A new contest record
704.5488
highest overall ever cooked here
704.5488 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 701.6456 All Fired Up BBQ set in 2025.
- old record 701.6456
- set 2025 by All Fired Up BBQ
MD State BBQ Bash 2026
Oct 9–10, 2026 · Bel Air, MD · 📍 2 S. Bond St · State championship
Reps: Bill Jones, Robert McKee · Prize money: $12,500
Old Virginia Smoke won Grand Champion at the MD State BBQ Bash on October 9, 2026 in Bel Air, MD at 2 S. Bond St, scoring 704.5488 in a field of 28 teams. Oink N' Doink took Reserve Grand Champion with 701.6688. Category winners: Chicken — Boggs Hog BBQ (177.7144); Pork Ribs — Old Virginia Smoke (180.0000); Pork — GigaBite BBQ (180.0000); Brisket — Old Virginia Smoke (178.2972). The Backyard Series standings were won by Castleton Q with 349.6800. This is the 3rd of 3 editions of this contest on record; the 2025 edition was won by All Fired Up BBQ.
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.
556.18
median 679.01
704.55 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Master Series — Chicken 177.71
- Master Series — Pork Ribs 180 🔥
- Master Series — Pork 180 🔥
- Master Series — Brisket 178.30
- Backyard Series — Chicken 178.86
- Backyard Series — Pork Ribs 175.42
95.68
180
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2024 to 2026 — this edition picked out.
Entries
40
6 judged meats
Top score
704.5488
Winning margin
2.8800
GC over RC
Field average
670.52
556.18704.55
median 679.01 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Chicken
1.1544 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
688.4800
556.18704.55
10th place overall
Field spread
148.3660
winner to last place
Prize money
$12,500
on the line
Double threats
7
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 16%
beats 84% of 4723 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
49%
33 of 68 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.42 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,530
avg power rating going in · stronger than 22% of contests
Storylines (8 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 rookie on the podium
2nd
at their first tracked contest
Oink N' Doink finished 2nd overall in the first contest the data has them cooking at all.
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 14 calls decided inside half a point
Master Series — Chicken places 1–2: Boggs Hog BBQ and Blue Eyed BBQ tied on 177.7144 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Master Series — Chicken places 4–5: Bailout Barbecue and Castleton Q tied on 176.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Master Series — Pork Ribs places 8–9: Dante's Inferno and Smokecraft tied on 171.9772 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Master Series — Chicken 1–2 · tie
- Master Series — Chicken 4–5 · tie
- Master Series — Pork Ribs 8–9 · tie
- Master Series — Pork Ribs 9–10 · tie
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
Old Virginia Smoke won Pork Ribs, Brisket — a double, and took the Grand Championship on top of it.
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Brisket 1st
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
Old Virginia Smoke took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 2 outright wins — their weakest board was chicken at 9th.
- Chicken 9th
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 9th
- Brisket 1st
A contest record in pork
180.0000
best pork ever cooked here
GigaBite BBQ turned in 180.0000 in pork — past the 176.0000 that had stood across 2 earlier editions.
- old best 176.0000
- across 2 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: Sweet Belly's BBQ (won 2024).
- Sweet Belly's BBQ · 2024
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.
- GigaBite BBQ · Pork
- Old Virginia Smoke · 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)
This contest over the years full contest page →
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 11, 2024 | Bel Air, MD | 2 S Bond St | 26 | 695.3600 | Sweet Belly's BBQ | B'S QUE |
| Oct 10, 2025 | Bel Air, MD | 2 S. Bond St | 29 | 701.6456 | All Fired Up BBQ | HotMess BBQ |
| Oct 9, 2026 ← this one | Bel Air, MD | 2 S. Bond St | 28 | 704.5488 | Old Virginia Smoke | Oink N' Doink |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Master Series — Chicken | 177.7144 | 176.5600 | 171.9888 |
| Master Series — Pork Ribs | 180 | 175.4288 | 171.9772 |
| Master Series — Pork | 180 | 176.5600 | 173.1200 |
| Master Series — Brisket | 178.2972 | 174.2744 | 170.8228 |
| Backyard Series — Chicken | 178.8572 | 174.2628 | 172.5716 |
| Backyard Series — Pork Ribs | 175.4172 | 173.1084 | 166.3084 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
28 entries · top 704.5488 · median 679.0114
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old Virginia Smoke | |
| 2 | Oink N' Doink | |
| 3 | Bailout Barbecue | |
| 4 | Susquehanna Smokers | |
| 5 | Boggs Hog BBQ | |
| 6 | Up in Smokers | |
| 7 | Sweet Belly's BBQ | |
| 8 | Rough Cut Q | |
| 9 | Smokecraft | |
| 10 | Wolf's Revenge | |
| 11 | GigaBite BBQ | |
| 12 | Menke Boys BBQ | |
| 13 | Lakeview BBQ | |
| 14 | Castleton Q | |
| 15 | Blue Eyed BBQ | |
| 16 | Harco Loco | |
| 17 | Team Meat Coma | |
| 18 | Dante's Inferno | |
| 19 | Fat Maxine's BBQ | |
| 20 | 3 Eyz BBQ | |
| 21 | Sauce Em & Toss Em | |
| 22 | Hot and Slow BBQ | |
| 23 | Clean Smoke BBQ Team | |
| 24 | Hair of the Hog | |
| 25 | Smoke Sum'n BBQ | |
| 26 | Lucy Lu Barbecue Company | |
| 27 | Just a Sliver Sweets | |
| 28 | Valley Oak Smoke |
Chicken
28 entries · top 177.7144 · median 167.6800
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boggs Hog BBQ | |
| 2 | Blue Eyed BBQ | |
| 3 | Susquehanna Smokers | |
| 4 | Bailout Barbecue | |
| 5 | Castleton Q | |
| 6 | Up in Smokers | |
| 7 | Rough Cut Q | |
| 8 | Smokecraft | |
| 9 | Old Virginia Smoke | |
| 10 | Sweet Belly's BBQ | |
| 11 | Wolf's Revenge | |
| 12 | Oink N' Doink | |
| 13 | Menke Boys BBQ | |
| 14 | Harco Loco | |
| 15 | Hair of the Hog | |
| 16 | Hot and Slow BBQ | |
| 17 | Fat Maxine's BBQ | |
| 18 | Clean Smoke BBQ Team | |
| 19 | Dante's Inferno | |
| 20 | Lakeview BBQ | |
| 21 | Sauce Em & Toss Em | |
| 22 | GigaBite BBQ | |
| 23 | Lucy Lu Barbecue Company | |
| 24 | 3 Eyz BBQ | |
| 25 | Smoke Sum'n BBQ | |
| 26 | Team Meat Coma | |
| 27 | Just a Sliver Sweets | |
| 28 | Valley Oak Smoke |
Pork Ribs
28 entries · top 180 · median 170.2572 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old Virginia Smoke | |
| 2 | Wolf's Revenge | |
| 3 | GigaBite BBQ | |
| 4 | Bailout Barbecue | |
| 5 | Oink N' Doink | |
| 6 | Team Meat Coma | |
| 7 | Up in Smokers | |
| 8 | Dante's Inferno | |
| 9 | Smokecraft | |
| 10 | Susquehanna Smokers | |
| 11 | Rough Cut Q | |
| 12 | Menke Boys BBQ | |
| 13 | Sweet Belly's BBQ | |
| 14 | Boggs Hog BBQ | |
| 15 | 3 Eyz BBQ | |
| 16 | Fat Maxine's BBQ | |
| 17 | Lakeview BBQ | |
| 18 | Sauce Em & Toss Em | |
| 19 | Castleton Q | |
| 20 | Clean Smoke BBQ Team | |
| 21 | Harco Loco | |
| 22 | Hot and Slow BBQ | |
| 23 | Blue Eyed BBQ | |
| 24 | Smoke Sum'n BBQ | |
| 25 | Lucy Lu Barbecue Company | |
| 26 | Hair of the Hog | |
| 27 | Valley Oak Smoke | |
| 28 | Just a Sliver Sweets |
Pork
28 entries · top 180 · median 171.1258 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | GigaBite BBQ | |
| 2 | Susquehanna Smokers | |
| 3 | Oink N' Doink | |
| 4 | 3 Eyz BBQ | |
| 5 | Sweet Belly's BBQ | |
| 6 | Harco Loco | |
| 7 | Lakeview BBQ | |
| 8 | Team Meat Coma | |
| 9 | Old Virginia Smoke | |
| 10 | Rough Cut Q | |
| 11 | Dante's Inferno | |
| 12 | Menke Boys BBQ | |
| 13 | Blue Eyed BBQ | |
| 14 | Boggs Hog BBQ | |
| 15 | Up in Smokers | |
| 16 | Fat Maxine's BBQ | |
| 17 | Hot and Slow BBQ | |
| 18 | Smokecraft | |
| 19 | Valley Oak Smoke | |
| 20 | Bailout Barbecue | |
| 21 | Clean Smoke BBQ Team | |
| 22 | Castleton Q | |
| 23 | Wolf's Revenge | |
| 24 | Hair of the Hog | |
| 25 | Smoke Sum'n BBQ | |
| 26 | Sauce Em & Toss Em | |
| 27 | Lucy Lu Barbecue Company | |
| 28 | Just a Sliver Sweets |
Brisket
28 entries · top 178.2972 · median 169.6684
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old Virginia Smoke | |
| 2 | Bailout Barbecue | |
| 3 | Oink N' Doink | |
| 4 | Boggs Hog BBQ | |
| 5 | Sauce Em & Toss Em | |
| 6 | Smokecraft | |
| 7 | Up in Smokers | |
| 8 | Wolf's Revenge | |
| 9 | Lakeview BBQ | |
| 10 | Menke Boys BBQ | |
| 11 | Harco Loco | |
| 12 | Castleton Q | |
| 13 | Team Meat Coma | |
| 14 | Susquehanna Smokers | |
| 15 | Sweet Belly's BBQ | |
| 16 | Fat Maxine's BBQ | |
| 17 | Rough Cut Q | |
| 18 | Blue Eyed BBQ | |
| 19 | Dante's Inferno | |
| 20 | 3 Eyz BBQ | |
| 21 | GigaBite BBQ | |
| 22 | Hair of the Hog | |
| 23 | Hot and Slow BBQ | |
| 24 | Smoke Sum'n BBQ | |
| 25 | Clean Smoke BBQ Team | |
| 26 | Just a Sliver Sweets | |
| 27 | Lucy Lu Barbecue Company | |
| 28 | Valley Oak Smoke |
Backyard Series
Overall
40 entries · top 349.6800 · median 326.5430
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Castleton Q | |
| 2 | Sticky Bones BBQ | |
| 3 | Oink N' Doink | |
| 4 | Estancia | |
| 5 | Hot Thang | |
| 6 | Rough Cut Q | |
| 7 | Capt. Blue BBQ | |
| 8 | Top Hat Smoking BBQ | |
| 9 | Grill Fellas | |
| 10 | Little Meat Big Flavor | |
| 11 | Leaning Jowler | |
| 12 | Squeals Like the First Time | |
| 13 | Upper 90 BBQ | |
| 14 | Blue Line BBQ | |
| 15 | Big Back BBQ | |
| 16 | Stewie's BBQ | |
| 17 | Pool Crew BBQ | |
| 18 | Red Devil BBQ | |
| 19 | Country Roads Q | |
| 20 | Bush River BBQ | |
| 21 | Bulldog BBQ | |
| 22 | Smokin Dixie BBQ | |
| 23 | Bone Suckin' Good BBQ | |
| 24 | Stew and Crew BBQ | |
| 25 | Smoke Rings Bar-B-Que | |
| 26 | Banquet BBQ | |
| 27 | Kampy's Q | |
| 28 | Corner Smokers | |
| 29 | Make BBQ Great Again | |
| 30 | Top Notch Grillling | |
| 31 | Bark-N-Dawgs BBQ | |
| 32 | Smoking Big Daddy | |
| 33 | Best Bucking BBQ | |
| 34 | Metes and Bounds | |
| 35 | Butts and Cuts | |
| 36 | Smoke Show BBQ | |
| 37 | Hazard County Smokers | |
| 38 | Sauced Up Porkers | |
| 39 | Pig Kahunas | |
| 40 | BBQ Mclovin |
Chicken
40 entries · top 178.8572 · median 162.8230
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sticky Bones BBQ | |
| 2 | Leaning Jowler | |
| 3 | Bulldog BBQ | |
| 4 | Hot Thang | |
| 5 | Castleton Q | |
| 6 | Capt. Blue BBQ | |
| 7 | Blue Line BBQ | |
| 8 | Upper 90 BBQ | |
| 9 | Squeals Like the First Time | |
| 10 | Rough Cut Q | |
| 11 | Oink N' Doink | |
| 12 | Estancia | |
| 13 | Stewie's BBQ | |
| 14 | Grill Fellas | |
| 15 | Pool Crew BBQ | |
| 16 | Little Meat Big Flavor | |
| 17 | Top Hat Smoking BBQ | |
| 18 | Smokin Dixie BBQ | |
| 19 | Bark-N-Dawgs BBQ | |
| 20 | Red Devil BBQ | |
| 21 | Banquet BBQ | |
| 22 | Make BBQ Great Again | |
| 23 | Top Notch Grillling | |
| 24 | Bone Suckin' Good BBQ | |
| 25 | Country Roads Q | |
| 26 | Pig Kahunas | |
| 27 | Metes and Bounds | |
| 28 | Bush River BBQ | |
| 29 | Corner Smokers | |
| 30 | Kampy's Q | |
| 31 | Smoke Rings Bar-B-Que | |
| 32 | Hazard County Smokers | |
| 33 | Stew and Crew BBQ | |
| 34 | Sauced Up Porkers | |
| 35 | Big Back BBQ | |
| 36 | Best Bucking BBQ | |
| 37 | Smoking Big Daddy | |
| 38 | Smoke Show BBQ | |
| 39 | BBQ Mclovin | |
| 40 | Butts and Cuts |
Pork Ribs
40 entries · top 175.4172 · median 161.6686
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Castleton Q | |
| 2 | Estancia | |
| 3 | Top Hat Smoking BBQ | |
| 4 | Oink N' Doink | |
| 5 | Big Back BBQ | |
| 6 | Grill Fellas | |
| 7 | Little Meat Big Flavor | |
| 8 | Rough Cut Q | |
| 9 | Sticky Bones BBQ | |
| 10 | Butts and Cuts | |
| 11 | Bush River BBQ | |
| 12 | Hot Thang | |
| 13 | Red Devil BBQ | |
| 14 | Capt. Blue BBQ | |
| 15 | Country Roads Q | |
| 16 | Stew and Crew BBQ | |
| 17 | Smoking Big Daddy | |
| 18 | Smoke Rings Bar-B-Que | |
| 19 | Pool Crew BBQ | |
| 20 | Stewie's BBQ | |
| 21 | Kampy's Q | |
| 22 | Bone Suckin' Good BBQ | |
| 23 | Corner Smokers | |
| 24 | Squeals Like the First Time | |
| 25 | Upper 90 BBQ | |
| 26 | Best Bucking BBQ | |
| 27 | Smokin Dixie BBQ | |
| 28 | Leaning Jowler | |
| 29 | Banquet BBQ | |
| 30 | Blue Line BBQ | |
| 31 | Smoke Show BBQ | |
| 32 | Make BBQ Great Again | |
| 33 | Top Notch Grillling | |
| 34 | Bark-N-Dawgs BBQ | |
| 35 | Bulldog BBQ | |
| 36 | BBQ Mclovin | |
| 37 | Metes and Bounds | |
| 38 | Sauced Up Porkers | |
| 39 | Hazard County Smokers | |
| 40 | Pig Kahunas |