Rose Festival 22nd Annual KCBS BBQ Competition
2023-06-16 – 2023-06-17 · State Center, IA · 📍 3rd Ave SE/2nd St SE · State championship
Reps: CLARA WILLIAMS, JONATHAN B WILLIAMS · Prize money: $7,000.00
Grand Champion: Iowa's Smokey D's BBQ (698.8232) · 27 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 T-Rex BBQ
Entries
27
4 judged meats
Top score
698.8232
Winning margin
1.1776
GC over RC
Field average
670.01
median 675.90
Tightest race
Pork
1.7144 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
678.7544
10th place overall
Field spread
82.9604
winner to last place
Prize money
$7,000.00
on the line
Double threats
3
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 54%
beats 46% of 1951 Master Series wins in the data
Traveled in
41%
of the 27 teams with a home region came from outside IA
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.68 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1560
avg power rating going in · stronger than 65% of contests
Storylines
🪒 A razor-thin finish
The Grand Championship was decided by 1.1776 points — closer than 76% of every championship in the data.
📸 Photo finishes
Chicken places 4–5: SHIGGIN & GRINNIN and WAG'S BACKWOODS BBQ tied on 176.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 5–6: No Clue BBQ and IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ tied on 173.1316 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 9–10: T-Rex BBQ and IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ tied on 173.7028 — 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)
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180.0000 | 176.5600 | 171.4056 |
| Pork Ribs | 180.0000 | 173.1316 | 168.5372 |
| Pork | 178.8572 | 177.1428 | 173.7028 |
| Brisket | 176.5600 | 174.2628 | 170.8344 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
27 entries · top 698.8232 · median 675.8972
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ | |
| 2 | T-Rex BBQ | |
| 3 | WAG'S BACKWOODS BBQ | |
| 4 | SHIGGIN & GRINNIN | |
| 5 | Son of a Boar BBQ | |
| 6 | LUSCIOUS LOINS BBQ | |
| 7 | HOT DADDY'S BBQ | |
| 8 | UGLY BABY BBQ | |
| 9 | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS | |
| 10 | Chillin N Grillin N Iowa BBQ | |
| 11 | DRY 2 DA BONE | |
| 12 | Matty Macks | |
| 13 | No Clue BBQ | |
| 14 | Dirt Crüe BBQ | |
| 15 | MACHETE BOYS BBQ | |
| 16 | Good Grefe! | |
| 17 | GOTHIC TOWN GRILLERS | |
| 18 | SMOKIN DINGER - THE PROFESSOR OF HOGOLOGY | |
| 19 | In Deep Sauce | |
| 20 | SMOKEHOUSE 72 | |
| 21 | Darty-Q | |
| 22 | Summa Dat Que | |
| 23 | Papa Linda's Barbecue | |
| 24 | Trash Panda BBQ | |
| 25 | SMOKIN GRUMPS | |
| 26 | BootsBBQ | |
| 27 | Not Dat Bad |
Chicken
27 entries · top 180.0000 · median 169.6800 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Son of a Boar BBQ | |
| 2 | Matty Macks | |
| 3 | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ | |
| 4 | SHIGGIN & GRINNIN | |
| 5 | WAG'S BACKWOODS BBQ | |
| 6 | T-Rex BBQ | |
| 7 | MACHETE BOYS BBQ | |
| 8 | BootsBBQ | |
| 9 | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS | |
| 10 | GOTHIC TOWN GRILLERS | |
| 11 | Dirt Crüe BBQ | |
| 12 | LUSCIOUS LOINS BBQ | |
| 13 | No Clue BBQ | |
| 14 | UGLY BABY BBQ | |
| 15 | Chillin N Grillin N Iowa BBQ | |
| 16 | HOT DADDY'S BBQ | |
| 17 | Summa Dat Que | |
| 18 | Papa Linda's Barbecue | |
| 19 | Darty-Q | |
| 20 | SMOKIN DINGER - THE PROFESSOR OF HOGOLOGY | |
| 21 | DRY 2 DA BONE | |
| 22 | SMOKEHOUSE 72 | |
| 23 | Good Grefe! | |
| 24 | In Deep Sauce | |
| 25 | Trash Panda BBQ | |
| 26 | SMOKIN GRUMPS | |
| 27 | Not Dat Bad |
Pork Ribs
27 entries · top 180.0000 · median 166.2400 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | HOT DADDY'S BBQ | |
| 2 | Dirt Crüe BBQ | |
| 3 | LUSCIOUS LOINS BBQ | |
| 4 | SMOKIN DINGER - THE PROFESSOR OF HOGOLOGY | |
| 5 | No Clue BBQ | |
| 6 | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ | |
| 7 | T-Rex BBQ | |
| 8 | WAG'S BACKWOODS BBQ | |
| 9 | Matty Macks | |
| 10 | Son of a Boar BBQ | |
| 11 | SMOKEHOUSE 72 | |
| 12 | DRY 2 DA BONE | |
| 13 | Darty-Q | |
| 14 | SHIGGIN & GRINNIN | |
| 15 | GOTHIC TOWN GRILLERS | |
| 16 | BootsBBQ | |
| 17 | In Deep Sauce | |
| 18 | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS | |
| 19 | Chillin N Grillin N Iowa BBQ | |
| 20 | SMOKIN GRUMPS | |
| 21 | UGLY BABY BBQ | |
| 22 | Good Grefe! | |
| 23 | Summa Dat Que | |
| 24 | MACHETE BOYS BBQ | |
| 25 | Not Dat Bad | |
| 26 | Papa Linda's Barbecue | |
| 27 | Trash Panda BBQ |
Pork
27 entries · top 178.8572 · median 171.9772
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | GOTHIC TOWN GRILLERS | |
| 2 | SMOKEHOUSE 72 | |
| 3 | Son of a Boar BBQ | |
| 4 | MACHETE BOYS BBQ | |
| 5 | UGLY BABY BBQ | |
| 6 | LUSCIOUS LOINS BBQ | |
| 7 | DRY 2 DA BONE | |
| 8 | Good Grefe! | |
| 9 | T-Rex BBQ | |
| 10 | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ | |
| 11 | Trash Panda BBQ | |
| 12 | SHIGGIN & GRINNIN | |
| 13 | In Deep Sauce | |
| 14 | WAG'S BACKWOODS BBQ | |
| 15 | Matty Macks | |
| 16 | Summa Dat Que | |
| 17 | Chillin N Grillin N Iowa BBQ | |
| 18 | HOT DADDY'S BBQ | |
| 19 | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS | |
| 20 | Papa Linda's Barbecue | |
| 21 | Darty-Q | |
| 22 | Dirt Crüe BBQ | |
| 23 | SMOKIN DINGER - THE PROFESSOR OF HOGOLOGY | |
| 24 | No Clue BBQ | |
| 25 | SMOKIN GRUMPS | |
| 26 | BootsBBQ | |
| 27 | Not Dat Bad |
Brisket
27 entries · top 176.5600 · median 167.3828
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chillin N Grillin N Iowa BBQ | |
| 2 | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS | |
| 3 | T-Rex BBQ | |
| 4 | UGLY BABY BBQ | |
| 5 | WAG'S BACKWOODS BBQ | |
| 6 | SHIGGIN & GRINNIN | |
| 7 | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ | |
| 8 | In Deep Sauce | |
| 9 | Good Grefe! | |
| 10 | No Clue BBQ | |
| 11 | DRY 2 DA BONE | |
| 12 | MACHETE BOYS BBQ | |
| 13 | HOT DADDY'S BBQ | |
| 14 | Papa Linda's Barbecue | |
| 15 | Trash Panda BBQ | |
| 16 | SMOKIN DINGER - THE PROFESSOR OF HOGOLOGY | |
| 17 | Dirt Crüe BBQ | |
| 18 | LUSCIOUS LOINS BBQ | |
| 19 | Darty-Q | |
| 20 | Son of a Boar BBQ | |
| 21 | Not Dat Bad | |
| 22 | Summa Dat Que | |
| 23 | SMOKIN GRUMPS | |
| 24 | SMOKEHOUSE 72 | |
| 25 | Matty Macks | |
| 26 | GOTHIC TOWN GRILLERS | |
| 27 | BootsBBQ |