Saluting with Smoke (COMPETITOR'S SERIES)
2023-09-15 – 2023-09-16 · Yorkville, IL · 📍 4000 N. Bridge St.
Reps: BECKY DRUETZLER, DAVE DRUETZLER · Prize money: $3,500.00
Grand Champion: QUE U (699.9544) · 17 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 THE BBQ BUS
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
Form held
Field strength
Storylines
🧳 Out-of-towners took the title
QUE U took the Grand Championship home to WI.
📸 Photo finishes
Chicken places 2–3: Loose Cannon BBQ and Hump's Haven Backyard BBQ tied on 176.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 6–7: WE WILL ROCK QUE and Hump's Haven Backyard BBQ tied on 173.1200 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 1–2: THE BBQ BUS edged Loose Cannon BBQ by 0.0116.
🛡️ Back to defend
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: Porkrastinators (won 2021).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-11-05 | Yorkville, IL | 9054 W. Veterans Pkwy | 18 | 690.7884 | Porkrastinators | — |
| 2022-11-04 | Yorkville, IL | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2023-09-15 ← this one | Yorkville, IL | 4000 N. Bridge St. | 17 | 699.9544 | QUE U | — |
| 2024-09-13 | Yorkville, IL | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2024-09-13 | Yorkville, IL | — | — | — | — | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 178.8572 | 173.1316 | 169.6916 |
| Pork Ribs | 174.2744 | 171.9888 | 165.6800 |
| Pork | 177.7028 | 174.2628 | 169.6684 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Competitor Series
Overall
17 entries · top 699.9544 · median 671.3372
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | QUE U | |
| 2 | THE BBQ BUS | |
| 3 | PORKRASTINATORS | |
| 4 | HOT EMBERS BBQ | |
| 5 | Hump's Haven Backyard BBQ | |
| 6 | Plumber Q | |
| 7 | Pork and Starboard | |
| 8 | Loose Cannon BBQ | |
| 9 | SI2 BBQ | |
| 10 | Red White & Bacon | |
| 11 | WE WILL ROCK QUE | |
| 12 | RUBY CREEK BBQ | |
| 13 | Too Sauced Guys Bar-B-Que | |
| 14 | You Ain't Kidding BBQ | |
| 15 | Stone Cold Grillers | |
| 16 | Sky High BBQ | |
| 17 | BBQ Buddies |
Chicken
17 entries · top 178.8572 · median 170.8112
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | QUE U | |
| 2 | Loose Cannon BBQ | |
| 3 | Hump's Haven Backyard BBQ | |
| 4 | WE WILL ROCK QUE | |
| 5 | Red White & Bacon | |
| 6 | Too Sauced Guys Bar-B-Que | |
| 7 | PORKRASTINATORS | |
| 8 | THE BBQ BUS | |
| 9 | Stone Cold Grillers | |
| 10 | SI2 BBQ | |
| 11 | Plumber Q | |
| 12 | You Ain't Kidding BBQ | |
| 13 | HOT EMBERS BBQ | |
| 14 | Pork and Starboard | |
| 15 | Sky High BBQ | |
| 16 | RUBY CREEK BBQ | |
| 17 | BBQ Buddies |
Pork Ribs
17 entries · top 174.2744 · median 167.3828
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | THE BBQ BUS | |
| 2 | Loose Cannon BBQ | |
| 3 | PORKRASTINATORS | |
| 4 | Stone Cold Grillers | |
| 5 | QUE U | |
| 6 | Plumber Q | |
| 7 | WE WILL ROCK QUE | |
| 8 | Pork and Starboard | |
| 9 | SI2 BBQ | |
| 10 | You Ain't Kidding BBQ | |
| 11 | RUBY CREEK BBQ | |
| 12 | HOT EMBERS BBQ | |
| 13 | BBQ Buddies | |
| 14 | Too Sauced Guys Bar-B-Que | |
| 15 | Hump's Haven Backyard BBQ | |
| 16 | Sky High BBQ | |
| 17 | Red White & Bacon |
Pork
17 entries · top 177.7028 · median 170.2628
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | RUBY CREEK BBQ | |
| 2 | Pork and Starboard | |
| 3 | Red White & Bacon | |
| 4 | HOT EMBERS BBQ | |
| 5 | THE BBQ BUS | |
| 6 | WE WILL ROCK QUE | |
| 7 | Hump's Haven Backyard BBQ | |
| 8 | Sky High BBQ | |
| 9 | PORKRASTINATORS | |
| 10 | QUE U | |
| 11 | Too Sauced Guys Bar-B-Que | |
| 12 | Plumber Q | |
| 13 | SI2 BBQ | |
| 14 | You Ain't Kidding BBQ | |
| 15 | Loose Cannon BBQ | |
| 16 | BBQ Buddies | |
| 17 | Stone Cold Grillers |
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.
Competitor Series — Mre Throwdown
17 entries · top 180.0000 · median 168.5484 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | HOT EMBERS BBQ | |
| 2 | QUE U | |
| 3 | THE BBQ BUS | |
| 4 | Plumber Q | |
| 5 | PORKRASTINATORS | |
| 6 | Pork and Starboard | |
| 7 | Hump's Haven Backyard BBQ | |
| 8 | SI2 BBQ | |
| 9 | You Ain't Kidding BBQ | |
| 10 | RUBY CREEK BBQ | |
| 11 | Red White & Bacon | |
| 12 | Loose Cannon BBQ | |
| 13 | Too Sauced Guys Bar-B-Que | |
| 14 | Stone Cold Grillers | |
| 15 | BBQ Buddies | |
| 16 | Sky High BBQ | |
| 17 | WE WILL ROCK QUE |