Smoke on the Ohio
2023-09-08 – 2023-09-09 · Mt. Vernon, IN · 📍 Riverbend Park · State championship
Reps: DEBRA GAGE, WILLIAM GAGE · Prize money: $9,000.00
Grand Champion: Scuffletown Smokers (709.6684) · 25 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 DB BBQ
Entries
25
4 judged meats
Top score
709.6684
Winning margin
10.2852
GC over RC
Field average
664.29
median 669.54
Perfect 180s
4 🔥
Bunnysbuttsmokers (Brisket), POOH BEAR BBQ (Brisket), SCUFFLETOWN SMOKERS (Brisket), SCUFFLETOWN SMOKERS (Pork)
Tightest race
Brisket
3.4400 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
675.9084
10th place overall
Field spread
127.0740
winner to last place
Prize money
$9,000.00
on the line
Double threats
5
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 7%
beats 93% of 1951 Master Series wins in the data
Traveled in
20%
of the 25 teams with a home region came from outside IN
Came back for more
75%
9 of 12 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.62 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1524
avg power rating going in · stronger than 29% of contests
Storylines
👑 A dynasty in the making
Scuffletown Smokers has won this contest 2 times across its 8 tracked editions.
💪 A statement win
The champion won by 10.2852 points — a wider margin than 91% of championships in the data.
🔥 A day of perfect scores
4 perfect 180s were scored at this contest.
🧹 A double category winner
DB BBQ won Chicken, Pork Ribs — a double.
📸 Photo finishes
Pork Ribs places 6–7: SmokinGhost BBQ and ABICUE tied on 171.9656 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 8–9: TEMPTATION STATION and PoCo Porkers tied on 170.8228 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 3–4: LOCAL YOKELS BBQ and SmokinGhost BBQ tied on 174.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
🛡️ Back to defend
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: LOCAL YOKELS BBQ (won 2018), Scuffletown Smokers (won 2019).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-09-08 | Water St | 29 | 693.0856 | FARMER'S RETREAT SMOKIN BARBEQUE | GRUMPY GOOSE BBQ | |
| 2018-09-07 | Water St | 28 | 701.0856 | LOCAL YOKELS BBQ | SHAKE 'N BAKE BBQ | |
| 2019-09-13 | Mt.Vernon, IN | 1 Locust | 28 | 701.1088 | Scuffletown Smokers | ONE2BBQ |
| 2021-09-10 | Mt. Vernon, IN | 110 East Water St. | 16 | 702.2400 | Local Yokels | SCUFFLETOWN SMOKERS |
| 2022-09-09 | Mt. Vernon, IN | Riverbend Park | 12 | 716.0000 | Local Yokels | DB BBQ |
| 2023-09-08 ← this one | Mt. Vernon, IN | Riverbend Park | 25 | 709.6684 | Scuffletown Smokers | DB BBQ |
| 2024-09-13 | Mt. Vernon, IN | Riverbend Park | 28 | 703.9428 | Mulkey's BBQ | JaBs BBQ |
| 2025-09-12 | Mt. Vernon, IN | Riverbend Park | 27 | 709.1428 | JaBs | SCUFFLETOWN SMOKERS |
| 2026-09-11 | Mt. Vernon, IN | — | — | — | — | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 176.5600 | 171.9772 | 169.1428 |
| Pork Ribs | 177.7144 | 172.5716 | 169.6916 |
| Pork | 180.0000 | 173.1200 | 170.2972 |
| Brisket | 180.0000 | 176.5600 | 173.1200 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
25 entries · top 709.6684 · median 669.5424
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SCUFFLETOWN SMOKERS | |
| 2 | DB BBQ | |
| 3 | POOH BEAR BBQ | |
| 4 | LOCAL YOKELS BBQ | |
| 5 | JaBs BBQ | |
| 6 | BONPAS BOTTOMS BBQ | |
| 7 | Hickory Pit Stop | |
| 8 | BIG RACK SMOKERS | |
| 9 | SmokinGhost BBQ | |
| 10 | LOADED-N-ROLLIN BBQ | |
| 11 | Bunnysbuttsmokers | |
| 12 | TEMPTATION STATION | |
| 13 | Smoke N Hope | |
| 14 | Powells Pig Pile BBQ | |
| 15 | ABICUE | |
| 16 | Mac Daddys BBQ | |
| 17 | Wild Cherry BBQ | |
| 18 | Kentucky Kookers | |
| 19 | PoCo Porkers | |
| 20 | W.Oink.C | |
| 21 | Zillas Bbq | |
| 22 | Global Smokers | |
| 23 | Gpas Pub | |
| 24 | WHITE WOLF SMOKERS | |
| 25 | My Three Sons Bbq |
Chicken
25 entries · top 176.5600 · median 168.5372
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DB BBQ | |
| 2 | SCUFFLETOWN SMOKERS | |
| 3 | POOH BEAR BBQ | |
| 4 | BIG RACK SMOKERS | |
| 5 | TEMPTATION STATION | |
| 6 | Smoke N Hope | |
| 7 | Zillas Bbq | |
| 8 | BONPAS BOTTOMS BBQ | |
| 9 | LOCAL YOKELS BBQ | |
| 10 | LOADED-N-ROLLIN BBQ | |
| 11 | Powells Pig Pile BBQ | |
| 12 | W.Oink.C | |
| 13 | JaBs BBQ | |
| 14 | Kentucky Kookers | |
| 15 | Mac Daddys BBQ | |
| 16 | WHITE WOLF SMOKERS | |
| 17 | Bunnysbuttsmokers | |
| 18 | Wild Cherry BBQ | |
| 19 | ABICUE | |
| 20 | Hickory Pit Stop | |
| 21 | SmokinGhost BBQ | |
| 22 | PoCo Porkers | |
| 23 | My Three Sons Bbq | |
| 24 | Gpas Pub | |
| 25 | Global Smokers |
Pork Ribs
25 entries · top 177.7144 · median 167.3828
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DB BBQ | |
| 2 | JaBs BBQ | |
| 3 | LOCAL YOKELS BBQ | |
| 4 | SCUFFLETOWN SMOKERS | |
| 5 | Hickory Pit Stop | |
| 6 | SmokinGhost BBQ | |
| 7 | ABICUE | |
| 8 | TEMPTATION STATION | |
| 9 | PoCo Porkers | |
| 10 | BONPAS BOTTOMS BBQ | |
| 11 | Bunnysbuttsmokers | |
| 12 | BIG RACK SMOKERS | |
| 13 | POOH BEAR BBQ | |
| 14 | LOADED-N-ROLLIN BBQ | |
| 15 | W.Oink.C | |
| 16 | Powells Pig Pile BBQ | |
| 17 | Smoke N Hope | |
| 18 | Kentucky Kookers | |
| 19 | Global Smokers | |
| 20 | Zillas Bbq | |
| 21 | Wild Cherry BBQ | |
| 22 | Gpas Pub | |
| 23 | WHITE WOLF SMOKERS | |
| 24 | Mac Daddys BBQ | |
| 25 | My Three Sons Bbq |
Pork
25 entries · top 180.0000 · median 168.5488 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SCUFFLETOWN SMOKERS | |
| 2 | Hickory Pit Stop | |
| 3 | LOCAL YOKELS BBQ | |
| 4 | SmokinGhost BBQ | |
| 5 | Global Smokers | |
| 6 | POOH BEAR BBQ | |
| 7 | JaBs BBQ | |
| 8 | Powells Pig Pile BBQ | |
| 9 | Mac Daddys BBQ | |
| 10 | W.Oink.C | |
| 11 | TEMPTATION STATION | |
| 12 | BONPAS BOTTOMS BBQ | |
| 13 | DB BBQ | |
| 14 | LOADED-N-ROLLIN BBQ | |
| 15 | BIG RACK SMOKERS | |
| 16 | ABICUE | |
| 17 | Smoke N Hope | |
| 18 | Bunnysbuttsmokers | |
| 19 | Zillas Bbq | |
| 20 | Wild Cherry BBQ | |
| 21 | Gpas Pub | |
| 22 | Kentucky Kookers | |
| 23 | PoCo Porkers | |
| 24 | My Three Sons Bbq | |
| 25 | WHITE WOLF SMOKERS |
Brisket
25 entries · top 180.0000 · median 170.2628 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bunnysbuttsmokers | |
| 2 | POOH BEAR BBQ | |
| 3 | SCUFFLETOWN SMOKERS | |
| 4 | BONPAS BOTTOMS BBQ | |
| 5 | Wild Cherry BBQ | |
| 6 | DB BBQ | |
| 7 | LOADED-N-ROLLIN BBQ | |
| 8 | JaBs BBQ | |
| 9 | LOCAL YOKELS BBQ | |
| 10 | BIG RACK SMOKERS | |
| 11 | Hickory Pit Stop | |
| 12 | SmokinGhost BBQ | |
| 13 | Smoke N Hope | |
| 14 | Kentucky Kookers | |
| 15 | Mac Daddys BBQ | |
| 16 | Powells Pig Pile BBQ | |
| 17 | PoCo Porkers | |
| 18 | ABICUE | |
| 19 | Gpas Pub | |
| 20 | TEMPTATION STATION | |
| 21 | Zillas Bbq | |
| 22 | Global Smokers | |
| 23 | W.Oink.C | |
| 24 | WHITE WOLF SMOKERS | |
| 25 | My Three Sons Bbq |