Smoke on the Water BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)
2023-04-28 – 2023-04-29 · Florence, AL · 📍 McFarland Park
Reps: CAROL BIGLER, RANDY G BIGLER · Prize money: $4,200.00
Grand Champion: PuckDaddy's Killer Q (527.9656) · 36 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 LENOX & SON BBQ COMPANY
Entries
36
3 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
527.9656
Winning margin
7.4400
GC over RC
Field average
497.49
median 507.93
Tightest race
Pork
2.8916 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
515.3368
10th place overall
Field spread
205.2116
winner to last place
Prize money
$4,200.00
on the line
Double threats
4
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 6%
beats 94% of 708 Backyard Series wins in the data
Traveled in
6%
of the 36 teams with a home region came from outside AL
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.6 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1550
avg power rating going in · stronger than 56% of contests
Storylines
📸 Photo finishes
Chicken places 2–3: LENOX & SON BBQ COMPANY and Deviant Smoke tied on 179.4400 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 4–5: BUTSY-Q and Battle Brothers Que tied on 174.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 2–3: Scuttlebutts and REDBONES BBQ tied on 177.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-04-28 ← this one | Florence, AL | McFarland Park | 36 | 527.9656 | PuckDaddy's Killer Q | — |
| 2024-04-26 | Florence, AL | 200 Jim Spain Drive | 40 | 353.7028 | Mad Rocket Barbeque | — |
| 2025-08-01 | Florence, AL | 200 James M Spain Dr | 23 | 353.1200 | Electro-Que-Ted | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180.0000 | 176.5600 | 171.9656 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.8572 | 174.2628 | 172.5600 |
| Pork | 178.2972 | 175.4056 | 172.5600 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Backyard Series
Overall
36 entries · top 527.9656 · median 507.9258
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | PUCKDADDY'S KILLER Q | |
| 2 | LENOX & SON BBQ COMPANY | |
| 3 | LEE LA Q | |
| 4 | REDBONES BBQ | |
| 5 | Deviant Smoke | |
| 6 | Scuttlebutts | |
| 7 | RIBLIFE | |
| 8 | MAGNOLIA | |
| 9 | NORALA BBQ TEAM | |
| 10 | Battle Brothers Que | |
| 11 | Bourbon & Blues BBQ | |
| 12 | FLO TOWN SMOKERS | |
| 13 | Word Brothers BBQ | |
| 14 | Smokin 3's BBQ | |
| 15 | Red, White & Que | |
| 16 | HELL ON SQUEALS | |
| 17 | ETOWAH SMOKE | |
| 18 | BUTSY-Q | |
| 19 | 205 Smoke BBQ Team | |
| 20 | Bentley Que | |
| 21 | 2 Swine Crew | |
| 22 | MAD ROCKET BARBECUE | |
| 23 | NATTY QUE | |
| 24 | Modest Meats | |
| 25 | Saturday Night Swine | |
| 26 | Sparks Sweet Smoke BBQ | |
| 27 | In Hog Pigno Sauces | |
| 28 | Secondhand Smoke BBQ Team | |
| 29 | Wing Nutz | |
| 30 | Warden's Jailhouse BBQ | |
| 31 | BLOW-N-SMOKE | |
| 32 | Hill People BBQ | |
| 33 | Northwest Shoals | |
| 34 | Smokey Broskis | |
| 35 | Paul's Barbeque | |
| 36 | Terry Equipment Smoke |
Chicken
36 entries · top 180.0000 · median 166.8344 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | PUCKDADDY'S KILLER Q | |
| 2 | LENOX & SON BBQ COMPANY | |
| 3 | Deviant Smoke | |
| 4 | Scuttlebutts | |
| 5 | RIBLIFE | |
| 6 | Red, White & Que | |
| 7 | Bourbon & Blues BBQ | |
| 8 | LEE LA Q | |
| 9 | MAGNOLIA | |
| 10 | Battle Brothers Que | |
| 11 | NATTY QUE | |
| 12 | ETOWAH SMOKE | |
| 13 | Word Brothers BBQ | |
| 14 | 2 Swine Crew | |
| 15 | Smokin 3's BBQ | |
| 16 | NORALA BBQ TEAM | |
| 17 | HELL ON SQUEALS | |
| 18 | MAD ROCKET BARBECUE | |
| 19 | Bentley Que | |
| 20 | Modest Meats | |
| 21 | Warden's Jailhouse BBQ | |
| 22 | Secondhand Smoke BBQ Team | |
| 23 | FLO TOWN SMOKERS | |
| 24 | BUTSY-Q | |
| 25 | Saturday Night Swine | |
| 26 | Terry Equipment Smoke | |
| 27 | Sparks Sweet Smoke BBQ | |
| 28 | In Hog Pigno Sauces | |
| 29 | Hill People BBQ | |
| 30 | REDBONES BBQ | |
| 31 | 205 Smoke BBQ Team | |
| 32 | BLOW-N-SMOKE | |
| 33 | Paul's Barbeque | |
| 34 | Northwest Shoals | |
| 35 | Wing Nutz | |
| 36 | Smokey Broskis |
Pork Ribs
36 entries · top 178.8572 · median 167.4000
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | NORALA BBQ TEAM | |
| 2 | REDBONES BBQ | |
| 3 | RIBLIFE | |
| 4 | BUTSY-Q | |
| 5 | Battle Brothers Que | |
| 6 | ETOWAH SMOKE | |
| 7 | Word Brothers BBQ | |
| 8 | Smokin 3's BBQ | |
| 9 | MAD ROCKET BARBECUE | |
| 10 | Bourbon & Blues BBQ | |
| 11 | PUCKDADDY'S KILLER Q | |
| 12 | LEE LA Q | |
| 13 | LENOX & SON BBQ COMPANY | |
| 14 | 205 Smoke BBQ Team | |
| 15 | Wing Nutz | |
| 16 | HELL ON SQUEALS | |
| 17 | FLO TOWN SMOKERS | |
| 18 | MAGNOLIA | |
| 19 | Bentley Que | |
| 20 | NATTY QUE | |
| 21 | Deviant Smoke | |
| 22 | 2 Swine Crew | |
| 23 | In Hog Pigno Sauces | |
| 24 | Red, White & Que | |
| 25 | Modest Meats | |
| 26 | Secondhand Smoke BBQ Team | |
| 27 | Warden's Jailhouse BBQ | |
| 28 | Scuttlebutts | |
| 29 | BLOW-N-SMOKE | |
| 30 | Sparks Sweet Smoke BBQ | |
| 31 | Saturday Night Swine | |
| 32 | Terry Equipment Smoke | |
| 33 | Hill People BBQ | |
| 34 | Northwest Shoals | |
| 35 | Smokey Broskis | |
| 36 | Paul's Barbeque |
Pork
35 entries · top 178.2972 · median 169.1084
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | FLO TOWN SMOKERS | |
| 2 | Scuttlebutts | |
| 3 | REDBONES BBQ | |
| 4 | MAGNOLIA | |
| 5 | PUCKDADDY'S KILLER Q | |
| 6 | 205 Smoke BBQ Team | |
| 7 | LEE LA Q | |
| 8 | HELL ON SQUEALS | |
| 9 | Bentley Que | |
| 10 | Deviant Smoke | |
| 11 | Saturday Night Swine | |
| 12 | LENOX & SON BBQ COMPANY | |
| 13 | Smokin 3's BBQ | |
| 14 | Red, White & Que | |
| 15 | Sparks Sweet Smoke BBQ | |
| 16 | 2 Swine Crew | |
| 17 | Modest Meats | |
| 18 | Battle Brothers Que | |
| 19 | BUTSY-Q | |
| 20 | NORALA BBQ TEAM | |
| 21 | Word Brothers BBQ | |
| 22 | Wing Nutz | |
| 23 | Bourbon & Blues BBQ | |
| 24 | RIBLIFE | |
| 25 | ETOWAH SMOKE | |
| 26 | NATTY QUE | |
| 27 | BLOW-N-SMOKE | |
| 28 | Hill People BBQ | |
| 29 | MAD ROCKET BARBECUE | |
| 30 | Smokey Broskis | |
| 31 | Secondhand Smoke BBQ Team | |
| 32 | In Hog Pigno Sauces | |
| 33 | Northwest Shoals | |
| 34 | Warden's Jailhouse BBQ | |
| 35 | Paul's Barbeque |
Ancillary categories
Run by the organizers alongside the sanctioned contest. These are judged on their own terms and do not count toward the overall score, so they're kept out of the meat stats above.
Turkey Smoke Series — Turkey Smoke
20 entries · top 177.7372 · median 171.4056
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Terry Equipment Smoke | |
| 2 | 2 Swine Crew | |
| 3 | Word Brothers BBQ | |
| 4 | HELL ON SQUEALS | |
| 5 | LEE LA Q | |
| 6 | RIBLIFE | |
| 7 | Secondhand Smoke BBQ Team | |
| 8 | Bourbon & Blues BBQ | |
| 9 | Scuttlebutts | |
| 10 | ETOWAH SMOKE | |
| 11 | Warden's Jailhouse BBQ | |
| 12 | Battle Brothers Que | |
| 13 | Red, White & Que | |
| 14 | Northwest Shoals | |
| 15 | FLO TOWN SMOKERS | |
| 16 | REDBONES BBQ | |
| 17 | Sparks Sweet Smoke BBQ | |
| 18 | Smokin 3's BBQ | |
| 19 | Deviant Smoke | |
| 20 | In Hog Pigno Sauces |