A razor-thin finish
1.0512
points between champion and reserve
Closer than 81% of the 612 championships in the data
The Grand Championship was decided by 1.0512 points — closer than 81% of every championship in the data.
- 309 BBQ
- Shmack Q
Morris Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) 2023
Jun 17, 2023 · Morris, IL
Reps: Charlie Brinza, Jeanne Titus · Prize money: $2,550
309 BBQ won Grand Champion at the Morris Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) on June 17, 2023 in Morris, IL, scoring 346.2400 in a field of 33 teams. Shmack Q took Reserve Grand Champion with 345.1888. Category winners: Chicken — Grundy County Smokin Pigs (173.7600); Pork Ribs — Too Sauced Guys Bar-B-Que (177.7028). This is the 2nd of 3 editions of this contest on record; the 2022 edition was won by Smoke, Fire & Brew; 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.
302.85
median 326.80
346.24 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 173.76
- Pork Ribs 177.70
149.07
177.70
Entries
33
2 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
346.2400
Winning margin
1.0512
GC over RC
Field average
325.66
302.85346.24
median 326.80 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
4.0916 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
332.5600
302.85346.24
10th place overall
Field spread
43.3940
winner to last place
Prize money
$2,550
on the line
Double threats
1
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 71%
beats 29% of 612 Backyard Series wins in the data
Came back for more
65%
15 of 23 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.6 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,519
avg power rating going in · stronger than 13% of contests
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.
An upset on the books
26-in-100
shot on pre-contest ratings
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 74 times in 100
309 BBQ came in rated below the field's top team, WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 26-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
- champion 1558
- top seed 1741
A first Grand Championship
7
tracked contests to get there
This was 309 BBQ's first Grand Championship in the data — it arrived at their 7th tracked contest.
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 4 calls decided inside half a point
Pork Ribs places 6–7: WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ and Truckin Sauced tied on 170.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 7–8: Troublemakers BBQ edged BBQ MIKE by 0.0112. Chicken places 6–7: Shmack Q edged Troublemakers BBQ by 0.0116.
- Pork Ribs 6–7 · tie
- Chicken 7–8 · 0.0112
- Chicken 6–7 · 0.0116
- Chicken 1–2 · 0.0572
A contest record in pork ribs
177.7028
best pork ribs ever cooked here
Too Sauced Guys Bar-B-Que turned in 177.7028 in pork ribs — past the 175.4172 that had stood across 1 earlier editions.
- old best 175.4172
- across 1 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: Smoke, Fire & Brew (won 2022).
- Smoke, Fire & Brew · 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)
This contest over the years full contest page →
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 17, 2022 | Morris, IL | Goold Park | 23 | 353.1084 | Smoke, Fire & Brew |
| Jun 17, 2023 ← this one | Morris, IL | Morris, IL 60450 | 33 | 346.2400 | 309 BBQ |
| Jun 14, 2024 | Morris, IL | Morris, IL 60450 | 40 | 349.6916 | Rudes BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 173.7600 | 169.6684 | 167.4172 |
| Pork Ribs | 177.7028 | 172.5828 | 168.5828 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Backyard Series
Overall
33 entries · top 346.2400 · median 326.8000
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 309 BBQ | |
| 2 | Shmack Q | |
| 3 | Rudes BBQ | |
| 4 | BBQ MIKE | |
| 5 | WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ | |
| 6 | All Smoked Up BBQ | |
| 7 | Rusty Pig Barbeque | |
| 8 | Grundy County Smokin Pigs | |
| 9 | SMOKE, FIRE & BREW | |
| 10 | Loose Cannon BBQ | |
| 11 | Too Sauced Guys Bar-B-Que | |
| 12 | Truckin Sauced | |
| 13 | Little Wolf Foods | |
| 14 | Meathouse Bob-B-Que | |
| 15 | Troublemakers BBQ | |
| 16 | T.J.D. Smokehouse | |
| 17 | Stone Cold Grillers | |
| 18 | Dead End BBQ | |
| 19 | Flamin Dave's | |
| 20 | Thick & Nasty | |
| 21 | Bulldog BBQ | |
| 22 | Behemoth BBQ | |
| 23 | Just A Smokin BBQ | |
| 24 | Three Stooges bbq | |
| 25 | Sticks ~N~ Bones | |
| 26 | Mak's BBQ | |
| 27 | BS BBQ | |
| 28 | SmoQued On Main St | |
| 29 | Oak Park BBQ | |
| 30 | Diabolical Pig | |
| 31 | Smoke N Guns | |
| 32 | Big Rich BBQ | |
| 33 | HurriQ |
Chicken
33 entries · top 173.7600 · median 164
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grundy County Smokin Pigs | |
| 2 | Rudes BBQ | |
| 3 | Little Wolf Foods | |
| 4 | 309 BBQ | |
| 5 | SMOKE, FIRE & BREW | |
| 6 | Shmack Q | |
| 7 | Troublemakers BBQ | |
| 8 | BBQ MIKE | |
| 9 | Flamin Dave's | |
| 10 | Rusty Pig Barbeque | |
| 11 | WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ | |
| 12 | Mak's BBQ | |
| 13 | Bulldog BBQ | |
| 14 | Loose Cannon BBQ | |
| 15 | All Smoked Up BBQ | |
| 16 | Sticks ~N~ Bones | |
| 17 | Dead End BBQ | |
| 18 | Just A Smokin BBQ | |
| 19 | Truckin Sauced | |
| 20 | SmoQued On Main St | |
| 21 | Big Rich BBQ | |
| 22 | Stone Cold Grillers | |
| 23 | Thick & Nasty | |
| 24 | BS BBQ | |
| 25 | T.J.D. Smokehouse | |
| 26 | Oak Park BBQ | |
| 27 | Three Stooges bbq | |
| 28 | Meathouse Bob-B-Que | |
| 29 | Behemoth BBQ | |
| 30 | Too Sauced Guys Bar-B-Que | |
| 31 | Diabolical Pig | |
| 32 | HurriQ | |
| 33 | Smoke N Guns |
Pork Ribs
33 entries · top 177.7028 · median 161.6916
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Too Sauced Guys Bar-B-Que | |
| 2 | Shmack Q | |
| 3 | 309 BBQ | |
| 4 | BBQ MIKE | |
| 5 | Meathouse Bob-B-Que | |
| 6 | WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ | |
| 7 | Truckin Sauced | |
| 8 | Rudes BBQ | |
| 9 | All Smoked Up BBQ | |
| 10 | T.J.D. Smokehouse | |
| 11 | Loose Cannon BBQ | |
| 12 | Rusty Pig Barbeque | |
| 13 | Stone Cold Grillers | |
| 14 | Behemoth BBQ | |
| 15 | SMOKE, FIRE & BREW | |
| 16 | Thick & Nasty | |
| 17 | Dead End BBQ | |
| 18 | Grundy County Smokin Pigs | |
| 19 | Three Stooges bbq | |
| 20 | Troublemakers BBQ | |
| 21 | Smoke N Guns | |
| 22 | Diabolical Pig | |
| 23 | Just A Smokin BBQ | |
| 24 | Little Wolf Foods | |
| 25 | Bulldog BBQ | |
| 26 | Flamin Dave's | |
| 27 | BS BBQ | |
| 28 | Oak Park BBQ | |
| 29 | Sticks ~N~ Bones | |
| 30 | SmoQued On Main St | |
| 31 | HurriQ | |
| 32 | Big Rich BBQ | |
| 33 | Mak's BBQ |
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.
Ancillary — Best Dish
29 entries · top 174.8572 · median 162.2516
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Troublemakers BBQ | |
| 2 | Stone Cold Grillers | |
| 3 | Sticks ~N~ Bones | |
| 4 | Behemoth BBQ | |
| 5 | Thick & Nasty | |
| 6 | Flamin Dave's | |
| 7 | Rusty Pig Barbeque | |
| 8 | Rudes BBQ | |
| 9 | Three Stooges bbq | |
| 10 | Oak Park BBQ | |
| 11 | WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ | |
| 12 | Loose Cannon BBQ | |
| 13 | T.J.D. Smokehouse | |
| 14 | Big Rich BBQ | |
| 15 | Meathouse Bob-B-Que | |
| 16 | 309 BBQ | |
| 17 | Diabolical Pig | |
| 18 | Too Sauced Guys Bar-B-Que | |
| 19 | Just A Smokin BBQ | |
| 20 | Little Wolf Foods | |
| 21 | Mak's BBQ | |
| 22 | Bulldog BBQ | |
| 23 | Truckin Sauced | |
| 24 | SmoQued On Main St | |
| 25 | Smoke N Guns | |
| 26 | BS BBQ | |
| 27 | Grundy County Smokin Pigs | |
| 28 | SMOKE, FIRE & BREW | |
| 29 | Dead End BBQ |