Puckaway Pigfest
2023-09-08 – 2023-09-09 · Montello, WI · 📍 W781 Fox Ct · State championship
Reps: CHARLIE BRINZA, JEANNE TITUS · Prize money: $5,750.00
Grand Champion: The BBQ Bus (684.5256) · 28 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ
Entries
28
4 judged meats
Top score
684.5256
Winning margin
5.2112
GC over RC
Field average
650.52
median 652.72
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Brisket
3.4400 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
670.2060
10th place overall
Field spread
92.7652
winner to last place
Prize money
$5,750.00
on the line
Double threats
5
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 92%
beats 8% of 1951 Master Series wins in the data
Traveled in
36%
of the 28 teams with a home region came from outside WI
Came back for more
53%
20 of 38 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.73 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1549
avg power rating going in · stronger than 54% of contests
Storylines
👑 A dynasty in the making
BIG "E" BBQ has won this contest 3 times across its 12 tracked editions.
🧳 Out-of-towners took the title
THE BBQ BUS took the Grand Championship home to IL.
📸 Photo finishes
Pork places 7–8: IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ and WE WILL ROCK QUE tied on 169.6800 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 3–4: FIREHOUSE SMOKE and THE BBQ BUS tied on 174.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 9–10: WICKED SMOKE BBQ edged FIREHOUSE SMOKE by 0.0116.
🛡️ Back to defend
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ (won 2013), Que U (won 2021, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-09-06 | Montello, WI | 31 | 680.5144 | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ | BRINGIN' THE HEAT | |
| 2014-09-05 | Montello, WI 53949 | 40 | 691.4628 | BRINGIN' THE HEAT | THE SMOKIN' C'S BBQ | |
| 2015-09-11 | Montello, WI 53949 | 33 | 672.1600 | BIG "E" BBQ | A FINE SWINE | |
| 2016-09-09 | Montello , WI | 37 | 687.9428 | BIG "E" BBQ | TIM'S FULL BELLI DELI | |
| 2017-09-08 | W 781 Fox Ct | 31 | 680.5716 | TURNIN' UP THE HEAT | LEGENDS OF SMOKE - TEAM RED ARROW | |
| 2018-09-07 | W 781 Fox Ct | 31 | 684.5144 | SMOKIN HIGHWAYMEN | BIG "E" BBQ | |
| 2019-09-06 | Montello, WI | W 781 Fox Ct | 39 | 681.0172 | Big E BBQ | THE BBQ BUS |
| 2021-09-10 | Montello, WI | W781 Fox Ct | 30 | 681.6228 | Que U | WICKED SMOKE BBQ |
| 2022-09-09 | Montello, WI | W781 Fox Ct | 38 | 700.5256 | Que U | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ |
| 2023-09-08 ← this one | Montello, WI | W781 Fox Ct | 28 | 684.5256 | The BBQ Bus | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ |
| 2024-09-06 | Montello, WI | W781 Fox Ct | 37 | 694.8000 | Janky Leg BBQ | BURNT TREES BBQ |
| 2025-09-05 | Montello, WI | W781 Fox Ct | 35 | 701.6688 | Can Country Outlaw BBQ | QUE U |
| 2026-09-11 | Montello, WI | — | — | — | — | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 177.7028 | 169.1200 | 166.8112 |
| Pork Ribs | 173.1544 | 168.5256 | 164.5828 |
| Pork | 176.5600 | 171.4172 | 167.9656 |
| Brisket | 176.0000 | 172.5600 | 167.9772 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
28 entries · top 684.5256 · median 652.7198
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | THE BBQ BUS | |
| 2 | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ | |
| 3 | ACES HIGH BBQ | |
| 4 | UGLY BABY BBQ | |
| 5 | Can Country Outlaw BBQ | |
| 6 | WICKED SMOKE BBQ | |
| 7 | FIREHOUSE SMOKE | |
| 8 | HOT DADDY'S BBQ | |
| 9 | PORKRASTINATORS | |
| 10 | SMOKE INFUSION | |
| 11 | QUE U | |
| 12 | WE WILL ROCK QUE | |
| 13 | Black Crown Barbeque | |
| 14 | Low Rent Bbq | |
| 15 | SIX BUTT BBQ | |
| 16 | Second Hand Smoke SLV | |
| 17 | 43RD PARALLEL BBQ | |
| 18 | Mediocre BBQ | |
| 19 | Wisco Fire BBQ | |
| 20 | QIS - QUALITY IN SMOKE | |
| 21 | Flavor Frame BBQ | |
| 22 | C&M BBQ | |
| 23 | Skinny Pig BBQ | |
| 24 | BS BBQ | |
| 25 | ROLL THE BONES BBQ | |
| 26 | Big JT and the pork pistols | |
| 27 | SMOKE'N THE EYE BBQ | |
| 28 | Food Dude |
Chicken
28 entries · top 177.7028 · median 164.5428
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Second Hand Smoke SLV | |
| 2 | ACES HIGH BBQ | |
| 3 | QUE U | |
| 4 | Can Country Outlaw BBQ | |
| 5 | THE BBQ BUS | |
| 6 | HOT DADDY'S BBQ | |
| 7 | Black Crown Barbeque | |
| 8 | PORKRASTINATORS | |
| 9 | WICKED SMOKE BBQ | |
| 10 | FIREHOUSE SMOKE | |
| 11 | Low Rent Bbq | |
| 12 | C&M BBQ | |
| 13 | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ | |
| 14 | 43RD PARALLEL BBQ | |
| 15 | Wisco Fire BBQ | |
| 16 | SMOKE INFUSION | |
| 17 | UGLY BABY BBQ | |
| 18 | WE WILL ROCK QUE | |
| 19 | SIX BUTT BBQ | |
| 20 | QIS - QUALITY IN SMOKE | |
| 21 | Food Dude | |
| 22 | Big JT and the pork pistols | |
| 23 | Mediocre BBQ | |
| 24 | Skinny Pig BBQ | |
| 25 | BS BBQ | |
| 26 | ROLL THE BONES BBQ | |
| 27 | Flavor Frame BBQ | |
| 28 | SMOKE'N THE EYE BBQ |
Pork Ribs
28 entries · top 173.1544 · median 162.5258
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SMOKE INFUSION | |
| 2 | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ | |
| 3 | Low Rent Bbq | |
| 4 | Flavor Frame BBQ | |
| 5 | Can Country Outlaw BBQ | |
| 6 | 43RD PARALLEL BBQ | |
| 7 | WE WILL ROCK QUE | |
| 8 | FIREHOUSE SMOKE | |
| 9 | WICKED SMOKE BBQ | |
| 10 | THE BBQ BUS | |
| 11 | UGLY BABY BBQ | |
| 12 | QUE U | |
| 13 | PORKRASTINATORS | |
| 14 | Wisco Fire BBQ | |
| 15 | HOT DADDY'S BBQ | |
| 16 | ACES HIGH BBQ | |
| 17 | Mediocre BBQ | |
| 18 | ROLL THE BONES BBQ | |
| 19 | SIX BUTT BBQ | |
| 20 | Black Crown Barbeque | |
| 21 | Skinny Pig BBQ | |
| 22 | SMOKE'N THE EYE BBQ | |
| 23 | QIS - QUALITY IN SMOKE | |
| 24 | Big JT and the pork pistols | |
| 25 | BS BBQ | |
| 26 | C&M BBQ | |
| 27 | Second Hand Smoke SLV | |
| 28 | Food Dude |
Pork
28 entries · top 176.5600 · median 162.5314
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | THE BBQ BUS | |
| 2 | UGLY BABY BBQ | |
| 3 | PORKRASTINATORS | |
| 4 | WICKED SMOKE BBQ | |
| 5 | HOT DADDY'S BBQ | |
| 6 | Can Country Outlaw BBQ | |
| 7 | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ | |
| 8 | WE WILL ROCK QUE | |
| 9 | SIX BUTT BBQ | |
| 10 | ACES HIGH BBQ | |
| 11 | FIREHOUSE SMOKE | |
| 12 | Flavor Frame BBQ | |
| 13 | Mediocre BBQ | |
| 14 | SMOKE INFUSION | |
| 15 | QIS - QUALITY IN SMOKE | |
| 16 | BS BBQ | |
| 17 | QUE U | |
| 18 | Black Crown Barbeque | |
| 19 | 43RD PARALLEL BBQ | |
| 20 | Second Hand Smoke SLV | |
| 21 | ROLL THE BONES BBQ | |
| 22 | Skinny Pig BBQ | |
| 23 | Wisco Fire BBQ | |
| 24 | C&M BBQ | |
| 25 | Food Dude | |
| 26 | Low Rent Bbq | |
| 27 | SMOKE'N THE EYE BBQ | |
| 28 | Big JT and the pork pistols |
Brisket
28 entries · top 176.0000 · median 163.1086
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | UGLY BABY BBQ | |
| 2 | ACES HIGH BBQ | |
| 3 | FIREHOUSE SMOKE | |
| 4 | THE BBQ BUS | |
| 5 | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ | |
| 6 | WICKED SMOKE BBQ | |
| 7 | HOT DADDY'S BBQ | |
| 8 | QUE U | |
| 9 | SMOKE INFUSION | |
| 10 | Can Country Outlaw BBQ | |
| 11 | PORKRASTINATORS | |
| 12 | Black Crown Barbeque | |
| 13 | Low Rent Bbq | |
| 14 | WE WILL ROCK QUE | |
| 15 | Mediocre BBQ | |
| 16 | Second Hand Smoke SLV | |
| 17 | SIX BUTT BBQ | |
| 18 | QIS - QUALITY IN SMOKE | |
| 19 | C&M BBQ | |
| 20 | 43RD PARALLEL BBQ | |
| 21 | BS BBQ | |
| 22 | Big JT and the pork pistols | |
| 23 | Wisco Fire BBQ | |
| 24 | ROLL THE BONES BBQ | |
| 25 | Skinny Pig BBQ | |
| 26 | SMOKE'N THE EYE BBQ | |
| 27 | Flavor Frame BBQ | |
| 28 | Food Dude |