Keystone Classic BBQ State Championship
2021-10-08 – 2021-10-09 · Harrisburg, PA · 📍 2300 North Cameron St · State championship
Reps: JEFF CHAMBERS, LOUISE WEIDNER
Grand Champion: Drilling and Grilling (682.7656) · 27 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 BUBBA'S BARBECUE
Entries
27
4 judged meats
Top score
682.7656
Winning margin
9.6344
GC over RC
Field average
646.38
median 651.26
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork
5.1772 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
657.0056
10th place overall
Field spread
111.5888
winner to last place
Double threats
6
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 94%
beats 6% of 1951 Master Series wins in the data
Traveled in
30%
of the 27 teams with a home region came from outside PA
Came back for more
33%
12 of 36 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.5 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1519
avg power rating going in · stronger than 24% of contests
Storylines
💪 A statement win
The champion won by 9.6344 points — a wider margin than 89% of championships in the data.
📸 Photo finishes
Pork Ribs places 4–5: DRILLING & GRILLING and RGDBBQ tied on 169.1200 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 5–6: THE GRILLER B’S and BEER TIME BBQ tied on 165.6800 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 8–9: POPPA Q-BBQ edged SMOKIN' ADDICTION by 0.0228.
🃏 An upset on the books
DRILLING & GRILLING came in rated below the field's top team, Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 35-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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-10-07 | 2300 N Cameron St. | 47 | 680.4912 | ROCKIN ROBYNS BBQ | WILBUR'S REVENGE | |
| 2018-10-05 | 2300 North Cameron St | 42 | 677.0628 | LO' -N- SLO' BBQ | APORKALYPSE NOW | |
| 2019-10-04 | Harrisburg, PA | 2300 North Cameron St | 36 | 689.1312 | Aporkalypse Now | UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT |
| 2021-10-08 ← this one | Harrisburg, PA | 2300 North Cameron St | 27 | 682.7656 | Drilling and Grilling | BUBBA'S BARBECUE |
| 2022-10-07 | Harrisburg, PA | 2300 North Cameron St | 26 | 689.0168 | Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit | CHUNKY BBQ |
| 2023-10-06 | Harrisburg, PA | 2300 North Cameron St | 28 | 689.0972 | Chunky BBQ | PHILLY BLIND PIG BBQ |
| 2024-10-04 | Harrisburg, PA | 2300 North Cameron Street | 25 | 699.9312 | Wolf's Revenge BBQ | SMOKECRAFT - MD |
| 2025-10-03 | Harrisburg, PA | 2300 North Cameron Street | 30 | 693.0856 | Susquehanna Smokers | HotMess BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 178.8572 | 172.5716 | 168.5256 |
| Pork Ribs | 175.4628 | 169.1200 | 164.5372 |
| Pork | 176.0000 | 170.8228 | 166.2284 |
| Brisket | 171.9772 | 165.6800 | 162.2284 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
27 entries · top 682.7656 · median 651.2568
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DRILLING & GRILLING | |
| 2 | BUBBA'S BARBECUE | |
| 3 | BAR-B-QUE MAYHAM | |
| 4 | BAD AZZ MULE BBQ | |
| 5 | THE GRILLER B’S | |
| 6 | UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT | |
| 7 | Checkered Flag 500 BBQ | |
| 8 | BOGGS HOG BBQ | |
| 9 | SHORTSVILLE SMOKERS | |
| 10 | RGDBBQ | |
| 11 | PHILLY BLIND PIG BBQ | |
| 12 | SMOKIN' ADDICTION | |
| 13 | CHUNKY BBQ | |
| 14 | PIG CANDY BARBEQUE CO. | |
| 15 | REDNECK SMOKE CLUB | |
| 16 | Pennsylvania Porka | |
| 17 | Pig Pen BBQ | |
| 18 | DEAD ON Q | |
| 19 | POPPA Q-BBQ | |
| 20 | BIG D'S BBQ - DE | |
| 21 | BEER TIME BBQ | |
| 22 | NEANDERTHAL Q | |
| 23 | Pig in My Belly | |
| 24 | Nice To Meat You BBQ | |
| 25 | 3 T's BBQ | |
| 26 | A 2 Z | |
| 27 | Hops Barons Meat Rubbers |
Chicken
27 entries · top 178.8572 · median 165.6800
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | THE GRILLER B’S | |
| 2 | UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT | |
| 3 | DRILLING & GRILLING | |
| 4 | BAD AZZ MULE BBQ | |
| 5 | Pig in My Belly | |
| 6 | BUBBA'S BARBECUE | |
| 7 | BIG D'S BBQ - DE | |
| 8 | BOGGS HOG BBQ | |
| 9 | REDNECK SMOKE CLUB | |
| 10 | CHUNKY BBQ | |
| 11 | SHORTSVILLE SMOKERS | |
| 12 | Pig Pen BBQ | |
| 13 | PHILLY BLIND PIG BBQ | |
| 14 | BAR-B-QUE MAYHAM | |
| 15 | POPPA Q-BBQ | |
| 16 | NEANDERTHAL Q | |
| 17 | Pennsylvania Porka | |
| 18 | Checkered Flag 500 BBQ | |
| 19 | DEAD ON Q | |
| 20 | RGDBBQ | |
| 21 | BEER TIME BBQ | |
| 22 | SMOKIN' ADDICTION | |
| 23 | PIG CANDY BARBEQUE CO. | |
| 24 | 3 T's BBQ | |
| 25 | Nice To Meat You BBQ | |
| 26 | A 2 Z | |
| 27 | Hops Barons Meat Rubbers |
Pork Ribs
27 entries · top 175.4628 · median 161.0972
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BUBBA'S BARBECUE | |
| 2 | PIG CANDY BARBEQUE CO. | |
| 3 | Checkered Flag 500 BBQ | |
| 4 | DRILLING & GRILLING | |
| 5 | RGDBBQ | |
| 6 | SHORTSVILLE SMOKERS | |
| 7 | CHUNKY BBQ | |
| 8 | POPPA Q-BBQ | |
| 9 | SMOKIN' ADDICTION | |
| 10 | UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT | |
| 11 | BAR-B-QUE MAYHAM | |
| 12 | THE GRILLER B’S | |
| 13 | BOGGS HOG BBQ | |
| 14 | DEAD ON Q | |
| 15 | Pennsylvania Porka | |
| 16 | REDNECK SMOKE CLUB | |
| 17 | Nice To Meat You BBQ | |
| 18 | BEER TIME BBQ | |
| 19 | BIG D'S BBQ - DE | |
| 20 | BAD AZZ MULE BBQ | |
| 21 | NEANDERTHAL Q | |
| 22 | A 2 Z | |
| 23 | PHILLY BLIND PIG BBQ | |
| 24 | Pig Pen BBQ | |
| 25 | Pig in My Belly | |
| 26 | Hops Barons Meat Rubbers | |
| 27 | 3 T's BBQ |
Pork
27 entries · top 176.0000 · median 162.2400
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BOGGS HOG BBQ | |
| 2 | PHILLY BLIND PIG BBQ | |
| 3 | BAD AZZ MULE BBQ | |
| 4 | BAR-B-QUE MAYHAM | |
| 5 | RGDBBQ | |
| 6 | Pig Pen BBQ | |
| 7 | DRILLING & GRILLING | |
| 8 | DEAD ON Q | |
| 9 | SHORTSVILLE SMOKERS | |
| 10 | UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT | |
| 11 | NEANDERTHAL Q | |
| 12 | 3 T's BBQ | |
| 13 | SMOKIN' ADDICTION | |
| 14 | THE GRILLER B’S | |
| 15 | PIG CANDY BARBEQUE CO. | |
| 16 | Checkered Flag 500 BBQ | |
| 17 | BUBBA'S BARBECUE | |
| 18 | Pennsylvania Porka | |
| 19 | BIG D'S BBQ - DE | |
| 20 | CHUNKY BBQ | |
| 21 | BEER TIME BBQ | |
| 22 | REDNECK SMOKE CLUB | |
| 23 | Nice To Meat You BBQ | |
| 24 | Hops Barons Meat Rubbers | |
| 25 | A 2 Z | |
| 26 | POPPA Q-BBQ | |
| 27 | Pig in My Belly |
Brisket
27 entries · top 171.9772 · median 159.4288
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BAR-B-QUE MAYHAM | |
| 2 | SMOKIN' ADDICTION | |
| 3 | Checkered Flag 500 BBQ | |
| 4 | DRILLING & GRILLING | |
| 5 | THE GRILLER B’S | |
| 6 | BEER TIME BBQ | |
| 7 | BAD AZZ MULE BBQ | |
| 8 | BUBBA'S BARBECUE | |
| 9 | REDNECK SMOKE CLUB | |
| 10 | PIG CANDY BARBEQUE CO. | |
| 11 | UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT | |
| 12 | SHORTSVILLE SMOKERS | |
| 13 | POPPA Q-BBQ | |
| 14 | Pennsylvania Porka | |
| 15 | PHILLY BLIND PIG BBQ | |
| 16 | CHUNKY BBQ | |
| 17 | BOGGS HOG BBQ | |
| 18 | RGDBBQ | |
| 19 | 3 T's BBQ | |
| 20 | Pig Pen BBQ | |
| 21 | DEAD ON Q | |
| 22 | BIG D'S BBQ - DE | |
| 23 | NEANDERTHAL Q | |
| 24 | Nice To Meat You BBQ | |
| 25 | A 2 Z | |
| 26 | Pig in My Belly | |
| 27 | Hops Barons Meat Rubbers |