The High on the Hog Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)
2023-05-19 – 2023-05-20 · Winchester, TN · 📍 1561 Phillip Fulmer Parkway
Reps: CAROL BIGLER, RANDY G BIGLER · Prize money: $5,500.00
Grand Champion: 2 Swine Crew (353.1200) · 34 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 Furlongs Smoke & Seafood
Entries
34
2 judged meats
Top score
353.1200
Winning margin
Tie
identical totals — KCBS tiebreaker
Field average
334.40
median 335.40
Tightest race
Chicken
3.4400 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
340.4912
10th place overall
Field spread
45.7828
winner to last place
Prize money
$5,500.00
on the line
Double threats
1
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 38%
beats 62% of 708 Backyard Series wins in the data
Traveled in
65%
of the 34 teams with a home region came from outside TN
Came back for more
55%
16 of 29 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.58 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1574
avg power rating going in · stronger than 76% of contests
Storylines
⚖️ Decided by a tiebreaker
The top two teams finished on identical totals — the Grand Championship came down to the KCBS tiebreaker rules.
🧳 Out-of-towners took the title
2 Swine Crew took the Grand Championship home to AL.
📸 Photo finishes
Chicken places 6–7: 2 Swine Crew and Deviant Smoke tied on 175.4056 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 8–9: Bourbon & Blues BBQ and RIBLIFE tied on 171.9656 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 5–6: Furlongs Smoke & Seafood edged Bentley Que by 0.0116.
🛡️ Back to defend
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: Veteran Pork Pullers (won 2022).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-05-20 | Winchester, TN | 1561 Phillip Fulmer Parkway | 29 | 353.1316 | Veteran Pork Pullers | — |
| 2023-05-19 ← this one | Winchester, TN | 1561 Phillip Fulmer Parkway | 34 | 353.1200 | 2 Swine Crew | — |
| 2024-05-17 | Winchester, TN | 1561 Phillip Fulmer Parkway | 39 | 352.0000 | Smokey Bees BBQ | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180.0000 | 176.5600 | 172.5716 |
| Pork Ribs | 177.7144 | 173.1200 | 171.4172 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Backyard Series
Overall
34 entries · top 353.1200 · median 335.4000
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 Swine Crew | |
| 2 | Furlongs Smoke & Seafood | |
| 3 | Deviant Smoke | |
| 4 | Bourbon & Blues BBQ | |
| 5 | RIBLIFE | |
| 6 | 931 BBQ | |
| 7 | SERIOUS HOG | |
| 8 | Dixie Pigs & Chick's BBQ Team | |
| 9 | 4 Paws BBQ | |
| 10 | PUCKDADDY'S KILLER Q | |
| 11 | The Real Squeal BBQ | |
| 12 | LEE LA Q | |
| 13 | NORALA BBQ TEAM | |
| 14 | Bentley Que | |
| 15 | REDBONES BBQ | |
| 16 | 716 South BBQ | |
| 17 | BUTSY-Q | |
| 18 | Shmack Q | |
| 19 | Dogpatch Q | |
| 20 | Music City Smokers | |
| 21 | VETERAN PORK PULLERS | |
| 22 | HELL ON SQUEALS | |
| 23 | Small Batch BBQ - TN | |
| 24 | Big D's Q | |
| 25 | Secondhand Smoke BBQ Team | |
| 26 | Black Label Smokers | |
| 27 | ETOWAH SMOKE | |
| 28 | Hey Bruce BBQ | |
| 29 | Toolshed BBQ | |
| 30 | Sweet Charlotte's | |
| 31 | Smokin Willy BBQ | |
| 32 | BootLeg Smokers | |
| 33 | Rue's BBQ | |
| 34 | HIT OR MISS BBQ |
Chicken
34 entries · top 180.0000 · median 170.8228 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Furlongs Smoke & Seafood | |
| 2 | 931 BBQ | |
| 3 | Bourbon & Blues BBQ | |
| 4 | Small Batch BBQ - TN | |
| 5 | The Real Squeal BBQ | |
| 6 | 2 Swine Crew | |
| 7 | Deviant Smoke | |
| 8 | Shmack Q | |
| 9 | RIBLIFE | |
| 10 | SERIOUS HOG | |
| 11 | Black Label Smokers | |
| 12 | VETERAN PORK PULLERS | |
| 13 | LEE LA Q | |
| 14 | Dogpatch Q | |
| 15 | Toolshed BBQ | |
| 16 | REDBONES BBQ | |
| 17 | Dixie Pigs & Chick's BBQ Team | |
| 18 | PUCKDADDY'S KILLER Q | |
| 19 | HELL ON SQUEALS | |
| 20 | BUTSY-Q | |
| 21 | Secondhand Smoke BBQ Team | |
| 22 | Sweet Charlotte's | |
| 23 | 4 Paws BBQ | |
| 24 | ETOWAH SMOKE | |
| 25 | 716 South BBQ | |
| 26 | Hey Bruce BBQ | |
| 27 | Music City Smokers | |
| 28 | Bentley Que | |
| 29 | BootLeg Smokers | |
| 30 | NORALA BBQ TEAM | |
| 31 | HIT OR MISS BBQ | |
| 32 | Big D's Q | |
| 33 | Smokin Willy BBQ | |
| 34 | Rue's BBQ |
Pork Ribs
34 entries · top 177.7144 · median 165.6800
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 Swine Crew | |
| 2 | Deviant Smoke | |
| 3 | 4 Paws BBQ | |
| 4 | NORALA BBQ TEAM | |
| 5 | Furlongs Smoke & Seafood | |
| 6 | Bentley Que | |
| 7 | Dixie Pigs & Chick's BBQ Team | |
| 8 | Bourbon & Blues BBQ | |
| 9 | RIBLIFE | |
| 10 | SERIOUS HOG | |
| 11 | 716 South BBQ | |
| 12 | Big D's Q | |
| 13 | PUCKDADDY'S KILLER Q | |
| 14 | Music City Smokers | |
| 15 | LEE LA Q | |
| 16 | 931 BBQ | |
| 17 | REDBONES BBQ | |
| 18 | BUTSY-Q | |
| 19 | Dogpatch Q | |
| 20 | The Real Squeal BBQ | |
| 21 | Smokin Willy BBQ | |
| 22 | Secondhand Smoke BBQ Team | |
| 23 | VETERAN PORK PULLERS | |
| 24 | Shmack Q | |
| 25 | HELL ON SQUEALS | |
| 26 | Rue's BBQ | |
| 27 | ETOWAH SMOKE | |
| 28 | Hey Bruce BBQ | |
| 29 | Black Label Smokers | |
| 30 | Small Batch BBQ - TN | |
| 31 | BootLeg Smokers | |
| 32 | Sweet Charlotte's | |
| 33 | Toolshed BBQ | |
| 34 | HIT OR MISS BBQ |