Almost Heaven's Spooktacular Backyard BBQ
2021-10-29 – 2021-10-30 · Buckhannon, WV · 📍 90 East Main Street
Reps: BILL JONES · Prize money: $1,600.00
Grand Champion: OPTIMUS SWINE 757 (350.8344) · 12 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 Ham Squad
Entries
12
2 judged meats
Top score
350.8344
Winning margin
3.4288
GC over RC
Field average
341.20
median 342.51
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
4.5712 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
338.2400
10th place overall
Field spread
29.7944
winner to last place
Prize money
$1,600.00
on the line
Double threats
3
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 49%
beats 51% of 708 Backyard Series wins in the data
Traveled in
100%
of the 12 teams with a home region came from outside WV
Form held
Weak
ρ = -0.15 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1592
avg power rating going in · stronger than 87% of contests
Storylines
📸 Photo finishes
Chicken places 5–6: Ham Squad and Better Half Barbecue tied on 172.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 2–3: Mispillion Meat Works edged Optimus Swine by 0.0116. Pork Ribs places 6–7: Kane's BBQ edged LEM'S MEAT VARNISH by 0.0116.
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 | 178.2972 | 172.5600 | 165.6684 |
| Pork Ribs | 177.1428 | 172.5716 | 169.6916 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Backyard Series
Overall
12 entries · top 350.8344 · median 342.5084
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Optimus Swine | |
| 2 | Ham Squad | |
| 3 | Gold-N-Blue Barbecue | |
| 4 | Mispillion Meat Works | |
| 5 | Uncle Dubby's Backyard BBQ | |
| 6 | Better Half Barbecue | |
| 7 | LEM'S MEAT VARNISH | |
| 8 | POOR BOYS BBQ | |
| 9 | OFF THE RACK BBQ | |
| 10 | SWEET & SAVORY BBQ | |
| 11 | Kane's BBQ | |
| 12 | Dogpatch Q |
Chicken
12 entries · top 178.2972 · median 171.6914
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uncle Dubby's Backyard BBQ | |
| 2 | Mispillion Meat Works | |
| 3 | Optimus Swine | |
| 4 | Gold-N-Blue Barbecue | |
| 5 | Ham Squad | |
| 6 | Better Half Barbecue | |
| 7 | LEM'S MEAT VARNISH | |
| 8 | OFF THE RACK BBQ | |
| 9 | POOR BOYS BBQ | |
| 10 | Kane's BBQ | |
| 11 | Dogpatch Q | |
| 12 | SWEET & SAVORY BBQ |
Pork Ribs
12 entries · top 177.1428 · median 170.8286
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SWEET & SAVORY BBQ | |
| 2 | Optimus Swine | |
| 3 | Ham Squad | |
| 4 | Gold-N-Blue Barbecue | |
| 5 | POOR BOYS BBQ | |
| 6 | Kane's BBQ | |
| 7 | LEM'S MEAT VARNISH | |
| 8 | Better Half Barbecue | |
| 9 | OFF THE RACK BBQ | |
| 10 | Mispillion Meat Works | |
| 11 | Uncle Dubby's Backyard BBQ | |
| 12 | Dogpatch Q |