Jun 2–3, 2023 · Covington, VA · 📍 333 W Locust St · State championship
Reps: Alan Rothrock, Doug Reid
Optimus Swine won Grand Champion at the Covington Cork & Pork Festival on June 2, 2023 in Covington, VA at 333 W Locust St, scoring 697.6456 in a field of 27 teams. OFF THE RACK BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 695.9428. Category winners: Chicken — FRED VEGAS SMOKERS (176.5716); Pork Ribs — WHO CARES BBQ (176.5716); Pork — Bowmans Butt & BBQ (180.0000); Brisket — Bowmans Butt & BBQ (178.8572). The Backyard Series standings were won by POOR BOYS BBQ with 526.2744. This is the 6th of 6 editions of this contest on record; the 2018 edition was won by SMOKE-AHOLICS.
Overall totals, every team on the board — tall stacks are where the pack sat.
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
What it has taken to win here, 2014 to 2023 — this edition picked out.
Everything below is read straight out of the results — the number on each card is the one that made it a story.
Optimus Swine won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 3 calls from 4 boards, best of them 2nd. Consistency beat fireworks.
2 of 6 tracked editions
SMOKE-AHOLICS has won this contest 2 times across its 6 tracked editions.
Master Series — Chicken places 2–3: CHUNKY BBQ and Optimus Swine tied on 176.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Master Series — Pork places 1–2: Bowmans Butt & BBQ and Optimus Swine tied on 180.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Master Series — Pork places 9–10: FRED VEGAS SMOKERS and SMOKECRAFT - MD tied on 168.5256 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
Bowmans Butt & BBQ won Pork, Brisket — a double.
Bowmans Butt & BBQ turned in 180.0000 in pork — past the 177.7028 that had stood across 5 earlier editions.
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: SMOKE-AHOLICS (won 2015, 2018), CHECKERED FLAG 500 BBQ (won 2016).
This contest was away for 4.9 years — the previous tracked edition ran on 2018-06-22.
2 perfect 180s were scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 27, 2014 | Covington, VA | Covington, VA 24426 | 26 | 689.0512 | CHECKERED PIG | 4:20 Q |
| Jun 26, 2015 | Covington, VA | Covington, VA 24426 | 25 | 690.8344 | SMOKE-AHOLICS | CHECKERED PIG |
| Jun 24, 2016 | Covington, VA | 333 W Locust St. | 27 | 695.9888 | CHECKERED FLAG 500 BBQ | SAUCED! BBQ TEAM |
| Jun 23, 2017 | Covington, VA | 333 W Locust St | 32 | 685.1428 | 4:20 Q | WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ |
| Jun 22, 2018 | Covington, VA | 333 W Locust St | 27 | 697.6800 | SMOKE-AHOLICS | OLD COLONY SMOKEHOUSE |
| Jun 2, 2023 ← this one | Covington, VA | 333 W Locust St | 27 | 697.6456 | Optimus Swine | OFF THE RACK BBQ |
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Master Series — Chicken | 176.5716 | 175.4172 | 170.8228 |
| Master Series — Pork Ribs | 176.5716 | 170.8344 | 167.4860 |
| Master Series — Pork | 180 | 173.1200 | 168.5256 |
| Master Series — Brisket | 178.8572 | 174.2628 | 170.8800 |
| Backyard Series — Chicken | 178.2972 | 168.5140 | 139.9772 |
| Backyard Series — Pork Ribs | 174.8572 | 168.5484 | 149.6228 |
| Backyard Series — Pork | 178.8572 | 165.7144 | 136.5024 |
27 entries · top 697.6456 · median 669.5656
26 entries · top 176.5716 · median 167.9542
27 entries · top 176.5716 · median 166.2628
27 entries · top 180 · median 167.3828 · 🔥 perfect 180
27 entries · top 178.8572 · median 169.1084
12 entries · top 526.2744 · median 496.7482 · out of 540, not the usual 360
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | POOR BOYS BBQ | |
| 2 | RED SMOKE BAR-B-QUE | |
| 3 | Pink Ring BBQ | |
| 4 | BBQ Junkies | |
| 5 | Brock's BBQ | |
| 6 | Bourbon & Blues BBQ | |
| 7 | Dogpatch Q | |
| 8 | Back Up BBQ! | |
| 9 | Kiss My Butt BBQ | |
| 10 | Hematite Homestead | |
| 11 | Lil Taters Backyard BBQ | |
| 12 | Ray Ray's Grill |
12 entries · top 178.2972 · median 161.3884
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brock's BBQ | |
| 2 | Pink Ring BBQ | |
| 3 | RED SMOKE BAR-B-QUE | |
| 4 | POOR BOYS BBQ | |
| 5 | Bourbon & Blues BBQ | |
| 6 | BBQ Junkies | |
| 7 | Dogpatch Q | |
| 8 | Back Up BBQ! | |
| 9 | Kiss My Butt BBQ | |
| 10 | Hematite Homestead | |
| 11 | Lil Taters Backyard BBQ | |
| 12 | Ray Ray's Grill |
12 entries · top 174.8572 · median 163.6972
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | POOR BOYS BBQ | |
| 2 | RED SMOKE BAR-B-QUE | |
| 3 | Pink Ring BBQ | |
| 4 | BBQ Junkies | |
| 5 | Bourbon & Blues BBQ | |
| 6 | Dogpatch Q | |
| 7 | Kiss My Butt BBQ | |
| 8 | Brock's BBQ | |
| 9 | Back Up BBQ! | |
| 10 | Hematite Homestead | |
| 11 | Lil Taters Backyard BBQ | |
| 12 | Ray Ray's Grill |
12 entries · top 178.8572 · median 162.5428
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | POOR BOYS BBQ | |
| 2 | Dogpatch Q | |
| 3 | RED SMOKE BAR-B-QUE | |
| 4 | BBQ Junkies | |
| 5 | Brock's BBQ | |
| 6 | Back Up BBQ! | |
| 7 | Bourbon & Blues BBQ | |
| 8 | Pink Ring BBQ | |
| 9 | Kiss My Butt BBQ | |
| 10 | Hematite Homestead | |
| 11 | Lil Taters Backyard BBQ | |
| 12 | Ray Ray's Grill |
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.
14 entries · top 180 · median 163.3942 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Big PapaQue | |
| 2 | Bourbon & Blues BBQ | |
| 3 | POOR BOYS BBQ | |
| 4 | LAKEVIEW BBQ | |
| 5 | BIG DOG BBQ VA | |
| 6 | Dogpatch Q | |
| 7 | Hickory Bent and Rail Bound | |
| 8 | Ham Squad | |
| 9 | Lil Taters Backyard BBQ | |
| 10 | BBQ Junkies | |
| 11 | OFF THE RACK BBQ | |
| 12 | Bowmans Butt & BBQ | |
| 13 | Hematite Homestead | |
| 14 | SMOKECRAFT - MD |
9 entries · top 175.4972 · median 166.9028
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hematite Homestead | |
| 2 | BIG DOG BBQ VA | |
| 3 | BBQ Junkies | |
| 4 | Lil Taters Backyard BBQ | |
| 5 | POOR BOYS BBQ | |
| 6 | Ham Squad | |
| 7 | Bowmans Butt & BBQ | |
| 8 | Hickory Bent and Rail Bound | |
| 9 | Big PapaQue |