Dowagiac BBQ Competition and Summer Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)
2023-07-15 · Dowagiac, MI · 📍 200 Depot Dr
Reps: JEANNE TITUS · Prize money: $2,200.00
Grand Champion: Silver Creek Barbecue (350.9032) · 16 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 RUBY CREEK BBQ
Entries
16
2 judged meats
Top score
350.9032
Winning margin
1.2232
GC over RC
Field average
317.54
median 314.80
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
4.6060 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
311.4400
10th place overall
Field spread
96.6292
winner to last place
Prize money
$2,200.00
on the line
Double threats
4
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 46%
beats 54% of 708 Backyard Series wins in the data
Traveled in
50%
of the 16 teams with a home region came from outside MI
Form held
Weak
ρ = -0.14 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1500
avg power rating going in · stronger than 2% of contests
Storylines
🧳 Out-of-towners took the title
Silver Creek Barbecue took the Grand Championship home to IN.
🧹 A double category winner
Silver Creek Barbecue won Chicken, Pork Ribs — a double, and took the Grand Championship on top of it.
📸 Photo finishes
Chicken places 4–5: SWEET CLEAVER BBQ and Overcurrent BBQ tied on 170.2856 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 5–6: Overcurrent BBQ edged MC Barbeque by 0.0344.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-07-15 ← this one | Dowagiac, MI | 200 Depot Dr | 16 | 350.9032 | Silver Creek Barbecue | — |
| 2024-07-20 | Dowagiac, MI | 200 Depot Dr | 23 | 352.5484 | WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ | — |
| 2025-07-19 | Dowagiac, MI | 200 Depot DrIVE | 17 | 354.2972 | BBQ Mike | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 174.8916 | 170.2856 | 153.6800 |
| Pork Ribs | 176.0116 | 166.2972 | 159.3600 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Backyard Series
Overall
16 entries · top 350.9032 · median 314.8002
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Silver Creek Barbecue | |
| 2 | RUBY CREEK BBQ | |
| 3 | BBQ MIKE | |
| 4 | Overcurrent BBQ | |
| 5 | SWEET CLEAVER BBQ | |
| 6 | MC Barbeque | |
| 7 | Heritage Q | |
| 8 | Preacher's BBQ | |
| 9 | FLASH'S BBQ | |
| 10 | Burnt Belly BBQ | |
| 11 | Porkasaurus Rex BBQ | |
| 12 | JD's BBQ | |
| 13 | Monster Pit | |
| 14 | Jeremiah Haraldson | |
| 15 | Biscuit Boys | |
| 16 | Team Hawg Jaws |
Chicken
16 entries · top 174.8916 · median 156.2688
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Silver Creek Barbecue | |
| 2 | RUBY CREEK BBQ | |
| 3 | BBQ MIKE | |
| 4 | SWEET CLEAVER BBQ | |
| 5 | Overcurrent BBQ | |
| 6 | Heritage Q | |
| 7 | MC Barbeque | |
| 8 | JD's BBQ | |
| 9 | FLASH'S BBQ | |
| 10 | Burnt Belly BBQ | |
| 11 | Monster Pit | |
| 12 | Jeremiah Haraldson | |
| 13 | Biscuit Boys | |
| 14 | Preacher's BBQ | |
| 15 | Porkasaurus Rex BBQ | |
| 16 | Team Hawg Jaws |
Pork Ribs
16 entries · top 176.0116 · median 161.1372
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Silver Creek Barbecue | |
| 2 | RUBY CREEK BBQ | |
| 3 | BBQ MIKE | |
| 4 | Preacher's BBQ | |
| 5 | Overcurrent BBQ | |
| 6 | MC Barbeque | |
| 7 | Porkasaurus Rex BBQ | |
| 8 | Heritage Q | |
| 9 | SWEET CLEAVER BBQ | |
| 10 | FLASH'S BBQ | |
| 11 | Burnt Belly BBQ | |
| 12 | JD's BBQ | |
| 13 | Jeremiah Haraldson | |
| 14 | Monster Pit | |
| 15 | Biscuit Boys | |
| 16 | Team Hawg Jaws |