A new contest record
703.4172
highest overall ever cooked here
703.4172 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 701.6800 Slaps set in 2021.
- old record 701.6800
- set 2021 by Slaps
Columbia Elks BBQ Cookoff 2022
May 6–7, 2022 · Columbia, MO · 📍 4747 E Elk Park Drive · State championship
Reps: Donna Young, Ed Young · Prize money: $5,000
SONS OF A BRISKET won Grand Champion at the Columbia Elks BBQ Cookoff on May 6, 2022 in Columbia, MO at 4747 E Elk Park Drive, scoring 703.4172 in a field of 25 teams. SLAPS BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 695.3484. Category winners: Chicken — Hicks from the Sticks BBQ (178.8572); Pork Ribs — Damn Fine Beef & Swine (178.8572); Pork — SLAPS BBQ (180.0000); Brisket — Can Country Outlaw BBQ (177.1428). The Backyard Series standings were won by Swine-O-Licious BBQ with 348.5256. This is the 2nd of 2 editions of this contest on record; the 2021 edition was won by Slaps.
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.
621.55
median 679.90
703.42 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Master Series — Chicken 178.86
- Master Series — Pork Ribs 178.86
- Master Series — Pork 180 🔥
- Master Series — Brisket 177.14
- Backyard Series — Chicken 180 🔥
- Backyard Series — Pork Ribs 174.26
148.48
180
Entries
25
6 judged meats
Top score
703.4172
Winning margin
8.0688
GC over RC
Field average
676.50
621.55703.42
median 679.90 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
1.1544 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
681.6456
621.55703.42
10th place overall
Field spread
81.8628
winner to last place
Prize money
$5,000
on the line
Double threats
8
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 19%
beats 81% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
41%
16 of 39 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.32 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,608
avg power rating going in · stronger than 82% of contests
Storylines (6 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.
An upset on the books
26-in-100
shot on pre-contest ratings
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 74 times in 100
Sons of a Brisket came in rated below the field's top team, SLAPS BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 26-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
- champion 1760
- top seed 1942
Won without a category win
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
SONS OF A BRISKET won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 4 calls from 4 boards, best of them 2nd. Consistency beat fireworks.
- Chicken 4th
- Pork Ribs 5th
- Pork 7th
- Brisket 2nd
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 14 calls decided inside half a point
Master Series — Chicken places 3–4: AWESOME RACKS COOKIN CREW and SONS OF A BRISKET tied on 177.7144 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Master Series — Chicken places 5–6: SMOKE THIS BBQ MO and Cities Edge BBQ tied on 176.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Master Series — Pork Ribs places 1–2: Damn Fine Beef & Swine and Squealin N Dealin BBQ tied on 178.8572 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Master Series — Chicken 3–4 · tie
- Master Series — Chicken 5–6 · tie
- Master Series — Pork Ribs 1–2 · tie
- Master Series — Pork Ribs 4–5 · tie
A contest record in chicken
180.0000
best chicken ever cooked here
WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ turned in 180.0000 in chicken — past the 178.8572 that had stood across 1 earlier editions.
- old best 178.8572
- across 1 past editions
A perfect score on the table
2
perfect 180s
2 perfect 180s were scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ · Chicken
- SLAPS BBQ · Pork
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)
This contest over the years full contest page →
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1, 2021 | Columbia, MO | 4747 E Elk Park Drive | 39 | 701.6800 | Slaps | SMOKE THIS BBQ MO |
| May 6, 2022 ← this one | Columbia, MO | 4747 E Elk Park Drive | 25 | 703.4172 | Sons of a Brisket | SLAPS BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Master Series — Chicken | 178.8572 | 176.5600 | 173.7028 |
| Master Series — Pork Ribs | 178.8572 | 177.7028 | 173.7144 |
| Master Series — Pork | 180 | 173.1200 | 170.2744 |
| Master Series — Brisket | 177.1428 | 173.1200 | 169.6800 |
| Backyard Series — Chicken | 180 | 168.5372 | — |
| Backyard Series — Pork Ribs | 174.2628 | 163.3828 | — |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
25 entries · top 703.4172 · median 679.8968
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SONS OF A BRISKET | |
| 2 | SLAPS BBQ | |
| 3 | LOVE 2 Q | |
| 4 | MAD MUTT'S BBQ | |
| 5 | MEAT ME IN ST. LOUIS | |
| 6 | Squealin N Dealin BBQ | |
| 7 | Cities Edge BBQ | |
| 8 | Damn Fine Beef & Swine | |
| 9 | Notch 9 | |
| 10 | SMOKE THIS BBQ MO | |
| 11 | MEAT RUSHMORE BBQ | |
| 12 | UNFAMOUS DAVE'S | |
| 13 | Can Country Outlaw BBQ | |
| 14 | PARTS 'R' SMOKIN | |
| 15 | Wildhouse BBQ | |
| 16 | PIGGIN' WHISKEY O.G | |
| 17 | Ambition Que | |
| 18 | AWESOME RACKS COOKIN CREW | |
| 19 | Fat&Dumb BBQ | |
| 20 | Blacktop BBQ | |
| 21 | MY 3 SONS BARBEQUE MO | |
| 22 | Heavy & Sweaty BBQ | |
| 23 | Hicks from the Sticks BBQ | |
| 24 | JUSTCUZ BBQ | |
| 25 | Elks 594 |
Chicken
25 entries · top 178.8572 · median 172.5600
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hicks from the Sticks BBQ | |
| 2 | Ambition Que | |
| 3 | AWESOME RACKS COOKIN CREW | |
| 4 | SONS OF A BRISKET | |
| 5 | SMOKE THIS BBQ MO | |
| 6 | Cities Edge BBQ | |
| 7 | Heavy & Sweaty BBQ | |
| 8 | LOVE 2 Q | |
| 9 | MEAT ME IN ST. LOUIS | |
| 10 | Wildhouse BBQ | |
| 11 | Notch 9 | |
| 12 | PARTS 'R' SMOKIN | |
| 13 | MAD MUTT'S BBQ | |
| 14 | Damn Fine Beef & Swine | |
| 15 | Can Country Outlaw BBQ | |
| 16 | PIGGIN' WHISKEY O.G | |
| 17 | Fat&Dumb BBQ | |
| 18 | UNFAMOUS DAVE'S | |
| 19 | SLAPS BBQ | |
| 20 | MEAT RUSHMORE BBQ | |
| 21 | Squealin N Dealin BBQ | |
| 22 | MY 3 SONS BARBEQUE MO | |
| 23 | Blacktop BBQ | |
| 24 | JUSTCUZ BBQ | |
| 25 | Elks 594 |
Pork Ribs
25 entries · top 178.8572 · median 170.2860
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Damn Fine Beef & Swine | |
| 2 | Squealin N Dealin BBQ | |
| 3 | MEAT ME IN ST. LOUIS | |
| 4 | AWESOME RACKS COOKIN CREW | |
| 5 | SONS OF A BRISKET | |
| 6 | LOVE 2 Q | |
| 7 | MAD MUTT'S BBQ | |
| 8 | UNFAMOUS DAVE'S | |
| 9 | PARTS 'R' SMOKIN | |
| 10 | SMOKE THIS BBQ MO | |
| 11 | Cities Edge BBQ | |
| 12 | SLAPS BBQ | |
| 13 | Wildhouse BBQ | |
| 14 | JUSTCUZ BBQ | |
| 15 | Ambition Que | |
| 16 | MEAT RUSHMORE BBQ | |
| 17 | Notch 9 | |
| 18 | PIGGIN' WHISKEY O.G | |
| 19 | Fat&Dumb BBQ | |
| 20 | MY 3 SONS BARBEQUE MO | |
| 21 | Heavy & Sweaty BBQ | |
| 22 | Hicks from the Sticks BBQ | |
| 23 | Can Country Outlaw BBQ | |
| 24 | Blacktop BBQ | |
| 25 | Elks 594 |
Pork
25 entries · top 180 · median 169.6800 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SLAPS BBQ | |
| 2 | MEAT RUSHMORE BBQ | |
| 3 | Squealin N Dealin BBQ | |
| 4 | PARTS 'R' SMOKIN | |
| 5 | Cities Edge BBQ | |
| 6 | Notch 9 | |
| 7 | SONS OF A BRISKET | |
| 8 | SMOKE THIS BBQ MO | |
| 9 | MAD MUTT'S BBQ | |
| 10 | Blacktop BBQ | |
| 11 | UNFAMOUS DAVE'S | |
| 12 | PIGGIN' WHISKEY O.G | |
| 13 | MEAT ME IN ST. LOUIS | |
| 14 | MY 3 SONS BARBEQUE MO | |
| 15 | Wildhouse BBQ | |
| 16 | LOVE 2 Q | |
| 17 | Fat&Dumb BBQ | |
| 18 | Can Country Outlaw BBQ | |
| 19 | Heavy & Sweaty BBQ | |
| 20 | Hicks from the Sticks BBQ | |
| 21 | Damn Fine Beef & Swine | |
| 22 | Elks 594 | |
| 23 | Ambition Que | |
| 24 | JUSTCUZ BBQ | |
| 25 | AWESOME RACKS COOKIN CREW |
Brisket
25 entries · top 177.1428 · median 169.1084
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Can Country Outlaw BBQ | |
| 2 | SONS OF A BRISKET | |
| 3 | LOVE 2 Q | |
| 4 | MAD MUTT'S BBQ | |
| 5 | SLAPS BBQ | |
| 6 | MEAT RUSHMORE BBQ | |
| 7 | Ambition Que | |
| 8 | Squealin N Dealin BBQ | |
| 9 | PIGGIN' WHISKEY O.G | |
| 10 | MEAT ME IN ST. LOUIS | |
| 11 | Blacktop BBQ | |
| 12 | Notch 9 | |
| 13 | Damn Fine Beef & Swine | |
| 14 | AWESOME RACKS COOKIN CREW | |
| 15 | JUSTCUZ BBQ | |
| 16 | Wildhouse BBQ | |
| 17 | UNFAMOUS DAVE'S | |
| 18 | MY 3 SONS BARBEQUE MO | |
| 19 | Cities Edge BBQ | |
| 20 | Fat&Dumb BBQ | |
| 21 | SMOKE THIS BBQ MO | |
| 22 | PARTS 'R' SMOKIN | |
| 23 | Heavy & Sweaty BBQ | |
| 24 | Elks 594 | |
| 25 | Hicks from the Sticks BBQ |
Backyard Series
Overall
6 entries · top 348.5256 · median 338.5200
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swine-O-Licious BBQ | |
| 2 | WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ | |
| 3 | Mistler's BBQ | |
| 4 | 2 Moon Que | |
| 5 | MEAT'S MY MISTRESS | |
| 6 | Rucking Fidiculous BBQ |
Chicken
6 entries · top 180 · median 172.5428 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ | |
| 2 | Mistler's BBQ | |
| 3 | Swine-O-Licious BBQ | |
| 4 | MEAT'S MY MISTRESS | |
| 5 | Rucking Fidiculous BBQ | |
| 6 | 2 Moon Que |
Pork Ribs
6 entries · top 174.2628 · median 165.6742
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swine-O-Licious BBQ | |
| 2 | 2 Moon Que | |
| 3 | Mistler's BBQ | |
| 4 | WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ | |
| 5 | MEAT'S MY MISTRESS | |
| 6 | Rucking Fidiculous BBQ |