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The Downtown BBQ Showdown 2023

Apr 14–15, 2023 · Lake City, FL · 📍 828 NE Lake Desoto Circle · State championship

Reps: Julie Cook, Rusty Cook · Prize money: $10,000

🥇
COCAMOKE SMOKE BBQ
701.6804 · Master Series — Overall
🥈
Cooters N Smoke
701.6456 · Master Series — Overall
🥉
Going Yard BBQ
699.9428 · Master Series — Overall

COCAMOKE SMOKE BBQ won Grand Champion at The Downtown BBQ Showdown on April 14, 2023 in Lake City, FL at 828 NE Lake Desoto Circle, scoring 701.6804 in a field of 32 teams. Cooters N Smoke took Reserve Grand Champion with 701.6456. Category winners: Chicken — SWEET DIXIE BBQ (180.0000); Pork Ribs — HOT WACHULA'S (175.4172); Pork — Cooters N Smoke (180.0000); Brisket — YES, DEAR BBQ (178.8572). This is the 1st of 4 editions of this contest on record; the next was held in 2024.

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.

How the meats cooked

Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.

  • Chicken 180 🔥
  • Pork Ribs 175.42
  • Pork 180 🔥
  • Brisket 178.86
20 180

Winning score by edition

What it has taken to win here, 2023 to 2026 — this edition picked out.

2023-04-14 — 701.6804 (COCAMOKE SMOKE BBQ LLC) 2024-11-08 — 709.1200 (Gettin' Basted) 2026-04-17 — 706.8344 (Accutech BBQ) 2026-04-17 — 177.7144 (Hold Your Horses BBQ) 701.68 2023 2026

Entries

32
4 judged meats

Top score

701.6804

Winning margin

0.0348
GC over RC

Field average

665.28
451.90701.68
median 687.61 · last place to winner

Perfect 180s

4 🔥
SWEET DIXIE BBQ (Chicken), YES, DEAR BBQ (Chicken), Cooters N Smoke (Pork) + 1 more

Tightest race

Pork Ribs
1.7144 pts across the top 5

Top-10 cutoff

689.6228
451.90701.68
10th place overall

Field spread

249.7832
winner to last place

Prize money

$10,000
on the line

Most consistent

Cooters N Smoke
avg finish 6.25 across 4 meats

Double threats

6
teams with 2+ top-5 calls

Widest winning margin

Pork Ribs
won by 1.1428 pts — HOT WACHULA'S

How hot was the win?

Top 26%
beats 74% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data

Form held

Moderate
ρ = -0.58 between pre-contest rating and finish

Field strength

1,560
avg power rating going in · stronger than 46% of contests

Top-rated in the field

FRED VEGAS SMOKERS
rated 1781 pre-contest

Storylines (6 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 razor-thin finish

0.0348 points between champion and reserve

Closer than 97% of the 4,710 championships in the data

The Grand Championship was decided by 0.0348 points — closer than 97% of every championship in the data.

  • COCAMOKE SMOKE BBQ LLC
  • Cooters N Smoke

An upset on the books

18-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings

The ratings favoured the top seed the other 82 times in 100

COCAMOKE SMOKE BBQ came in rated below the field's top team, FRED VEGAS SMOKERS, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 18-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.

  • champion 1521
  • top seed 1781

Won without a category win

3 of 4 meats called to the stage

COCAMOKE SMOKE BBQ won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 3 calls from 4 boards, best of them 2nd. Consistency beat fireworks.

  • Chicken 17th
  • Pork Ribs 2nd
  • Pork 4th
  • Brisket 2nd

A day of perfect scores

4 perfect 180s

4 perfect 180s were scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.

  • SWEET DIXIE BBQ · Chicken
  • YES, DEAR BBQ · Chicken
  • Cooters N Smoke · Pork

A knife fight at the top

2.3320 points across the top five

First to fifth in the overall standings covered just 2.3320 points — 2 teams sat within a single point of the lead.

  • 1st COCAMOKE SMOKE BBQ
  • 2nd Cooters N Smoke
  • 3rd Going Yard BBQ
  • 4th HOT WACHULA'S
  • 5th Colorado Bulldawg BBQ

Photo finishes

Tie closest of 18 calls decided inside half a point

Chicken places 1–2: SWEET DIXIE BBQ and YES, DEAR BBQ tied on 180.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 5–6: TILLMAN'S BBQ and Slapulator BBQ tied on 175.4172 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 7–8: Cooters N Smoke and SMOKIN' AIN'T EZ tied on 175.4056 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.

  • Chicken 1–2 · tie
  • Chicken 5–6 · tie
  • Chicken 7–8 · tie
  • Chicken 8–9 · tie

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)

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 →

DateWhereVenueTeamsHigh scoreGrand ChampionReserve Champion
Apr 14, 2023 ← this one Lake City, FL 828 NE Lake Desoto Circle 32 701.6804 COCAMOKE SMOKE BBQ LLC Cooters N Smoke
Nov 8, 2024 Lake City, FL 200 NE Hillsboro St 26 709.1200 Gettin' Basted Mad Dog BBQ
Apr 17, 2026 Lake City, FL 828 NE Lake Desoto Circle 41 706.8344 Accutech BBQ Kings BBQ Team
Apr 17, 2026 Lake City, FL 828 NE Lake Desoto Circle 21 177.7144 Hold Your Horses BBQ —

What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)

Category1st5th10th
Chicken180175.4172175.4056
Pork Ribs175.4172173.7028171.9772
Pork180177.7028174.2628
Brisket178.8572176.5600173.1200

Official results on kcbs.us ↗

Master Series

Overall

32 entries · top 701.6804 · median 687.6056

#TeamScore
1 COCAMOKE SMOKE BBQ 701.6804
2 Cooters N Smoke 701.6456
3 Going Yard BBQ 699.9428
4 HOT WACHULA'S 699.3484
5 Colorado Bulldawg BBQ 699.3484
6 SWEET DIXIE BBQ 698.8000
7 TILLMAN'S BBQ 690.7656
8 HURRICANE COOKERS 690.7540
9 Mad Dog BBQ 689.6228
10 YES, DEAR BBQ 689.6228
11 UNCLE TOAD'S COMPETITION BBQ 689.6112
12 KEEPIN IT SMOKIN BBQ 689.6112
13 FRED VEGAS SMOKERS 689.0400
14 Kings BBQ Team 689.0396
15 Ramblin Fork BBQ Co 687.8972
16 Cold Beer BBQ 687.8856
17 MAYA JANE BBQ CO. 687.3256
18 Slapulator BBQ 683.9088
19 Bearded Monkeys Twisted Q 683.3028
20 SMOKIN' AIN'T EZ 682.1484
21 JACK'S OLD SOUTH 679.3028
22 K & E's Little Smokers 675.3028
23 BUDMEISTERS BBQ TEAM 669.5660
24 POP'S SMOKE ON THE HILL 664.4228
25 SPLIT CREEK BAR-B-QUE 657.0176
26 The Bearded Smoker 655.9088
27 KODAS BBQ LLC 654.6632
28 PUERCOS LOCOS 642.6288
29 SMOKIN' GEARS BARBECUE 637.5888
30 SMOKIN LIKE A 57 CHEVY BBQ AND CATERING 609.5428
31 THE SMOKED BISCUIT COMPANY 459.7716
32 BUCK'S BBQ AND FRY 451.8972

Chicken

32 entries · top 180 · median 171.9830 · 🔥 perfect 180

#TeamScore
1 SWEET DIXIE BBQ 180 🔥
2 YES, DEAR BBQ 180 🔥
3 Going Yard BBQ 178.8572
4 UNCLE TOAD'S COMPETITION BBQ 177.7028
5 TILLMAN'S BBQ 175.4172
6 Slapulator BBQ 175.4172
7 Cooters N Smoke 175.4056
8 SMOKIN' AIN'T EZ 175.4056
9 FRED VEGAS SMOKERS 175.4056
10 Kings BBQ Team 175.4056
11 Colorado Bulldawg BBQ 174.2628
12 MAYA JANE BBQ CO. 174.2628
13 Ramblin Fork BBQ Co 174.2628
14 KEEPIN IT SMOKIN BBQ 173.1200
15 Bearded Monkeys Twisted Q 173.1084
16 SPLIT CREEK BAR-B-QUE 171.9888
17 COCAMOKE SMOKE BBQ 171.9772
18 Cold Beer BBQ 171.9656
19 POP'S SMOKE ON THE HILL 170.8344
20 The Bearded Smoker 170.8228
21 JACK'S OLD SOUTH 170.8228
22 K & E's Little Smokers 170.8228
23 KODAS BBQ LLC 169.6800
24 HOT WACHULA'S 169.6684
25 HURRICANE COOKERS 169.1200
26 BUDMEISTERS BBQ TEAM 168.5372
27 Mad Dog BBQ 168.5256
28 SMOKIN' GEARS BARBECUE 162.2744
29 PUERCOS LOCOS 160.5144
30 THE SMOKED BISCUIT COMPANY 156.5144
31 SMOKIN LIKE A 57 CHEVY BBQ AND CATERING 144.5372
32 BUCK'S BBQ AND FRY 20

Pork Ribs

31 entries · top 175.4172 · median 169.1200

#TeamScore
1 HOT WACHULA'S 175.4172
2 COCAMOKE SMOKE BBQ 174.2744
3 HURRICANE COOKERS 174.2628
4 Colorado Bulldawg BBQ 174.2628
5 SWEET DIXIE BBQ 173.7028
6 Cooters N Smoke 173.1316
7 TILLMAN'S BBQ 173.1200
8 Kings BBQ Team 173.1200
9 Bearded Monkeys Twisted Q 173.1200
10 Going Yard BBQ 171.9772
11 K & E's Little Smokers 171.9772
12 KODAS BBQ LLC 170.8460
13 FRED VEGAS SMOKERS 170.8344
14 Cold Beer BBQ 169.6800
15 Mad Dog BBQ 169.6800
16 UNCLE TOAD'S COMPETITION BBQ 169.1200
17 SMOKIN' AIN'T EZ 168.5372
18 BUDMEISTERS BBQ TEAM 167.3944
19 KEEPIN IT SMOKIN BBQ 166.8228
20 POP'S SMOKE ON THE HILL 166.2516
21 SPLIT CREEK BAR-B-QUE 166.2400
22 JACK'S OLD SOUTH 165.6800
23 Ramblin Fork BBQ Co 165.0972
24 Slapulator BBQ 162.8116
25 SMOKIN LIKE A 57 CHEVY BBQ AND CATERING 162.7884
26 The Bearded Smoker 162.2972
27 MAYA JANE BBQ CO. 161.0972
28 PUERCOS LOCOS 160.5144
29 YES, DEAR BBQ 160.5028
30 SMOKIN' GEARS BARBECUE 155.9428
31 BUCK'S BBQ AND FRY 136.4572

Pork

32 entries · top 180 · median 172.8342 · 🔥 perfect 180

#TeamScore
1 Cooters N Smoke 180 🔥
2 HOT WACHULA'S 180 🔥
3 Going Yard BBQ 178.8572
4 COCAMOKE SMOKE BBQ 177.7144
5 KEEPIN IT SMOKIN BBQ 177.7028
6 Cold Beer BBQ 176.5716
7 Ramblin Fork BBQ Co 175.4172
8 MAYA JANE BBQ CO. 175.4056
9 Mad Dog BBQ 174.2744
10 HURRICANE COOKERS 174.2628
11 Colorado Bulldawg BBQ 174.2628
12 SMOKIN' AIN'T EZ 174.2628
13 K & E's Little Smokers 173.7028
14 UNCLE TOAD'S COMPETITION BBQ 173.1200
15 SWEET DIXIE BBQ 173.1200
16 JACK'S OLD SOUTH 173.1200
17 Kings BBQ Team 172.5484
18 Bearded Monkeys Twisted Q 171.9772
19 YES, DEAR BBQ 170.2628
20 Slapulator BBQ 170.2628
21 FRED VEGAS SMOKERS 169.6800
22 TILLMAN'S BBQ 167.9656
23 KODAS BBQ LLC 167.3828
24 BUDMEISTERS BBQ TEAM 165.0972
25 SPLIT CREEK BAR-B-QUE 165.0972
26 POP'S SMOKE ON THE HILL 164.5484
27 The Bearded Smoker 161.1432
28 PUERCOS LOCOS 159.9428
29 BUCK'S BBQ AND FRY 159.4400
30 THE SMOKED BISCUIT COMPANY 156.5028
31 SMOKIN' GEARS BARBECUE 153.6572
32 SMOKIN LIKE A 57 CHEVY BBQ AND CATERING 148.5372

Brisket

32 entries · top 178.8572 · median 169.6742

#TeamScore
1 YES, DEAR BBQ 178.8572
2 COCAMOKE SMOKE BBQ 177.7144
3 Mad Dog BBQ 177.1428
4 Colorado Bulldawg BBQ 176.5600
5 MAYA JANE BBQ CO. 176.5600
6 Slapulator BBQ 175.4172
7 HOT WACHULA'S 174.2628
8 TILLMAN'S BBQ 174.2628
9 Ramblin Fork BBQ Co 173.1200
10 FRED VEGAS SMOKERS 173.1200
11 Cooters N Smoke 173.1084
12 HURRICANE COOKERS 173.1084
13 SWEET DIXIE BBQ 171.9772
14 KEEPIN IT SMOKIN BBQ 171.9656
15 Going Yard BBQ 170.2512
16 JACK'S OLD SOUTH 169.6800
17 Cold Beer BBQ 169.6684
18 UNCLE TOAD'S COMPETITION BBQ 169.6684
19 BUDMEISTERS BBQ TEAM 168.5372
20 Kings BBQ Team 167.9656
21 SMOKIN' GEARS BARBECUE 165.7144
22 Bearded Monkeys Twisted Q 165.0972
23 SMOKIN' AIN'T EZ 163.9428
24 POP'S SMOKE ON THE HILL 162.7884
25 PUERCOS LOCOS 161.6572
26 The Bearded Smoker 161.6456
27 K & E's Little Smokers 158.8000
28 SPLIT CREEK BAR-B-QUE 153.6916
29 SMOKIN LIKE A 57 CHEVY BBQ AND CATERING 153.6800
30 THE SMOKED BISCUIT COMPANY 146.7544
31 KODAS BBQ LLC 146.7544
32 BUCK'S BBQ AND FRY 136

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