Route 66 Smoke Out
2022-05-06 – 2022-05-07 · Dwight, IL · 📍 132 E main St · State championship
Reps: KENT SCHUETZ, RACHEL SCHUETZ · Prize money: $6,000.00
Grand Champion: Que U (702.8000) · 33 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 THE REAL SMOKIN ACES
Entries
33
4 judged meats
Top score
702.8000
Winning margin
1.6800
GC over RC
Field average
658.68
median 672.42
Tightest race
Pork
1.1544 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
675.8628
10th place overall
Field spread
162.4684
winner to last place
Prize money
$6,000.00
on the line
Double threats
5
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 36%
beats 64% of 1951 Master Series wins in the data
Traveled in
30%
of the 33 teams with a home region came from outside IL
Came back for more
43%
19 of 44 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.74 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1562
avg power rating going in · stronger than 67% of contests
Storylines
👑 A dynasty in the making
THE CHILLY WATER SMOKERS has won this contest 2 times across its 7 tracked editions.
🧳 Out-of-towners took the title
QUE U took the Grand Championship home to WI.
🧹 A double category winner
QUE U won Pork Ribs, Pork — a double, and took the Grand Championship on top of it.
📸 Photo finishes
Chicken places 2–3: The Yellow Rose Texas BBQ Company and TRIPLE H BBQ tied on 177.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 6–7: RUSTY PIG BBQ and QUE U tied on 175.4056 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 2–3: The Yellow Rose Texas BBQ Company and PAPA JIM'S BBQ tied on 176.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
🛡️ Back to defend
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: THE CHILLY WATER SMOKERS (won 2015, 2016), Carrol Lou's Smokehouse (won 2019).
🃏 An upset on the books
QUE U came in rated below the field's top team, Heavy Smoke BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 32-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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-05-01 | Dwight, IL 60420 | 40 | 702.8460 | THE CHILLY WATER SMOKERS | TRUCKY'S TRUE BLU BBQ'UE | |
| 2016-05-06 | 419 W Waupansie | 40 | 691.3368 | THE CHILLY WATER SMOKERS | CAPTAIN RON'S BREW-N-QUE | |
| 2017-05-05 | 419 W Waupansie | 29 | 691.9544 | ALL IN QUE | OKLAHOMA JOE'S SERIOUS QUE | |
| 2018-05-04 | 419 W Waupansie | 38 | 694.2516 | BILLY RAY BBQ | CARROL LOU'S SMOKEHOUSE | |
| 2019-05-03 | Dwight, IL | 419 W Waupansie | 33 | 693.6916 | Carrol Lou's Smokehouse | iBQ'n |
| 2021-05-01 | Dwight, IL | 132 E main St | 44 | 703.4172 | The BBQ Bus | BIG "E" BBQ |
| 2022-05-06 ← this one | Dwight, IL | 132 E main St | 33 | 702.8000 | Que U | THE REAL SMOKIN ACES |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180.0000 | 175.4172 | 173.1200 |
| Pork Ribs | 176.5600 | 173.1200 | 167.4172 |
| Pork | 176.5716 | 175.4172 | 171.9772 |
| Brisket | 176.5716 | 174.2628 | 169.6800 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
33 entries · top 702.8000 · median 672.4224
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | QUE U | |
| 2 | THE REAL SMOKIN ACES | |
| 3 | TRIPLE H BBQ | |
| 4 | Heavy Smoke BBQ | |
| 5 | The Yellow Rose Texas BBQ Company | |
| 6 | Risky Brisket | |
| 7 | RUSTY PIG BBQ | |
| 8 | Chasin Chicken Barbeque | |
| 9 | iBQ'n | |
| 10 | JANKY LEG BBQ | |
| 11 | PAPA JIM'S BBQ | |
| 12 | WE WILL ROCK QUE | |
| 13 | DB BBQ | |
| 14 | Blue Island | |
| 15 | SmokinGhost BBQ | |
| 16 | UP FROM THE PITS BBQ | |
| 17 | JaBs BBQ | |
| 18 | BACKDRAFT BBQ | |
| 19 | CARROL LOU'S SMOKEHOUSE | |
| 20 | MONSTERS OF THE RIBWAY | |
| 21 | TWISTED SMOKE ADC | |
| 22 | HEFTY LEFTY BBQ | |
| 23 | The Chilly Water Smokers | |
| 24 | SMOKE, EAT, REPEAT | |
| 25 | Rub Runners | |
| 26 | BIRDMAN'S BBQ | |
| 27 | MOON KING BBQ | |
| 28 | SMOKIN' WET BBQ | |
| 29 | Three Stooges bbq | |
| 30 | BIG DADDY OOWEE SMOKIN BONES BBQ | |
| 31 | Smokey and the Bandits | |
| 32 | Kaleta's Kitchen | |
| 33 | Kronk's BBQ |
Chicken
33 entries · top 180.0000 · median 170.2628 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | THE REAL SMOKIN ACES | |
| 2 | The Yellow Rose Texas BBQ Company | |
| 3 | TRIPLE H BBQ | |
| 4 | WE WILL ROCK QUE | |
| 5 | Risky Brisket | |
| 6 | RUSTY PIG BBQ | |
| 7 | QUE U | |
| 8 | MONSTERS OF THE RIBWAY | |
| 9 | TWISTED SMOKE ADC | |
| 10 | Chasin Chicken Barbeque | |
| 11 | BACKDRAFT BBQ | |
| 12 | CARROL LOU'S SMOKEHOUSE | |
| 13 | Heavy Smoke BBQ | |
| 14 | JaBs BBQ | |
| 15 | JANKY LEG BBQ | |
| 16 | Three Stooges bbq | |
| 17 | SmokinGhost BBQ | |
| 18 | MOON KING BBQ | |
| 19 | SMOKE, EAT, REPEAT | |
| 20 | iBQ'n | |
| 21 | BIG DADDY OOWEE SMOKIN BONES BBQ | |
| 22 | PAPA JIM'S BBQ | |
| 23 | Blue Island | |
| 24 | UP FROM THE PITS BBQ | |
| 25 | Rub Runners | |
| 26 | DB BBQ | |
| 27 | BIRDMAN'S BBQ | |
| 28 | HEFTY LEFTY BBQ | |
| 29 | The Chilly Water Smokers | |
| 30 | SMOKIN' WET BBQ | |
| 31 | Smokey and the Bandits | |
| 32 | Kronk's BBQ | |
| 33 | Kaleta's Kitchen |
Pork Ribs
33 entries · top 176.5600 · median 165.1088
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | QUE U | |
| 2 | THE REAL SMOKIN ACES | |
| 3 | Heavy Smoke BBQ | |
| 4 | JaBs BBQ | |
| 5 | TRIPLE H BBQ | |
| 6 | RUSTY PIG BBQ | |
| 7 | Chasin Chicken Barbeque | |
| 8 | PAPA JIM'S BBQ | |
| 9 | BIRDMAN'S BBQ | |
| 10 | BACKDRAFT BBQ | |
| 11 | The Yellow Rose Texas BBQ Company | |
| 12 | Risky Brisket | |
| 13 | UP FROM THE PITS BBQ | |
| 14 | JANKY LEG BBQ | |
| 15 | SmokinGhost BBQ | |
| 16 | The Chilly Water Smokers | |
| 17 | TWISTED SMOKE ADC | |
| 18 | iBQ'n | |
| 19 | WE WILL ROCK QUE | |
| 20 | SMOKE, EAT, REPEAT | |
| 21 | MONSTERS OF THE RIBWAY | |
| 22 | Blue Island | |
| 23 | Rub Runners | |
| 24 | DB BBQ | |
| 25 | Smokey and the Bandits | |
| 26 | HEFTY LEFTY BBQ | |
| 27 | SMOKIN' WET BBQ | |
| 28 | CARROL LOU'S SMOKEHOUSE | |
| 29 | MOON KING BBQ | |
| 30 | BIG DADDY OOWEE SMOKIN BONES BBQ | |
| 31 | Kaleta's Kitchen | |
| 32 | Kronk's BBQ | |
| 33 | Three Stooges bbq |
Pork
33 entries · top 176.5716 · median 169.1200
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | QUE U | |
| 2 | The Yellow Rose Texas BBQ Company | |
| 3 | PAPA JIM'S BBQ | |
| 4 | TRIPLE H BBQ | |
| 5 | Heavy Smoke BBQ | |
| 6 | CARROL LOU'S SMOKEHOUSE | |
| 7 | HEFTY LEFTY BBQ | |
| 8 | Blue Island | |
| 9 | Risky Brisket | |
| 10 | DB BBQ | |
| 11 | Chasin Chicken Barbeque | |
| 12 | RUSTY PIG BBQ | |
| 13 | SmokinGhost BBQ | |
| 14 | THE REAL SMOKIN ACES | |
| 15 | MONSTERS OF THE RIBWAY | |
| 16 | JaBs BBQ | |
| 17 | BACKDRAFT BBQ | |
| 18 | iBQ'n | |
| 19 | WE WILL ROCK QUE | |
| 20 | JANKY LEG BBQ | |
| 21 | The Chilly Water Smokers | |
| 22 | UP FROM THE PITS BBQ | |
| 23 | Rub Runners | |
| 24 | BIG DADDY OOWEE SMOKIN BONES BBQ | |
| 25 | MOON KING BBQ | |
| 26 | SMOKIN' WET BBQ | |
| 27 | TWISTED SMOKE ADC | |
| 28 | SMOKE, EAT, REPEAT | |
| 29 | BIRDMAN'S BBQ | |
| 30 | Three Stooges bbq | |
| 31 | Kaleta's Kitchen | |
| 32 | Smokey and the Bandits | |
| 33 | Kronk's BBQ |
Brisket
33 entries · top 176.5716 · median 166.2400
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | iBQ'n | |
| 2 | UP FROM THE PITS BBQ | |
| 3 | DB BBQ | |
| 4 | THE REAL SMOKIN ACES | |
| 5 | QUE U | |
| 6 | JANKY LEG BBQ | |
| 7 | Risky Brisket | |
| 8 | Heavy Smoke BBQ | |
| 9 | Blue Island | |
| 10 | RUSTY PIG BBQ | |
| 11 | The Chilly Water Smokers | |
| 12 | TRIPLE H BBQ | |
| 13 | WE WILL ROCK QUE | |
| 14 | HEFTY LEFTY BBQ | |
| 15 | CARROL LOU'S SMOKEHOUSE | |
| 16 | SMOKIN' WET BBQ | |
| 17 | SMOKE, EAT, REPEAT | |
| 18 | Chasin Chicken Barbeque | |
| 19 | The Yellow Rose Texas BBQ Company | |
| 20 | SmokinGhost BBQ | |
| 21 | TWISTED SMOKE ADC | |
| 22 | PAPA JIM'S BBQ | |
| 23 | Three Stooges bbq | |
| 24 | MOON KING BBQ | |
| 25 | BIRDMAN'S BBQ | |
| 26 | BACKDRAFT BBQ | |
| 27 | Rub Runners | |
| 28 | JaBs BBQ | |
| 29 | MONSTERS OF THE RIBWAY | |
| 30 | Smokey and the Bandits | |
| 31 | Kaleta's Kitchen | |
| 32 | BIG DADDY OOWEE SMOKIN BONES BBQ | |
| 33 | Kronk's BBQ |