A knife fight at the top
2.3200
points across the top five
First to fifth in the overall standings covered just 2.3200 points.
- 1st HICKORY HANGOVER
- 2nd PUCKDADDY'S KILLER Q
- 3rd The Real Squeal BBQ
- 4th LEE LA Q
- 5th REDBONES BBQ
Railyard BBQ Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
Oct 22–23, 2021 · Madison, AL · 📍 119 Martin Street
Reps: Carol Bigler, Randy G Bigler · Prize money: $1,950
HICKORY HANGOVER won Grand Champion at the Railyard BBQ Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) on October 22, 2021 in Madison, AL at 119 Martin Street, scoring 347.4172 in a field of 30 teams. PUCKDADDY'S KILLER Q took Reserve Grand Champion with 346.2400. Category winners: Chicken — HICKORY HANGOVER (178.8800); Pork Ribs — Ghost Hill BBQ (176.5600).
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.
290.82
median 331.08
347.42 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 178.88
- Pork Ribs 176.56
138.24
178.88
Entries
30
2 judged meats
Top score
347.4172
Winning margin
1.1772
GC over RC
Field average
326.95
290.82347.42
median 331.08 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
3.4400 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
335.9656
290.82347.42
10th place overall
Field spread
56.5944
winner to last place
Prize money
$1,950
on the line
Double threats
1
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 61%
beats 39% of 610 Backyard Series wins in the data
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.56 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,536
avg power rating going in · stronger than 27% of contests
Storylines (2 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.
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 4 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 4–5: PUCKDADDY'S KILLER Q and When Pigs Fly tied on 173.1200 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 4–5: LEE LA Q edged PUCKDADDY'S KILLER Q by 0.0116. Chicken places 6–7: Mill Road Boys edged LEE LA Q by 0.0116.
- Chicken 4–5 · tie
- Pork Ribs 4–5 · 0.0116
- Chicken 6–7 · 0.0116
- Pork Ribs 8–9 · 0.0228
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)
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 178.8800 | 173.1200 | 169.7028 |
| Pork Ribs | 176.5600 | 173.1200 | 167.9656 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Backyard Series
Overall
30 entries · top 347.4172 · median 331.0800
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | HICKORY HANGOVER | |
| 2 | PUCKDADDY'S KILLER Q | |
| 3 | The Real Squeal BBQ | |
| 4 | LEE LA Q | |
| 5 | REDBONES BBQ | |
| 6 | Banquet BBQ | |
| 7 | Ghost Hill BBQ | |
| 8 | HOLY SMOKIN!!! | |
| 9 | NORALA BBQ TEAM | |
| 10 | Slice to Meat You | |
| 11 | When Pigs Fly | |
| 12 | BUTSY-Q | |
| 13 | P&C BBQ | |
| 14 | Mill Road Boys | |
| 15 | JT'S SMOKE SHACK | |
| 16 | HELL ON SQUEALS | |
| 17 | RFCU | |
| 18 | Los Diablos | |
| 19 | The Catering Vets | |
| 20 | Big John's BBQ | |
| 21 | Pork Dorks | |
| 22 | Smokin Dat A$$ | |
| 23 | American BBQ | |
| 24 | Gustoso BBQ | |
| 25 | Rocket RVQ | |
| 26 | Coldwater Creek BBQ | |
| 27 | Butt Honey | |
| 28 | Smokehouse#9 | |
| 29 | STANK BUTT BBQ | |
| 30 | Meat Sweats |
Chicken
30 entries · top 178.8800 · median 166.5314
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | HICKORY HANGOVER | |
| 2 | P&C BBQ | |
| 3 | Banquet BBQ | |
| 4 | PUCKDADDY'S KILLER Q | |
| 5 | When Pigs Fly | |
| 6 | Mill Road Boys | |
| 7 | LEE LA Q | |
| 8 | The Real Squeal BBQ | |
| 9 | NORALA BBQ TEAM | |
| 10 | American BBQ | |
| 11 | REDBONES BBQ | |
| 12 | HELL ON SQUEALS | |
| 13 | Slice to Meat You | |
| 14 | JT'S SMOKE SHACK | |
| 15 | STANK BUTT BBQ | |
| 16 | Ghost Hill BBQ | |
| 17 | The Catering Vets | |
| 18 | HOLY SMOKIN!!! | |
| 19 | RFCU | |
| 20 | BUTSY-Q | |
| 21 | Smokin Dat A$$ | |
| 22 | Los Diablos | |
| 23 | Rocket RVQ | |
| 24 | Big John's BBQ | |
| 25 | Gustoso BBQ | |
| 26 | Pork Dorks | |
| 27 | Coldwater Creek BBQ | |
| 28 | Smokehouse#9 | |
| 29 | Meat Sweats | |
| 30 | Butt Honey |
Pork Ribs
30 entries · top 176.5600 · median 161.4230
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ghost Hill BBQ | |
| 2 | REDBONES BBQ | |
| 3 | The Real Squeal BBQ | |
| 4 | LEE LA Q | |
| 5 | PUCKDADDY'S KILLER Q | |
| 6 | HOLY SMOKIN!!! | |
| 7 | Banquet BBQ | |
| 8 | BUTSY-Q | |
| 9 | HICKORY HANGOVER | |
| 10 | Slice to Meat You | |
| 11 | NORALA BBQ TEAM | |
| 12 | Los Diablos | |
| 13 | JT'S SMOKE SHACK | |
| 14 | RFCU | |
| 15 | When Pigs Fly | |
| 16 | Butt Honey | |
| 17 | Big John's BBQ | |
| 18 | Pork Dorks | |
| 19 | HELL ON SQUEALS | |
| 20 | Mill Road Boys | |
| 21 | P&C BBQ | |
| 22 | The Catering Vets | |
| 23 | Coldwater Creek BBQ | |
| 24 | Smokin Dat A$$ | |
| 25 | Smokehouse#9 | |
| 26 | Gustoso BBQ | |
| 27 | Rocket RVQ | |
| 28 | Meat Sweats | |
| 29 | American BBQ | |
| 30 | STANK BUTT BBQ |