 | PHILLY BLIND PIG BBQ | |
| 28 | 4 BOXERS Q | |
| 29 | SMOKIN GNOME BBQ | |
| 30 | TRUCKERS CHOICE BBQ |
Pork Ribs
31 entries · top 176.5944 · median 165.6800
Pork
30 entries · top 177.7144 · median 166.5486
Brisket
30 entries · top 177.1428 · median 165.9656
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 — Chef'S Choice
10 entries · top 178.8572 · median 174.2686
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nice Racks | |
| 2 | PHILLY BLIND PIG BBQ | |
| 3 | THE GRILLER B’S | |
| 4 | 50 SHADES OF PORK | |
| 5 | BAR-B-QUE MAYHAM | |
| 6 | PIG CANDY BARBEQUE CO. | |
| 7 | BOGGS HOG BBQ | |
| 8 | BUBBA'S BARBECUE | |
| 9 | Cobia Smoke | |
| 10 | Deans Rockn Rednecks |
Ancillary — Sausage
14 entries · top 176.5600 · median 166.5428
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BOGGS HOG BBQ | |
| 2 | TRUCKERS CHOICE BBQ | |
| 3 | BAD AZZ MULE BBQ | |
| 4 | DRILLING & GRILLING | |
| 5 | PIG CANDY BARBEQUE CO. | |
| 6 | BAR-B-QUE MAYHAM | |
| 7 | Dante's Inferno | |
| 8 | Nice Racks | |
| 9 | SMOKIN GNOME BBQ | |
| 10 | SMOKIN' STUFF BBQ | |
| 11 | RGDBBQ | |
| 12 | 50 SHADES OF PORK | |
| 13 | THE GRILLER B’S | |
| 14 | Deans Rockn Rednecks |