Photo finishes
Tie
decided the closest call
Pork Ribs places 3–4: SMOKIN E'S BBQ and Hoosier BBQ tied on 176.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Pork Ribs 3–4 · tie
Paxton Swine n Dine (BACKYARD ONLY)
Sep 19, 2026 · Paxton, IL · 📍 607 E Pells St
Reps: Becky Druetzler, Dave Druetzler · Prize money: $2,500
Rudes BBQ won Grand Champion at the Paxton Swine n Dine (BACKYARD ONLY) on September 19, 2026 in Paxton, IL at 607 E Pells St, scoring 356.0000 in a field of 18 teams. Skinny Pig BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 353.1428. Category winners: Chicken — Skinny Pig BBQ (177.1428); Pork Ribs — Rudes BBQ (180.0000).
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.
298.19
median 335.97
356 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 177.14
- Pork Ribs 180 🔥
144.51
180
Entries
18
2 judged meats
Top score
356
Winning margin
2.8572
GC over RC
Field average
333.74
298.19356
median 335.97 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
4 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
333.6804
298.19356
10th place overall
Field spread
57.8056
winner to last place
Prize money
$2,500
on the line
Double threats
3
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 9%
beats 91% of 616 Backyard Series wins in the data
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.68 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,554
avg power rating going in · stronger than 41% of contests
Storylines (2 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.
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.
- Rudes BBQ · Pork Ribs
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 | 177.1428 | 170.2628 | 164.5484 |
| Pork Ribs | 180 | 176 | 169.1316 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Backyard Series
Overall
18 entries · top 356 · median 335.9660
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rudes BBQ | |
| 2 | Skinny Pig BBQ | |
| 3 | SMOKIN E'S BBQ | |
| 4 | Kick Ash BBQ | |
| 5 | All Smoked Up BBQ | |
| 6 | Sermerstout BBQ | |
| 7 | Big Foot BBQ | |
| 8 | Jordy&Pops BBQ | |
| 9 | Hoosier BBQ | |
| 10 | Smokin' Walders | |
| 11 | Pig Out BBQ | |
| 12 | Slingin' Q | |
| 13 | Que's Your Daddy | |
| 14 | Bro B Q | |
| 15 | Ishy Links | |
| 16 | Smokin Moo n Oink | |
| 17 | Who Wants Smoke | |
| 18 | Damn Davis Boys |
Chicken
18 entries · top 177.1428 · median 165.6970
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Skinny Pig BBQ | |
| 2 | Rudes BBQ | |
| 3 | Big Foot BBQ | |
| 4 | Sermerstout BBQ | |
| 5 | SMOKIN E'S BBQ | |
| 6 | Pig Out BBQ | |
| 7 | Jordy&Pops BBQ | |
| 8 | Bro B Q | |
| 9 | All Smoked Up BBQ | |
| 10 | Kick Ash BBQ | |
| 11 | Slingin' Q | |
| 12 | Hoosier BBQ | |
| 13 | Que's Your Daddy | |
| 14 | Smokin' Walders | |
| 15 | Who Wants Smoke | |
| 16 | Ishy Links | |
| 17 | Smokin Moo n Oink | |
| 18 | Damn Davis Boys |
Pork Ribs
18 entries · top 180 · median 169.4230 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rudes BBQ | |
| 2 | Kick Ash BBQ | |
| 3 | SMOKIN E'S BBQ | |
| 4 | Hoosier BBQ | |
| 5 | Skinny Pig BBQ | |
| 6 | All Smoked Up BBQ | |
| 7 | Smokin' Walders | |
| 8 | Sermerstout BBQ | |
| 9 | Jordy&Pops BBQ | |
| 10 | Big Foot BBQ | |
| 11 | Smokin Moo n Oink | |
| 12 | Que's Your Daddy | |
| 13 | Slingin' Q | |
| 14 | Ishy Links | |
| 15 | Pig Out BBQ | |
| 16 | Bro B Q | |
| 17 | Who Wants Smoke | |
| 18 | Damn Davis Boys |