2022 Indio California State BBQ Championship & Festival
2022-11-04 – 2022-11-05 · Indio, CA · 📍 The Lights Golf Course · State championship
Reps: KATHLEEN MCINTOSH, KELLY MCINTOSH · Prize money: $10,000.00
Grand Champion: 7 Sins BBQ (694.2516) · 35 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 West Coast BBQ Shop
Entries
35
4 judged meats
Top score
694.2516
Winning margin
1.1200
GC over RC
Field average
664.08
median 681.61
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
1.1428 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
687.8856
10th place overall
Field spread
256.1716
winner to last place
Prize money
$10,000.00
on the line
Double threats
2
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 73%
beats 27% of 1951 Master Series wins in the data
Traveled in
14%
of the 35 teams with a home region came from outside CA
Came back for more
52%
17 of 33 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.59 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1548
avg power rating going in · stronger than 53% of contests
Storylines
🪒 A razor-thin finish
The Grand Championship was decided by 1.1200 points — closer than 82% of every championship in the data.
📸 Photo finishes
Chicken places 1–2: GIRLS CAN GRILL and Cloud of Smoke BBQ tied on 177.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 3–4: LADY OF Q and Rhythm 'n Que tied on 177.1428 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 5–6: SIMPLY MARVELOUS BBQ and West Coast BBQ Shop tied on 176.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
🛡️ Back to defend
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: BIG POPPA SMOKERS (won 2017), Girls Can Grill (won 2021).
🃏 An upset on the books
7 SINS BBQ came in rated below the field's top team, BIG POPPA SMOKERS, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 24-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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-11-11 | Indio, CA 92276 | 38 | 712.5828 | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ | BIG POPPA SMOKERS | |
| 2017-11-03 | 83040 Ave 42 | 35 | 698.2516 | BIG POPPA SMOKERS | DG FIREHOUSE BBQ | |
| 2019-11-01 | Indio, CA | 83040 Ave 42 | 37 | 694.2400 | DG Firehouse BBQ Inc | BIG POPPA SMOKERS |
| 2021-11-05 | Indio, CA | 83040 Ave 42 | 33 | 697.1544 | Girls Can Grill | PORTERHOUSE BBQ |
| 2022-11-04 ← this one | Indio, CA | The Lights Golf Course | 35 | 694.2516 | 7 Sins BBQ | West Coast BBQ Shop |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 177.7028 | 176.5600 | 175.4056 |
| Pork Ribs | 177.1428 | 174.8572 | 171.9772 |
| Pork | 178.8572 | 176.0000 | 171.9772 |
| Brisket | 179.4400 | 173.7256 | 170.8344 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
35 entries · top 694.2516 · median 681.6112
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 SINS BBQ | |
| 2 | West Coast BBQ Shop | |
| 3 | 5TH GEAR BBQ | |
| 4 | BIG POPPA SMOKERS | |
| 5 | B' MACKIN BBQ | |
| 6 | Meat Candy Q | |
| 7 | SIMPLY MARVELOUS BBQ | |
| 8 | CHULENGO Smoker Team | |
| 9 | Big Red BBQ | |
| 10 | GIRLS CAN GRILL | |
| 11 | CYNICAL BBQ | |
| 12 | SMOKIN' BLISS BBQ | |
| 13 | BAD BOYZ BBQ | |
| 14 | OM BBQ | |
| 15 | Weekend Warrior BBQ | |
| 16 | Rhythm 'n Que | |
| 17 | SMOKE HOUND BBQ | |
| 18 | LADY OF Q | |
| 19 | SD Smoke BBQ | |
| 20 | Jack9 BBQ-CA | |
| 21 | B Lee's BBQ | |
| 22 | Cloud of Smoke BBQ | |
| 23 | STEVO'S BBQ TEAM | |
| 24 | BLAZIN BARRELS BBQ | |
| 25 | ROEDEE'S BBQ | |
| 26 | Coaches Pit BBQ | |
| 27 | Bob's Morning Wood Barbeque | |
| 28 | KNIFE PORK AND SPOON | |
| 29 | JOLLEY'S BAD TO THE BONE BARBEQUE | |
| 30 | Let's go BBQ! | |
| 31 | Cali-Zona Outlaw BBQ | |
| 32 | SMOKIN' VOLTS BBQ | |
| 33 | OPERATION DESSERT STORM BBQ | |
| 34 | Rubbed The Right Way | |
| 35 | TVCI |
Chicken
33 entries · top 177.7028 · median 171.9656
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | GIRLS CAN GRILL | |
| 2 | Cloud of Smoke BBQ | |
| 3 | LADY OF Q | |
| 4 | Rhythm 'n Que | |
| 5 | SIMPLY MARVELOUS BBQ | |
| 6 | West Coast BBQ Shop | |
| 7 | 7 SINS BBQ | |
| 8 | BAD BOYZ BBQ | |
| 9 | CHULENGO Smoker Team | |
| 10 | Jack9 BBQ-CA | |
| 11 | 5TH GEAR BBQ | |
| 12 | B Lee's BBQ | |
| 13 | CYNICAL BBQ | |
| 14 | Coaches Pit BBQ | |
| 15 | STEVO'S BBQ TEAM | |
| 16 | BIG POPPA SMOKERS | |
| 17 | Big Red BBQ | |
| 18 | Meat Candy Q | |
| 19 | KNIFE PORK AND SPOON | |
| 20 | SD Smoke BBQ | |
| 21 | SMOKE HOUND BBQ | |
| 22 | SMOKIN' BLISS BBQ | |
| 23 | BLAZIN BARRELS BBQ | |
| 24 | SMOKIN' VOLTS BBQ | |
| 25 | OM BBQ | |
| 26 | Weekend Warrior BBQ | |
| 27 | Let's go BBQ! | |
| 28 | Bob's Morning Wood Barbeque | |
| 29 | B' MACKIN BBQ | |
| 30 | Cali-Zona Outlaw BBQ | |
| 31 | ROEDEE'S BBQ | |
| 32 | OPERATION DESSERT STORM BBQ | |
| 33 | JOLLEY'S BAD TO THE BONE BARBEQUE |
Pork Ribs
35 entries · top 177.1428 · median 167.3944
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BIG POPPA SMOKERS | |
| 2 | 7 SINS BBQ | |
| 3 | SIMPLY MARVELOUS BBQ | |
| 4 | SMOKIN' BLISS BBQ | |
| 5 | 5TH GEAR BBQ | |
| 6 | OM BBQ | |
| 7 | SMOKE HOUND BBQ | |
| 8 | B' MACKIN BBQ | |
| 9 | Meat Candy Q | |
| 10 | Cali-Zona Outlaw BBQ | |
| 11 | West Coast BBQ Shop | |
| 12 | CHULENGO Smoker Team | |
| 13 | Weekend Warrior BBQ | |
| 14 | Rhythm 'n Que | |
| 15 | STEVO'S BBQ TEAM | |
| 16 | JOLLEY'S BAD TO THE BONE BARBEQUE | |
| 17 | CYNICAL BBQ | |
| 18 | B Lee's BBQ | |
| 19 | BAD BOYZ BBQ | |
| 20 | LADY OF Q | |
| 21 | Jack9 BBQ-CA | |
| 22 | ROEDEE'S BBQ | |
| 23 | KNIFE PORK AND SPOON | |
| 24 | BLAZIN BARRELS BBQ | |
| 25 | Big Red BBQ | |
| 26 | SD Smoke BBQ | |
| 27 | Rubbed The Right Way | |
| 28 | GIRLS CAN GRILL | |
| 29 | Bob's Morning Wood Barbeque | |
| 30 | Let's go BBQ! | |
| 31 | Cloud of Smoke BBQ | |
| 32 | Coaches Pit BBQ | |
| 33 | SMOKIN' VOLTS BBQ | |
| 34 | OPERATION DESSERT STORM BBQ | |
| 35 | TVCI |
Pork
35 entries · top 178.8572 · median 170.8228
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meat Candy Q | |
| 2 | BLAZIN BARRELS BBQ | |
| 3 | B' MACKIN BBQ | |
| 4 | Jack9 BBQ-CA | |
| 5 | West Coast BBQ Shop | |
| 6 | BAD BOYZ BBQ | |
| 7 | CHULENGO Smoker Team | |
| 8 | GIRLS CAN GRILL | |
| 9 | CYNICAL BBQ | |
| 10 | BIG POPPA SMOKERS | |
| 11 | Weekend Warrior BBQ | |
| 12 | STEVO'S BBQ TEAM | |
| 13 | Big Red BBQ | |
| 14 | SMOKIN' BLISS BBQ | |
| 15 | Rhythm 'n Que | |
| 16 | LADY OF Q | |
| 17 | SD Smoke BBQ | |
| 18 | OM BBQ | |
| 19 | 5TH GEAR BBQ | |
| 20 | SIMPLY MARVELOUS BBQ | |
| 21 | Cloud of Smoke BBQ | |
| 22 | 7 SINS BBQ | |
| 23 | ROEDEE'S BBQ | |
| 24 | Rubbed The Right Way | |
| 25 | Coaches Pit BBQ | |
| 26 | SMOKIN' VOLTS BBQ | |
| 27 | SMOKE HOUND BBQ | |
| 28 | B Lee's BBQ | |
| 29 | JOLLEY'S BAD TO THE BONE BARBEQUE | |
| 30 | Bob's Morning Wood Barbeque | |
| 31 | OPERATION DESSERT STORM BBQ | |
| 32 | Let's go BBQ! | |
| 33 | KNIFE PORK AND SPOON | |
| 34 | Cali-Zona Outlaw BBQ | |
| 35 | TVCI |
Brisket
35 entries · top 179.4400 · median 167.3828
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Big Red BBQ | |
| 2 | Weekend Warrior BBQ | |
| 3 | B' MACKIN BBQ | |
| 4 | CYNICAL BBQ | |
| 5 | OM BBQ | |
| 6 | SMOKE HOUND BBQ | |
| 7 | JOLLEY'S BAD TO THE BONE BARBEQUE | |
| 8 | 7 SINS BBQ | |
| 9 | 5TH GEAR BBQ | |
| 10 | SD Smoke BBQ | |
| 11 | GIRLS CAN GRILL | |
| 12 | SMOKIN' BLISS BBQ | |
| 13 | West Coast BBQ Shop | |
| 14 | ROEDEE'S BBQ | |
| 15 | BIG POPPA SMOKERS | |
| 16 | Bob's Morning Wood Barbeque | |
| 17 | Meat Candy Q | |
| 18 | SIMPLY MARVELOUS BBQ | |
| 19 | CHULENGO Smoker Team | |
| 20 | BAD BOYZ BBQ | |
| 21 | Rhythm 'n Que | |
| 22 | LADY OF Q | |
| 23 | B Lee's BBQ | |
| 24 | Coaches Pit BBQ | |
| 25 | KNIFE PORK AND SPOON | |
| 26 | Let's go BBQ! | |
| 27 | OPERATION DESSERT STORM BBQ | |
| 28 | Cloud of Smoke BBQ | |
| 29 | BLAZIN BARRELS BBQ | |
| 30 | STEVO'S BBQ TEAM | |
| 31 | Jack9 BBQ-CA | |
| 32 | Cali-Zona Outlaw BBQ | |
| 33 | SMOKIN' VOLTS BBQ | |
| 34 | TVCI | |
| 35 | Rubbed The Right Way |