A dynasty in the making
3×
wins at this contest
3 of 6 tracked editions
Furlongs Smoke & Seafood has won this contest 3 times across its 6 tracked editions.
- 2021
- 2023
- 2024
Boomer Backyard BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) 2023
Aug 19, 2023 · Canton, MN · 📍 106 North Main St
Reps: Laurie Tweten · Prize money: $2,550
Furlongs Smoke & Seafood won Grand Champion at the Boomer Backyard BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) on August 19, 2023 in Canton, MN at 106 North Main St, scoring 347.4400 in a field of 16 teams. BBQ MIKE took Reserve Grand Champion with 346.2400. Category winners: Chicken — Furlongs Smoke & Seafood (174.2856); Pork Ribs — Sensuous BBQ (175.4400). This is the 3rd of 6 editions of this contest on record; the 2022 edition was won by Lucky Shoes BBQ; 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.
294.73
median 335.37
347.44 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 174.29
- Pork Ribs 175.44
146.21
175.44
Entries
16
2 judged meats
Top score
347.4400
Winning margin
1.2000
GC over RC
Field average
331.89
294.73347.44
median 335.37 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
1.7028 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
332.5372
294.73347.44
10th place overall
Field spread
52.7088
winner to last place
Prize money
$2,550
on the line
Double threats
2
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 61%
beats 39% of 612 Backyard Series wins in the data
Came back for more
73%
11 of 15 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.69 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,581
avg power rating going in · stronger than 64% of contests
Storylines (4 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.
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 3 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 3–4: Barefoot BBQ and BBQ MIKE tied on 173.1200 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 3–4: Big Ten Bones edged BBQ MIKE by 0.0116. Pork Ribs places 2–3: Furlongs Smoke & Seafood edged Big Ten Bones by 0.0228.
- Chicken 3–4 · tie
- Pork Ribs 3–4 · 0.0116
- Pork Ribs 2–3 · 0.0228
Back to defend
2
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: Furlongs Smoke & Seafood (won 2021), Lucky Shoes BBQ (won 2022).
- Furlongs Smoke & Seafood · 2021
- Lucky Shoes BBQ · 2022
They keep coming back
73%
of last edition’s field returned
11 of 15 teams from 2022-08-20 came back
11 of the 15 teams that cooked the previous edition came back for this one — a contest people put on the calendar.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 21, 2021 | Canton, MN | 106 North Main St | 18 | 354.8572 | Furlongs Smoke & Seafood |
| Aug 20, 2022 | Canton, MN | 106 North Main St | 15 | 344.5828 | Lucky Shoes BBQ |
| Aug 19, 2023 ← this one | Canton, MN | 106 North Main St | 16 | 347.4400 | Furlongs Smoke & Seafood |
| Aug 17, 2024 | Canton, MN | 106 North Main St | 18 | 346.2284 | Furlongs Smoke & Seafood |
| Aug 16, 2025 | Canton, MN | 106 North Main St | 17 | 347.9772 | Big Ten Bones |
| Aug 15, 2026 | Canton, MN | 106 North Main Street | 18 | 353.1544 | Big Mike's Smokehouse |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 174.2856 | 172.5828 | 167.4288 |
| Pork Ribs | 175.4400 | 172.5716 | 161.1316 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Backyard Series
Overall
16 entries · top 347.4400 · median 335.3656
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Furlongs Smoke & Seafood | |
| 2 | BBQ MIKE | |
| 3 | Sensuous BBQ | |
| 4 | Bramble BBQ | |
| 5 | SMOKEY GQ | |
| 6 | Big Ten Bones | |
| 7 | Sugar Shack | |
| 8 | WRECKING CREW BBQ | |
| 9 | Big Racks BBQ | |
| 10 | Lucky Shoes BBQ | |
| 11 | Porket About It | |
| 12 | Barefoot BBQ | |
| 13 | Marty Party BBQ | |
| 14 | ROOT RIVER BOTTOM SMOKER | |
| 15 | Unknown Smokers | |
| 16 | Korbel Bros BBQ |
Chicken
16 entries · top 174.2856 · median 169.4286
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Furlongs Smoke & Seafood | |
| 2 | Big Racks BBQ | |
| 3 | Barefoot BBQ | |
| 4 | BBQ MIKE | |
| 5 | Lucky Shoes BBQ | |
| 6 | Sugar Shack | |
| 7 | Porket About It | |
| 8 | ROOT RIVER BOTTOM SMOKER | |
| 9 | Bramble BBQ | |
| 10 | Sensuous BBQ | |
| 11 | WRECKING CREW BBQ | |
| 12 | SMOKEY GQ | |
| 13 | Big Ten Bones | |
| 14 | Unknown Smokers | |
| 15 | Marty Party BBQ | |
| 16 | Korbel Bros BBQ |
Pork Ribs
16 entries · top 175.4400 · median 163.9486
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sensuous BBQ | |
| 2 | Furlongs Smoke & Seafood | |
| 3 | Big Ten Bones | |
| 4 | BBQ MIKE | |
| 5 | SMOKEY GQ | |
| 6 | Bramble BBQ | |
| 7 | WRECKING CREW BBQ | |
| 8 | Sugar Shack | |
| 9 | Marty Party BBQ | |
| 10 | Porket About It | |
| 11 | Big Racks BBQ | |
| 12 | Lucky Shoes BBQ | |
| 13 | Barefoot BBQ | |
| 14 | Unknown Smokers | |
| 15 | ROOT RIVER BOTTOM SMOKER | |
| 16 | Korbel Bros BBQ |