Columbia Elks BBQ Cookoff
2022-05-06 – 2022-05-07 · Columbia, MO · 📍 4747 E Elk Park Drive · State championship
Reps: DONNA YOUNG, ED YOUNG · Prize money: $5,000.00
Grand Champion: Sons of a Brisket (703.4172) · 25 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 SLAPS BBQ
Entries
25
6 judged meats
Top score
703.4172
Winning margin
8.0688
GC over RC
Field average
676.50
median 679.90
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
1.1544 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
681.6456
10th place overall
Field spread
81.8628
winner to last place
Prize money
$5,000.00
on the line
Double threats
8
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 31%
beats 69% of 1951 Master Series wins in the data
Traveled in
32%
of the 31 teams with a home region came from outside MO
Came back for more
41%
16 of 39 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.41 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1570
avg power rating going in · stronger than 74% of contests
Storylines
📸 Photo finishes
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.
🃏 An upset on the books
Sons of a Brisket came in rated below the field's top team, SLAPS BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 23-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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-05-01 | Columbia, MO | 4747 E Elk Park Drive | 39 | 701.6800 | Slaps | SMOKE THIS BBQ MO |
| 2022-05-06 ← 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 | 180.0000 | 173.1200 | 170.2744 |
| Master Series — Brisket | 177.1428 | 173.1200 | 169.6800 |
| Backyard Series — Chicken | 180.0000 | 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 180.0000 · 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 180.0000 · 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 |