Central Illinois BBQ Throwdown
2023-07-14 – 2023-07-15 · Eureka, IL · 📍 506 Reagan Dr · State championship
Reps: CHARLIE BRINZA, DAVE ROGERS, PEG ROGERS · Prize money: $5,025.00
Grand Champion: Triple H BBQ (690.7540) · 25 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 Heavy Smoke BBQ
Entries
Top score
Winning margin
Field average
Tightest race
Top-10 cutoff
Field spread
Prize money
Double threats
How hot was the win?
Traveled in
Form held
Field strength
Storylines
👑 A dynasty in the making
Triple H BBQ has won this contest 2 times across its 7 tracked editions.
🪒 A razor-thin finish
The Grand Championship was decided by 1.1312 points — closer than 81% of every championship in the data.
📸 Photo finishes
Master Series — Chicken places 8–9: QUE U and AWESOME RACKS COOKIN CREW tied on 171.9656 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Master Series — Pork Ribs places 3–4: DB BBQ and UP FROM THE PITS BBQ tied on 169.6800 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Master Series — Pork Ribs places 5–6: Michigan Outlaws and JaBs BBQ tied on 168.5372 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
🛡️ Back to defend
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: Que U (won 2022), Triple H BBQ (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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-07-19 | Peoria, IL | 200 NE Water St | 40 | 704.5372 | Heavy Smoke STL | SMOKE FREAKS |
| 2022-07-15 | Eureka, IL | 112 N Main St | 25 | 705.6916 | Que U | TRIPLE H BBQ |
| 2022-07-15 | Eureka, IL | 112 N Main St | 19 | 177.7028 | Triple H BBQ | — |
| 2023-07-14 ← this one | Eureka, IL | 506 Reagan Dr | 25 | 690.7540 | Triple H BBQ | Heavy Smoke BBQ |
| 2023-07-14 | Eureka, IL | 506 Reagan Dr | 15 | 180.0000 | Smokinghostbbq | — |
| 2025-06-27 | Eureka, IL | 1448 County Rd 800 N | 26 | 706.8344 | Can Country Outlaw BBQ | TRIPLE H BBQ |
| 2025-06-27 | Eureka, IL | 1448 County Rd 800 N | 15 | 178.2972 | LEE LA Q | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Master Series — Chicken | 179.4400 | 174.2628 | 170.8800 |
| Master Series — Pork Ribs | 171.9656 | 168.5372 | 167.3944 |
| Master Series — Pork | 176.5600 | 174.2628 | 170.8228 |
| Master Series — Brisket | 180.0000 | 173.1200 | 168.5372 |
| Backyard Series — Chicken | 177.1428 | 169.7028 | 162.2972 |
| Backyard Series — Pork Ribs | 174.2744 | 167.3944 | 161.6684 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
25 entries · top 690.7540 · median 676.3996
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | TRIPLE H BBQ | |
| 2 | Heavy Smoke BBQ | |
| 3 | Michigan Outlaws | |
| 4 | Can Country Outlaw BBQ | |
| 5 | AWESOME RACKS COOKIN CREW | |
| 6 | Chasin Chicken BBQ | |
| 7 | QUE U | |
| 8 | RUSTY PIG BBQ | |
| 9 | WE WILL ROCK QUE | |
| 10 | UP FROM THE PITS BBQ | |
| 11 | DB BBQ | |
| 12 | JaBs BBQ | |
| 13 | The Drunken Sailor | |
| 14 | SmokinGhost BBQ | |
| 15 | BBQ Maestros | |
| 16 | Blowing Smoke BBQ | |
| 17 | HEFTY LEFTY BBQ | |
| 18 | Smokin At Noonish | |
| 19 | Blue Island | |
| 20 | Monsters of the Ribway | |
| 21 | Rub Runners BBQ | |
| 22 | MOON KING BBQ | |
| 23 | SAUCED N SMOKED | |
| 24 | Red Eye BBQ | |
| 25 | Kickin Ash |
Chicken
25 entries · top 179.4400 · median 169.6800
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DB BBQ | |
| 2 | Michigan Outlaws | |
| 3 | UP FROM THE PITS BBQ | |
| 4 | Heavy Smoke BBQ | |
| 5 | TRIPLE H BBQ | |
| 6 | Can Country Outlaw BBQ | |
| 7 | MOON KING BBQ | |
| 8 | QUE U | |
| 9 | AWESOME RACKS COOKIN CREW | |
| 10 | WE WILL ROCK QUE | |
| 11 | JaBs BBQ | |
| 12 | The Drunken Sailor | |
| 13 | RUSTY PIG BBQ | |
| 14 | HEFTY LEFTY BBQ | |
| 15 | BBQ Maestros | |
| 16 | Blowing Smoke BBQ | |
| 17 | Kickin Ash | |
| 18 | Chasin Chicken BBQ | |
| 19 | Smokin At Noonish | |
| 20 | SmokinGhost BBQ | |
| 21 | Monsters of the Ribway | |
| 22 | Blue Island | |
| 23 | Rub Runners BBQ | |
| 24 | SAUCED N SMOKED | |
| 25 | Red Eye BBQ |
Pork Ribs
24 entries · top 171.9656 · median 166.8114
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chasin Chicken BBQ | |
| 2 | BBQ Maestros | |
| 3 | DB BBQ | |
| 4 | UP FROM THE PITS BBQ | |
| 5 | Michigan Outlaws | |
| 6 | JaBs BBQ | |
| 7 | RUSTY PIG BBQ | |
| 8 | Blue Island | |
| 9 | AWESOME RACKS COOKIN CREW | |
| 10 | Can Country Outlaw BBQ | |
| 11 | TRIPLE H BBQ | |
| 12 | Heavy Smoke BBQ | |
| 13 | The Drunken Sailor | |
| 14 | HEFTY LEFTY BBQ | |
| 15 | WE WILL ROCK QUE | |
| 16 | Monsters of the Ribway | |
| 17 | QUE U | |
| 18 | Rub Runners BBQ | |
| 19 | SmokinGhost BBQ | |
| 20 | Blowing Smoke BBQ | |
| 21 | Smokin At Noonish | |
| 22 | Red Eye BBQ | |
| 23 | SAUCED N SMOKED | |
| 24 | MOON KING BBQ |
Pork
25 entries · top 176.5600 · median 169.7144
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heavy Smoke BBQ | |
| 2 | RUSTY PIG BBQ | |
| 3 | TRIPLE H BBQ | |
| 4 | QUE U | |
| 5 | Can Country Outlaw BBQ | |
| 6 | JaBs BBQ | |
| 7 | SmokinGhost BBQ | |
| 8 | The Drunken Sailor | |
| 9 | Michigan Outlaws | |
| 10 | UP FROM THE PITS BBQ | |
| 11 | WE WILL ROCK QUE | |
| 12 | Blowing Smoke BBQ | |
| 13 | Smokin At Noonish | |
| 14 | AWESOME RACKS COOKIN CREW | |
| 15 | Chasin Chicken BBQ | |
| 16 | HEFTY LEFTY BBQ | |
| 17 | DB BBQ | |
| 18 | Kickin Ash | |
| 19 | Blue Island | |
| 20 | BBQ Maestros | |
| 21 | Monsters of the Ribway | |
| 22 | MOON KING BBQ | |
| 23 | Rub Runners BBQ | |
| 24 | SAUCED N SMOKED | |
| 25 | Red Eye BBQ |
Brisket
25 entries · top 180.0000 · median 166.2400 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | AWESOME RACKS COOKIN CREW | |
| 2 | Chasin Chicken BBQ | |
| 3 | WE WILL ROCK QUE | |
| 4 | TRIPLE H BBQ | |
| 5 | Can Country Outlaw BBQ | |
| 6 | QUE U | |
| 7 | Michigan Outlaws | |
| 8 | Heavy Smoke BBQ | |
| 9 | SmokinGhost BBQ | |
| 10 | RUSTY PIG BBQ | |
| 11 | Smokin At Noonish | |
| 12 | Blowing Smoke BBQ | |
| 13 | The Drunken Sailor | |
| 14 | BBQ Maestros | |
| 15 | Blue Island | |
| 16 | UP FROM THE PITS BBQ | |
| 17 | DB BBQ | |
| 18 | JaBs BBQ | |
| 19 | Monsters of the Ribway | |
| 20 | HEFTY LEFTY BBQ | |
| 21 | Rub Runners BBQ | |
| 22 | MOON KING BBQ | |
| 23 | Kickin Ash | |
| 24 | SAUCED N SMOKED | |
| 25 | Red Eye BBQ |
Backyard Series
Overall
17 entries · top 346.2744 · median 327.9660
Chicken
17 entries · top 177.1428 · median 165.1200
Pork Ribs
17 entries · top 174.2744 · median 162.2516
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 — Dessert
8 entries · top 180.0000 · median 169.3942 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | TRIPLE H BBQ | |
| 2 | DB BBQ | |
| 3 | Must B Smokin' Somethin' BBQ Team | |
| 4 | UP FROM THE PITS BBQ | |
| 5 | MAK'S BBQ | |
| 6 | Loose Cannon BBQ | |
| 7 | Rudes BBQ | |
| 8 | Champion Oaks BBQ |
Turkey Smoke Series — Turkey Smoke
9 entries · top 174.8456 · median 163.9428
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blowing Smoke BBQ | |
| 2 | RUSTY PIG BBQ | |
| 3 | UP FROM THE PITS BBQ | |
| 4 | Sermerstout BBQ | |
| 5 | DB BBQ | |
| 6 | Monsters of the Ribway | |
| 7 | 309 BBQ | |
| 8 | AWESOME RACKS COOKIN CREW | |
| 9 | Rub Runners BBQ |