I Love Barbecue & Music Festival
2023-09-01 – 2023-09-03 · Lake Placid, NY · 📍 5514 Cascade Road
Reps: LOUISE WEIDNER, ROBERT MCKEE · Prize money: $6,000.00
Grand Champion: Paddy McQ's (690.8116) · 18 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 Dirt Bag Barbeque
Entries
18
4 judged meats
Top score
690.8116
Winning margin
8.0456
GC over RC
Field average
662.97
median 671.95
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork
5.1772 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
669.6684
10th place overall
Field spread
105.1660
winner to last place
Prize money
$6,000.00
on the line
Double threats
6
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 84%
beats 16% of 1951 Master Series wins in the data
Traveled in
89%
of the 18 teams with a home region came from outside NY
Came back for more
63%
5 of 8 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.73 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1586
avg power rating going in · stronger than 84% of contests
Storylines
👑 A dynasty in the making
MILLER'S BACKYARD BBQ has won this contest 2 times across its 11 tracked editions.
🧳 Out-of-towners took the title
PADDY MCQ'S took the Grand Championship home to NJ.
📸 Photo finishes
Pork Ribs places 4–5: PADDY MCQ'S and CHUNKY BBQ tied on 171.4172 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 9–10: Mullen It Over BBQ edged CycloneBBQ by 0.0228. Brisket places 5–6: Risk it for the Brisket edged Dirt Bag Barbeque by 0.0456.
🛡️ Back to defend
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA (won 2015), PISTOL PACKIN' PIGGIES (won 2017), Chunky 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-07-04 | Lake Placid, NY | 28 | 646.8570 | Q HAVEN BBQ | BUCKNER BROTHERS BBQ | |
| 2014-07-04 | Lake Placid, NY 12946 | 27 | 657.1200 | MILLER'S BACKYARD BBQ | SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA | |
| 2015-07-03 | Lake Placid, NY 12946 | 31 | 661.6800 | SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA | QUAU | |
| 2016-07-02 | Lake Placid, NY | 28 | 658.2856 | MILLER'S BACKYARD BBQ | OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE | |
| 2017-07-07 | 32 School St | 40 | 669.7028 | PISTOL PACKIN' PIGGIES | BLACK HART BBQ | |
| 2018-07-06 | 32 School St | 39 | 661.0972 | GOOD SMOKE BBQ | SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA | |
| 2019-07-05 | Lake Placid, NY | 32 School St | 32 | 677.1540 | Hot Wachula's | GOOD SMOKE BBQ |
| 2021-09-03 | Lake Placid, NY | Shipman Youth Center | 15 | 699.4628 | Top Gun barbecue | THE PIG'S PAJAMAS |
| 2022-09-02 | Lake Placid, NY | 5514 Cascade Road | 22 | 679.4060 | Chunky BBQ | BOGGS HOG BBQ |
| 2022-09-02 | Lake Placid, NY | 5514 Cascade Road | — | — | — | — |
| 2023-09-01 ← this one | Lake Placid, NY | 5514 Cascade Road | 18 | 690.8116 | Paddy McQ's | Dirt Bag Barbeque |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 178.8572 | 173.1200 | 168.5600 |
| Pork Ribs | 177.7144 | 171.4172 | 162.8344 |
| Pork | 177.1772 | 172.0000 | 166.8572 |
| Brisket | 176.5600 | 168.5828 | 165.6684 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
18 entries · top 690.8116 · median 671.9484
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | PADDY MCQ'S | |
| 2 | Dirt Bag Barbeque | |
| 3 | SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA | |
| 4 | UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT | |
| 5 | ELJEFE SMOKE | |
| 6 | BOGGS HOG BBQ | |
| 7 | LG bbq | |
| 8 | CycloneBBQ | |
| 9 | CHUNKY BBQ | |
| 10 | Live Q or Die | |
| 11 | GOOD GOOGLY GOO BBQ | |
| 12 | Risk it for the Brisket | |
| 13 | PISTOL PACKIN' PIGGIES | |
| 14 | Mullen It Over BBQ | |
| 15 | BBQwithDREW | |
| 16 | Steve's Prime BBQ | |
| 17 | Matt's Backyard BBQ | |
| 18 | Pork N' Bastards |
Chicken
18 entries · top 178.8572 · median 168.8456
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | CycloneBBQ | |
| 2 | BOGGS HOG BBQ | |
| 3 | SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA | |
| 4 | GOOD GOOGLY GOO BBQ | |
| 5 | UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT | |
| 6 | Risk it for the Brisket | |
| 7 | Mullen It Over BBQ | |
| 8 | PADDY MCQ'S | |
| 9 | Live Q or Die | |
| 10 | CHUNKY BBQ | |
| 11 | Dirt Bag Barbeque | |
| 12 | ELJEFE SMOKE | |
| 13 | PISTOL PACKIN' PIGGIES | |
| 14 | BBQwithDREW | |
| 15 | LG bbq | |
| 16 | Steve's Prime BBQ | |
| 17 | Matt's Backyard BBQ | |
| 18 | Pork N' Bastards |
Pork Ribs
18 entries · top 177.7144 · median 162.8458
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA | |
| 2 | Dirt Bag Barbeque | |
| 3 | LG bbq | |
| 4 | PADDY MCQ'S | |
| 5 | CHUNKY BBQ | |
| 6 | ELJEFE SMOKE | |
| 7 | Steve's Prime BBQ | |
| 8 | GOOD GOOGLY GOO BBQ | |
| 9 | Mullen It Over BBQ | |
| 10 | CycloneBBQ | |
| 11 | BOGGS HOG BBQ | |
| 12 | Live Q or Die | |
| 13 | UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT | |
| 14 | Matt's Backyard BBQ | |
| 15 | Risk it for the Brisket | |
| 16 | PISTOL PACKIN' PIGGIES | |
| 17 | BBQwithDREW | |
| 18 | Pork N' Bastards |
Pork
18 entries · top 177.1772 · median 167.4286
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | LG bbq | |
| 2 | PADDY MCQ'S | |
| 3 | ELJEFE SMOKE | |
| 4 | Dirt Bag Barbeque | |
| 5 | Live Q or Die | |
| 6 | CHUNKY BBQ | |
| 7 | UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT | |
| 8 | CycloneBBQ | |
| 9 | Risk it for the Brisket | |
| 10 | BOGGS HOG BBQ | |
| 11 | SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA | |
| 12 | PISTOL PACKIN' PIGGIES | |
| 13 | Matt's Backyard BBQ | |
| 14 | BBQwithDREW | |
| 15 | GOOD GOOGLY GOO BBQ | |
| 16 | Mullen It Over BBQ | |
| 17 | Pork N' Bastards | |
| 18 | Steve's Prime BBQ |
Brisket
18 entries · top 176.5600 · median 165.7028
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT | |
| 2 | PADDY MCQ'S | |
| 3 | BOGGS HOG BBQ | |
| 4 | PISTOL PACKIN' PIGGIES | |
| 5 | Risk it for the Brisket | |
| 6 | Dirt Bag Barbeque | |
| 7 | BBQwithDREW | |
| 8 | Live Q or Die | |
| 9 | CycloneBBQ | |
| 10 | GOOD GOOGLY GOO BBQ | |
| 11 | LG bbq | |
| 12 | ELJEFE SMOKE | |
| 13 | CHUNKY BBQ | |
| 14 | SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA | |
| 15 | Mullen It Over BBQ | |
| 16 | Steve's Prime BBQ | |
| 17 | Matt's Backyard BBQ | |
| 18 | Pork N' Bastards |