Smoke on the Midway (BACKYARD ONLY)
2023-08-19 · Fairbury, IL · 📍 Fairbury Fair Grounds
Reps: CHARLIE BRINZA, JEANNE TITUS · Prize money: $3,400.00
Grand Champion: Shmack Q (342.8228) · 32 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 RUBY CREEK BBQ
Entries
Top score
Winning margin
Field average
Perfect 180s
Tightest race
Top-10 cutoff
Field spread
Prize money
Double threats
How hot was the win?
Traveled in
Came back for more
Form held
Field strength
Storylines
👑 A dynasty in the making
Weez's Groovin' BBQ has won this contest 3 times across its 5 tracked editions.
🪒 A razor-thin finish
The Grand Championship was decided by 0.5600 points — closer than 89% of every championship in the data.
📸 Photo finishes
Chicken places 4–5: Loose Cannon BBQ and WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ tied on 171.9772 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 7–8: Shmack Q and Era's Que tied on 171.4172 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 5–6: WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ edged Sermerstout BBQ by 0.0116.
🛡️ Back to defend
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: Weez's Groovin' BBQ (won 2022).
🃏 An upset on the books
Shmack Q came in rated below the field's top team, WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 35-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairbury, IL | Fairbury Fair Grounds | 17 | 337.0972 | SermerStout | — | |
| 2022-08-20 | Fairbury, IL | Fairbury Fair Grounds | 20 | 341.1428 | Weez's Groovin' BBQ | — |
| 2023-08-19 ← this one | Fairbury, IL | Fairbury Fair Grounds | 32 | 342.8228 | Shmack Q | — |
| 2024-08-17 | Fairbury, IL | Fairbury Fair Grounds | 26 | 354.2628 | Weez's Groovin' BBQ | — |
| 2025-08-16 | Fairbury, IL | Fairbury Fair Grounds | 20 | 347.4400 | Weez's Groovin' BBQ | — |
| 2026-08-22 | Fairbury, IL | — | — | — | — | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 178.2972 | 171.9772 | 167.9656 |
| Pork Ribs | 171.4056 | 167.4288 | 163.9884 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Backyard Series
Overall
32 entries · top 342.8228 · median 321.6628
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shmack Q | |
| 2 | RUBY CREEK BBQ | |
| 3 | Rudes BBQ | |
| 4 | Sermerstout BBQ | |
| 5 | T.J.D. Smokehouse | |
| 6 | Loose Cannon BBQ | |
| 7 | Big Rich BBQ | |
| 8 | WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ | |
| 9 | Ishy Links BBQ | |
| 10 | 309 BBQ | |
| 11 | Hillbilly Deluxe | |
| 12 | Smokin' Deez | |
| 13 | J.R. Boys | |
| 14 | Briar Ridge BBQ | |
| 15 | Era's Que | |
| 16 | Mr. B's BBQ | |
| 17 | HESSHOGS | |
| 18 | Too Sauced Guys Bar-B-Que | |
| 19 | Diabolical Pig | |
| 20 | Stone Cold Grillers | |
| 21 | Rub Sauce & 2 Smokin Barrels BBQ | |
| 22 | Rocket Que | |
| 23 | Dehm Bro's | |
| 24 | Big House BBQ | |
| 25 | Big Foot BBQ | |
| 26 | 3 Buddy Seasonings | |
| 27 | BS BBQ | |
| 28 | Loons Smoked Meats | |
| 29 | Pig Pile | |
| 30 | Smokin Phenes BBQ | |
| 31 | EZ CHEW BARBECUE | |
| 32 | 4 Dads of the Aporkalypse |
Chicken
32 entries · top 178.2972 · median 162.8572
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | T.J.D. Smokehouse | |
| 2 | Rudes BBQ | |
| 3 | RUBY CREEK BBQ | |
| 4 | Loose Cannon BBQ | |
| 5 | WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ | |
| 6 | Sermerstout BBQ | |
| 7 | Shmack Q | |
| 8 | Era's Que | |
| 9 | J.R. Boys | |
| 10 | HESSHOGS | |
| 11 | Smokin' Deez | |
| 12 | Mr. B's BBQ | |
| 13 | Too Sauced Guys Bar-B-Que | |
| 14 | Big Rich BBQ | |
| 15 | Ishy Links BBQ | |
| 16 | 309 BBQ | |
| 17 | Big Foot BBQ | |
| 18 | Briar Ridge BBQ | |
| 19 | Rocket Que | |
| 20 | Big House BBQ | |
| 21 | Hillbilly Deluxe | |
| 22 | Rub Sauce & 2 Smokin Barrels BBQ | |
| 23 | Smokin Phenes BBQ | |
| 24 | Pig Pile | |
| 25 | Dehm Bro's | |
| 26 | 4 Dads of the Aporkalypse | |
| 27 | Diabolical Pig | |
| 28 | EZ CHEW BARBECUE | |
| 29 | BS BBQ | |
| 30 | Stone Cold Grillers | |
| 31 | Loons Smoked Meats | |
| 32 | 3 Buddy Seasonings |
Pork Ribs
32 entries · top 171.4056 · median 156.5258
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shmack Q | |
| 2 | RUBY CREEK BBQ | |
| 3 | Hillbilly Deluxe | |
| 4 | Big Rich BBQ | |
| 5 | Ishy Links BBQ | |
| 6 | 309 BBQ | |
| 7 | 3 Buddy Seasonings | |
| 8 | Diabolical Pig | |
| 9 | Stone Cold Grillers | |
| 10 | Sermerstout BBQ | |
| 11 | Loose Cannon BBQ | |
| 12 | Briar Ridge BBQ | |
| 13 | Rudes BBQ | |
| 14 | WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ | |
| 15 | Smokin' Deez | |
| 16 | T.J.D. Smokehouse | |
| 17 | Too Sauced Guys Bar-B-Que | |
| 18 | Loons Smoked Meats | |
| 19 | BS BBQ | |
| 20 | Mr. B's BBQ | |
| 21 | Dehm Bro's | |
| 22 | J.R. Boys | |
| 23 | HESSHOGS | |
| 24 | Rub Sauce & 2 Smokin Barrels BBQ | |
| 25 | Rocket Que | |
| 26 | Era's Que | |
| 27 | Big House BBQ | |
| 28 | Big Foot BBQ | |
| 29 | Pig Pile | |
| 30 | EZ CHEW BARBECUE | |
| 31 | Smokin Phenes BBQ | |
| 32 | 4 Dads of the Aporkalypse |
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.
Kids-Q — Kids Que 5-10
2 entries · top 173.7372 · median 172.0172
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ava Hess | |
| 2 | Reese Hess |