A knife fight at the top
3.4744
points across the top five
First to fifth in the overall standings covered just 3.4744 points.
- 1st SWEET & SAVORY BBQ
- 2nd LEM'S MEAT VARNISH
- 3rd Gold-N-Blue Barbecue
- 4th Bowmans Butt & BBQ
- 5th The Yardpigs
3rd Annual KCBS World Invitational - Backyard
Nov 12–13, 2021 · Shawnee, OK · 📍 FireLake Arena
Reps: Karen Jane Williams, Ralph Williams, Scott Grinstead, Steve Grinstead
SWEET & SAVORY BBQ won Grand Champion at the 3rd Annual KCBS World Invitational - Backyard on November 12, 2021 in Shawnee, OK at FireLake Arena, scoring 347.4172 in a field of 33 teams. LEM'S MEAT VARNISH took Reserve Grand Champion with 346.2400. Category winners: Chicken — Country Boys BBQ (180.0000); Pork Ribs — The Yardpigs (174.2628).
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.
311.86
median 335.37
347.42 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 180 🔥
- Pork Ribs 174.26
149.06
180
Entries
33
2 judged meats
Top score
347.4172
Winning margin
1.1772
GC over RC
Field average
334.55
311.86347.42
median 335.37 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
4 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
339.3944
311.86347.42
10th place overall
Field spread
35.5544
winner to last place
Double threats
1
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 62%
beats 38% of 612 Backyard Series wins in the data
Storylines (3 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 7 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 2–3: SWEET & SAVORY BBQ and Gold-N-Blue Barbecue tied on 177.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 7–8: Optimus Swine and UGLY BABY BBQ tied on 169.6684 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 2–3: LEM'S MEAT VARNISH edged Kane's BBQ by 0.0116.
- Chicken 2–3 · tie
- Pork Ribs 7–8 · tie
- Pork Ribs 2–3 · 0.0116
- Chicken 4–5 · 0.0116
A perfect score on the table
1
perfect 180s
1 perfect 180 was scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- Country Boys BBQ · Chicken
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
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180 | 175.4056 | 171.9772 |
| Pork Ribs | 174.2628 | 170.2628 | 168.5600 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Backyard Series
Overall
33 entries · top 347.4172 · median 335.3716
Chicken
33 entries · top 180 · median 168.5600 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork Ribs
33 entries · top 174.2628 · median 166.8344