A statement win
17.7484
points clear of the field
Wider than 98% of the 4,710 championships in the data
The champion won by 17.7484 points — a wider margin than 98% of championships in the data.
10th Annual Deaths Door Barbeque 2022
Aug 26–27, 2022 · Washington Island, WI · State championship
Reps: Debra Gage, William Gage · Prize money: $8,000
IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ won Grand Champion at the 10th Annual Deaths Door Barbeque on August 26, 2022 in Washington Island, WI, scoring 700.5144 in a field of 26 teams. SHIGGIN & GRINNIN took Reserve Grand Champion with 682.7660. Category winners: Chicken — IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ (178.8572); Pork Ribs — QUE'S YER DADDY (173.1432); Pork — Muds BBQ (178.8572); Brisket — IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ (180.0000). This is the 1st of 2 editions of this contest on record; the next was held in 2022.
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.
594.57
median 657.90
700.51 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 178.86
- Pork Ribs 173.14
- Pork 178.86
- Brisket 180 🔥
130.26
180
Entries
26
4 judged meats
Top score
700.5144
Winning margin
17.7484
GC over RC
Field average
654.80
594.57700.51
median 657.90 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
4.0232 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
668.9940
594.57700.51
10th place overall
Field spread
105.9436
winner to last place
Prize money
$8,000
on the line
Double threats
7
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 31%
beats 69% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.63 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,598
avg power rating going in · stronger than 76% of contests
Storylines (5 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 9 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 5–6: Can Country Outlaw BBQ and ACES HIGH BBQ tied on 171.9772 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 7–8: ACES HIGH BBQ and SMOKE IN THE EYE tied on 168.5372 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 2–3: Red Rock Cafe and SHIGGIN & GRINNIN tied on 175.4172 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 5–6 · tie
- Pork Ribs 7–8 · tie
- Brisket 2–3 · tie
- Pork 2–3 · 0.0116
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ won Chicken, Brisket — a double, and took the Grand Championship on top of it.
- Chicken 1st
- Brisket 1st
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 2 outright wins — their weakest board was pork ribs at 9th.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 9th
- Pork 5th
- Brisket 1st
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.
- IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ · Brisket
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 26, 2022 ← this one | Washington Island, WI | Washington Island, WI 54246 | 26 | 700.5144 | Iowa's Smokey D's BBQ | SHIGGIN & GRINNIN |
| Aug 26, 2022 | Washington Island, WI | Washington Island, WI 54246 | 23 | 174.8572 | The BBQ Bus | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 178.8572 | 171.9772 | 168.5372 |
| Pork Ribs | 173.1432 | 169.1200 | 166.8460 |
| Pork | 178.8572 | 174.2628 | 169.6800 |
| Brisket | 180 | 171.9772 | 165.0972 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
26 entries · top 700.5144 · median 657.8972
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ | |
| 2 | SHIGGIN & GRINNIN | |
| 3 | Red Rock Cafe | |
| 4 | THE BBQ BUS | |
| 5 | QUE'S YER DADDY | |
| 6 | ACES HIGH BBQ | |
| 7 | SmokinGhost BBQ | |
| 8 | Can Country Outlaw BBQ | |
| 9 | Muds BBQ | |
| 10 | FIREHOUSE SMOKE | |
| 11 | SMOKE INFUSION | |
| 12 | CRACKHOUSE BBQ | |
| 13 | SIX BUTT BBQ | |
| 14 | Meat Sweats BBQ | |
| 15 | HOME FARM BBQ | |
| 16 | T-MAC SMOKIN | |
| 17 | GRINDERS BBQ KANSAS CITY | |
| 18 | SMOKE IN THE EYE | |
| 19 | CANARDLY WAIT 4 QUE | |
| 20 | 92 - BBQ | |
| 21 | Plastered Pork BBQ | |
| 22 | Second Hand Smoke SLV | |
| 23 | Up N' Smoke Bar-B-Que | |
| 24 | BS BBQ | |
| 25 | TATTOOED PIG BBQ | |
| 26 | Arno's Hausstil |
Chicken
26 entries · top 178.8572 · median 166.5486
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ | |
| 2 | QUE'S YER DADDY | |
| 3 | T-MAC SMOKIN | |
| 4 | Plastered Pork BBQ | |
| 5 | Can Country Outlaw BBQ | |
| 6 | ACES HIGH BBQ | |
| 7 | TATTOOED PIG BBQ | |
| 8 | FIREHOUSE SMOKE | |
| 9 | CRACKHOUSE BBQ | |
| 10 | SMOKE INFUSION | |
| 11 | THE BBQ BUS | |
| 12 | SIX BUTT BBQ | |
| 13 | Meat Sweats BBQ | |
| 14 | CANARDLY WAIT 4 QUE | |
| 15 | Red Rock Cafe | |
| 16 | HOME FARM BBQ | |
| 17 | 92 - BBQ | |
| 18 | SHIGGIN & GRINNIN | |
| 19 | GRINDERS BBQ KANSAS CITY | |
| 20 | SmokinGhost BBQ | |
| 21 | BS BBQ | |
| 22 | SMOKE IN THE EYE | |
| 23 | Second Hand Smoke SLV | |
| 24 | Muds BBQ | |
| 25 | Up N' Smoke Bar-B-Que | |
| 26 | Arno's Hausstil |
Pork Ribs
26 entries · top 173.1432 · median 165.1086
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | QUE'S YER DADDY | |
| 2 | GRINDERS BBQ KANSAS CITY | |
| 3 | Red Rock Cafe | |
| 4 | Can Country Outlaw BBQ | |
| 5 | SmokinGhost BBQ | |
| 6 | Up N' Smoke Bar-B-Que | |
| 7 | ACES HIGH BBQ | |
| 8 | SMOKE IN THE EYE | |
| 9 | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ | |
| 10 | SMOKE INFUSION | |
| 11 | SHIGGIN & GRINNIN | |
| 12 | Meat Sweats BBQ | |
| 13 | Muds BBQ | |
| 14 | SIX BUTT BBQ | |
| 15 | CANARDLY WAIT 4 QUE | |
| 16 | CRACKHOUSE BBQ | |
| 17 | 92 - BBQ | |
| 18 | HOME FARM BBQ | |
| 19 | THE BBQ BUS | |
| 20 | FIREHOUSE SMOKE | |
| 21 | BS BBQ | |
| 22 | Plastered Pork BBQ | |
| 23 | T-MAC SMOKIN | |
| 24 | TATTOOED PIG BBQ | |
| 25 | Second Hand Smoke SLV | |
| 26 | Arno's Hausstil |
Pork
26 entries · top 178.8572 · median 165.0914
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Muds BBQ | |
| 2 | SHIGGIN & GRINNIN | |
| 3 | Arno's Hausstil | |
| 4 | THE BBQ BUS | |
| 5 | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ | |
| 6 | Meat Sweats BBQ | |
| 7 | FIREHOUSE SMOKE | |
| 8 | HOME FARM BBQ | |
| 9 | GRINDERS BBQ KANSAS CITY | |
| 10 | ACES HIGH BBQ | |
| 11 | Red Rock Cafe | |
| 12 | SmokinGhost BBQ | |
| 13 | Can Country Outlaw BBQ | |
| 14 | QUE'S YER DADDY | |
| 15 | Second Hand Smoke SLV | |
| 16 | SMOKE IN THE EYE | |
| 17 | CANARDLY WAIT 4 QUE | |
| 18 | CRACKHOUSE BBQ | |
| 19 | Plastered Pork BBQ | |
| 20 | SMOKE INFUSION | |
| 21 | SIX BUTT BBQ | |
| 22 | T-MAC SMOKIN | |
| 23 | 92 - BBQ | |
| 24 | Up N' Smoke Bar-B-Que | |
| 25 | BS BBQ | |
| 26 | TATTOOED PIG BBQ |
Brisket
26 entries · top 180 · median 163.1258 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ | |
| 2 | Red Rock Cafe | |
| 3 | SHIGGIN & GRINNIN | |
| 4 | THE BBQ BUS | |
| 5 | SmokinGhost BBQ | |
| 6 | FIREHOUSE SMOKE | |
| 7 | CRACKHOUSE BBQ | |
| 8 | T-MAC SMOKIN | |
| 9 | SMOKE INFUSION | |
| 10 | Muds BBQ | |
| 11 | SIX BUTT BBQ | |
| 12 | Can Country Outlaw BBQ | |
| 13 | 92 - BBQ | |
| 14 | QUE'S YER DADDY | |
| 15 | ACES HIGH BBQ | |
| 16 | SMOKE IN THE EYE | |
| 17 | HOME FARM BBQ | |
| 18 | CANARDLY WAIT 4 QUE | |
| 19 | Plastered Pork BBQ | |
| 20 | Second Hand Smoke SLV | |
| 21 | Meat Sweats BBQ | |
| 22 | GRINDERS BBQ KANSAS CITY | |
| 23 | Up N' Smoke Bar-B-Que | |
| 24 | BS BBQ | |
| 25 | Arno's Hausstil | |
| 26 | TATTOOED PIG BBQ |