In this edition
Every sanctioned contest scored in March 2016 — 1 Mar to 31 Mar.
Covering KCBS-sanctioned contests
March 2016 in BBQ
The recap: every contest scored, every story, every board
Inside
The Stories
Score of the month
top 1% of every Master overall ever scored
CAJUN BLAZE put up 708.5372 at Tupelo BBQ Duel- Comp 2 — the highest overall of the month.
Hottest hand
CAJUN BLAZE took 2 Grand Championships in March 2016.
First one ever
ALL IN QUE won their first Grand Championship at Sam's Club National BBQ Tour, in their 50th contest in the data.
- 4 Mar
Title defended
IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ won Smokin In The Square again — back-to-back Grand Championships at the same contest.
- 2015–2016
- field of 43
Upset of the month
The ratings gave them a 16% chance
Phil the Grill won Sam's Club National BBQ Tour over top-rated BIG B'S DOWN-N-DIRTY BBQ as the ratings underdog.
Perfect 180s
Six judges, every card a 9: 23 perfect 180s were handed out in March 2016.
- Brisket ×8
- Pork ×7
- Chicken ×5
- Pork Ribs ×3
Closest call
CHECKERED PIG edged SAUCED! BBQ TEAM by 0.0576 at Sip & Swine BBQ Festival (GBC Qualifier).
- Master Series
Back on top
DR. NORDY'S BBQ won Sam's Club National BBQ Tour — their first Grand Championship since September 2013, after 22 contests without one.
- last won September 2013
- 22 contests in between
Contest record
BIG POPPA SMOKERS put up 708.0112 at Sam's Club National BBQ Tour — the best overall in 4 editions of the contest on record, past the old mark of 699.3484.
- old record 699.3484
- 3 earlier editions
Near sweep
BIG POPPA SMOKERS won 3 of 4 meats at Sam's Club National BBQ Tour (chicken, pork ribs and brisket), and the Grand Championship with them.
- Chicken
- Pork Ribs
- Brisket
- and the GC
Biggest riser
BOOTYQUE gained 41 rating points across 5 contests — the biggest climb of the month.
- 5 contests
- now #46 overall
Best debut
UTAH BBQ COMPANY finished 7th at Sam's Club National BBQ Tour — the first contest they appear in anywhere in the data.
- 109 new teams in Mar 2016
- field of 29
Biggest blowout
DR. NORDY'S BBQ won Sam's Club National BBQ Tour by 17.1652 points over Texas-car-b-que — the widest winning margin of the month.
- field of 29
Biggest field
Tupelo BBQ Duel- Comp 1 drew 95 teams, and CAJUN BLAZE won it.
- Tupelo, MS
Milestone
SMOKE ON THIS cooked their 100th contest on record at Tupelo BBQ Duel- Comp 2, with 6 Grand Championships along the way.
- 6 GCs along the way
Road warriors
SWIGGIN PIG cooked 5 contests in March 2016 — nobody hauled the rig further.
- best finish 4th
Won without a meat
OKIEQ won Firelake BBQ Cook Off without winning a single meat — their best category finish was 2nd.
- field of 66
New on the calendar
Tupelo BBQ Duel- Comp 1 ran for the first time on record, drawing 95 teams, and CAJUN BLAZE won it. Somebody put in the work to make a new contest happen.
- 9 first editions in Mar 2016
- Tupelo, MS
Always the reserve
SAUCED! BBQ TEAM finished second overall 2 times in March 2016 without a Grand Championship — one place short every time.
- 4 contests
Busiest weekend
4 sanctioned contests were cooked on 4 Mar alone.
- 4 Mar
The Boards
Highest overall scores (Master · /720)
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | CAJUN BLAZE Tupelo BBQ Duel- Comp 2 |
708.5372 |
| 2 | BIG POPPA SMOKERS Sam's Club National BBQ Tour |
708.0112 |
| 3 | ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN Smoke on the Shores |
703.4172 |
| 4 | OKIEQ Firelake BBQ Cook Off |
702.8688 |
| 5 | CAJUN BLAZE Tupelo BBQ Duel- Comp 1 |
700.5260 |
| 6 | YELLOW RIVER BBQ Tupelo BBQ Duel- Comp 2 |
700.5256 |
| 7 | SMOKE ON THIS Tupelo BBQ Duel- Comp 2 |
700.5028 |
| 8 | Smoke-A-Holics Firelake BBQ Cook Off |
700.4912 |
| 9 | SAUCED! BBQ TEAM Tupelo BBQ Duel- Comp 1 |
699.9428 |
| 10 | ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN Tupelo BBQ Duel- Comp 2 |
699.3828 |
| 11 | QUE'N STEW'N & BREW'N Tupelo BBQ Duel- Comp 1 |
698.8572 |
| 12 | KILLER HOGS Tupelo BBQ Duel- Comp 1 |
698.8344 |
| 13 | Organizer Portal Tupelo BBQ Duel- Comp 2 |
698.2284 |
| 14 | Serial Griller Hamond BBQ |
697.0972 |
| 15 | CAVEMAN CUISINE Firelake BBQ Cook Off |
696.5600 |
Best of each meat (both series · /180)
| Category | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken ×5 💯 | CAJUN BLAZE Tupelo BBQ Duel- Comp 1 |
180 |
| Pork Ribs ×3 💯 | SHAKE 'N BAKE BBQ Flames on the Flint (GBC Qualifier) |
180 |
| Pork ×7 💯 | Porkaholics Barbeque Sip & Swine BBQ Festival (GBC Qualifier) |
180 |
| Brisket ×8 💯 | LUCKY'S Q Fire on Ice Barbecue World Championship |
180 |
Straight nines (perfect 180s)
On the move (power rating)
| Team | Rating | Mar 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| BOOTYQUE No. 46 in the power rankings |
1,851 | +41 |
| ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN No. 8 in the power rankings |
1,931 | +31 |
| CAJUN BLAZE No. 81 in the power rankings |
1,817 | +29 |
| E.T.'S BBQ No. 5,543 in the power rankings |
1,450 | +29 |
| RAZORRACKS No. 48 in the power rankings |
1,849 | +25 |
| OKIEQ No. 163 in the power rankings |
1,774 | +24 |
| K-TOWN DADDY'S BBQ No. 1,324 in the power rankings |
1,578 | +24 |
| HICKORY PRIME No. 192 in the power rankings |
1,759 | +24 |
| SWIGGIN PIG No. 110 in the power rankings |
1,801 | +23 |
| SMOKE ON THIS No. 175 in the power rankings |
1,767 | +23 |
| THE OUTLAWS No. 720 in the power rankings |
1,639 | -19 |
| SIZZLIN' BONES BBQ No. 798 in the power rankings |
1,628 | -20 |
| TRUE SMOKE BBQ No. 313 in the power rankings |
1,722 | -20 |
| BIG B'S DOWN-N-DIRTY BBQ No. 157 in the power rankings |
1,776 | -24 |
| CLARK CREW BBQ No. 2 in the power rankings |
1,967 | -28 |
Who showed up
| Team | Contests | GCs | Best |
|---|---|---|---|
| SWIGGIN PIG | 5 | — | 4 |
| CLARK CREW BBQ | 5 | — | 5 |
| BOOTYQUE | 5 | — | 6 |
| GIVE IT TO GOD | 5 | — | 15 |
| HICKORY PRIME | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| SAUCED! BBQ TEAM | 4 | — | 2 |
| SMOKE THIS | 4 | — | 2 |
| Smoke-A-Holics | 4 | — | 2 |
| SMOKE ON THIS | 4 | — | 3 |
| Organizer Portal | 4 | — | 5 |
| BUTCHER BBQ | 4 | — | 6 |
| SMOKIN' SOBER...SOMETIMES | 4 | — | 16 |
| SMOKIN TRIGGERS | 4 | — | 19 |
| Hawg Feathers | 4 | — | 21 |
| BIG MO FROM AHO | 4 | — | 36 |
Where they cooked
| State/Prov. | Contests | Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Georgia | 2 | 162 |
| Louisiana | 2 | 128 |
| Mississippi | 2 | 100 |
| Florida | 1 | 70 |
| Oklahoma | 1 | 66 |
| Minnesota | 1 | 59 |
| Tennessee | 1 | 49 |
| Alabama | 1 | 39 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 1 | 35 |
| Arizona | 1 | 30 |
| Nevada | 1 | 29 |
| Texas | 1 | 29 |
| California | 1 | 22 |
New to the circuit
First editions (new on the calendar)
| Contest | Teams | Won by |
|---|---|---|
| Tupelo BBQ Duel- Comp 1 Tupelo, MS |
95 | CAJUN BLAZE |
| Tupelo BBQ Duel- Comp 2 Tupelo, MS |
61 | CAJUN BLAZE |
| Fire on Ice Barbecue World Championship Isle, MN |
59 | TOTALLY SAUCED |
| Sip & Swine BBQ Festival (GBC Qualifier) Lawrenceville, GA |
59 | CHECKERED PIG |
| Hamond BBQ Hammond, LA |
58 | SERIAL GRILLER |
| Smoke on the Shores Nashville, TN |
49 | ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN |
| Meat the East Enschede, Netherlands |
33 | IQ - NETHERLANDS |
| Boda Getta BBQ Auburn, AL |
25 | HICKORY PRIME |
| Barn Burner BBQ Chilliwack, British of Columbi, Canada |
22 | RUSTY'S BBQ |
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Every contest scored (17 in March 2016)
The Archive
Every month with scored results, back to the start of the data. Subscribe to the monthly feed and each one lands as it closes.
2026 (338 contests) · the 2026 season in review
2025 (386 contests) · the 2025 season in review
2024 (343 contests) · the 2024 season in review
2023 (376 contests) · the 2023 season in review
2022 (376 contests) · the 2022 season in review
2021 (310 contests) · the 2021 season in review
2020 (134 contests) · the 2020 season in review
2019 (430 contests) · the 2019 season in review
2018 (480 contests) · the 2018 season in review
2017 (517 contests) · the 2017 season in review
2016 (505 contests) · the 2016 season in review
2015 (494 contests) · the 2015 season in review
2014 (469 contests) · the 2014 season in review
2013 (436 contests) · the 2013 season in review
2012 (1 contest) · the 2012 season in review
Every figure here is computed from the public results at kcbs.us, refreshed nightly. The Smoke Ring is not a publication of the Kansas City Barbeque Society.