In this edition
Every sanctioned contest scored in September 2019 — 1 Sep to 30 Sep.
Covering KCBS-sanctioned contests
September 2019 in BBQ
The recap: every contest scored, every story, every board
Inside
The Stories
By invitation only
Mudville BBQ won 40th American Royal World Series of Barbecue- INVITATIONAL CONTEST, best of 135 invited teams; GETTIN' BASTED took reserve. An invite-only field, so it leaves the power rating alone and goes straight into the record book.
- top score 706.2516
- not in the power rating
Score of the month
top 1% of every Master overall ever scored
Fat&Dumb BBQ put up 714.8572 at Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship — the highest overall of the month.
Hottest hand
Sweet Cheeks BBQ took 2 Grand Championships in September 2019.
First one ever
PUREBBQ won their first Grand Championship at Open Polish BBQ Championship, in their 58th contest in the data.
- 13 Sep
Title defended
MILLER'S BACKYARD BBQ won Oinktoberfest again — back-to-back Grand Championships at the same contest.
- 2018–2019
- field of 43
Upset of the month
The ratings gave them a 8% chance
HEATH RILES BBQ won Murphysboro BBQ Cook Off over top-rated IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ as the ratings underdog.
Perfect 180s
Six judges, every card a 9: 52 perfect 180s were handed out in September 2019.
- Pork ×22
- Chicken ×16
- Brisket ×9
- Pork Ribs ×5
Closest call
FRIULI VIOLENT GRILLERS edged ITALIAN STYLE BBQ TEAM by 0.0460 at Italian Hardcore Barbecue (DAY 1).
- Master Series
Back on top
AMERICAN FIRE BBQ won West Bottoms BBQ Contest — their first Grand Championship since May 2016, after 69 contests without one.
- last won May 2016
- 69 contests in between
Contest record
The Boys in Que put up 704.5372 at Jesse James Barbeque Cook Out — the best overall in 7 editions of the contest on record, past the old mark of 703.3940.
- old record 703.3940
- 6 earlier editions
Near sweep
Fat&Dumb BBQ won 3 of 4 meats at Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship (chicken, pork and brisket), and the Grand Championship with them.
- Chicken
- Pork
- Brisket
- and the GC
Biggest riser
WHO DAT BBQ gained 39 rating points across 3 contests — the biggest climb of the month.
- 3 contests
- now #523 overall
State champions crowned
41 state championships were decided in September 2019. The biggest, 40th American Royal World Series of Barbecue- OPEN CONTEST (468 teams), went to RIO Valley Meat BBQ.
- Kansas
- North Carolina
- Illinois
- New York
- Arkansas
- Pennsylvania
Best debut
Booyah Q finished 1st at Silver Lake Sand Dunes Apple & BBQ Festival — the first contest they appear in anywhere in the data.
- 306 new teams in Sep 2019
- field of 35
Best in the backyard
Sweet Cheeks BBQ put up 354.2744 on the Backyard board at RiverFest — two meats, a different scale, and the same nerves.
- 6 Backyard boards in Sep 2019
- won it
Biggest blowout
YOU QUE'D ME ALL NIGHT LONG won Smoke & Soul Fest by 17.7256 points over The Eagle BBQ Colorado — the widest winning margin of the month.
- field of 28
Biggest field
40th American Royal World Series of Barbecue- OPEN CONTEST drew 468 teams, and RIO Valley Meat BBQ won it.
- Kansas City, KS
Milestone
One2BBQ cooked their 150th contest on record at Smoke On the Ohio, with 27 Grand Championships along the way.
- 27 GCs along the way
Road warriors
4 LEGS UP BBQ cooked 6 contests in September 2019 — nobody hauled the rig further.
- best finish 2nd
Won without a meat
Rio Valley Meat BBQ won 40th American Royal World Series of Barbecue- OPEN CONTEST without winning a single meat — their best category finish was 8th.
- field of 468
New on the calendar
40th American Royal World Series of Barbecue- OPEN CONTEST ran for the first time on record, drawing 468 teams, and RIO Valley Meat BBQ won it. Somebody put in the work to make a new contest happen.
- 12 first editions in Sep 2019
- Kansas City, KS
Always the reserve
SPITFIRE finished second overall 2 times in September 2019 without a Grand Championship — one place short every time.
- 4 contests
Busiest weekend
11 sanctioned contests were cooked on 20 Sep alone.
- 20 Sep
Rep of the month
Dena Milhous repped 3 contests in September 2019 — somebody has to run the table.
The Boards
Highest overall scores (Master · /720)
Best of each meat (both series · /180)
| Category | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken ×16 💯 | WHO DAT BBQ Ribs, Rod & Rock'n Roll |
180 |
| Pork Ribs ×5 💯 | Sweet Cheeks BBQ Fire on the Mountain (BACKYARD ONLY) |
180 |
| Pork ×22 💯 | Uncle Pookie BBQ International Goat Days Championship BBQ Contest-SMOKIN IN THE GOAT PEN |
180 |
| Brisket ×9 💯 | GETTIN' BASTED International Goat Days Championship BBQ Contest-SMOKIN IN THE GOAT PEN |
180 |
Straight nines (perfect 180s)
…and 28 more in September 2019.
On the move (power rating)
| Team | Rating | Sep 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| WHO DAT BBQ No. 523 in the power rankings |
1,672 | +39 |
| Go Ham BBQ No. 1,376 in the power rankings |
1,574 | +31 |
| SmokinGhost BBQ No. 227 in the power rankings |
1,749 | +28 |
| SMOKECRAFT - MD No. 283 in the power rankings |
1,729 | +26 |
| Sweet Cheeks BBQ No. 501 in the power rankings |
1,677 | +26 |
| CROOKED PIGS No. 365 in the power rankings |
1,709 | +25 |
| Big Bang BBQ No. 1,337 in the power rankings |
1,577 | +24 |
| JANKY LEG BBQ No. 3 in the power rankings |
1,959 | +24 |
| FARMER'S RETREAT SMOKIN BARBEQUE No. 609 in the power rankings |
1,658 | +23 |
| Boom Chicka Cow Cow No. 118 in the power rankings |
1,796 | +23 |
| Belly Buss Barbeque No. 1,984 in the power rankings |
1,539 | -21 |
| SMOOTH SMOKE No. 455 in the power rankings |
1,687 | -21 |
| THE REAL SMOKIN ACES No. 273 in the power rankings |
1,731 | -22 |
| Smoky Porky's No. 4,938 in the power rankings |
1,464 | -26 |
| FIREHOUSE SMOKE No. 415 in the power rankings |
1,695 | -28 |
Who showed up
| Team | Contests | GCs | Best |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 LEGS UP BBQ | 6 | — | 2 |
| B-S BBQ OUTLAWS | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| MILLER'S BACKYARD BBQ | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| SLAPS BBQ | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| FIRE DANCER BBQ | 5 | — | 2 |
| MAN MEAT BBQ | 5 | — | 2 |
| THE BBQ BUS | 5 | — | 2 |
| Backdraft BBQ | 5 | — | 6 |
| BOOMERANG BBQ | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| BUNCH OF SWINES | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| Fat&Dumb BBQ | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| GETTIN' BASTED | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| SOUTHERN DUTCH BBQ | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| TIMBONE BARBECUE | 4 | 1 | 1 |
Who ran the table
| Rep | Contests | States |
|---|---|---|
| Dena Milhous | 3 | 3 |
| Forrest Bruce | 3 | 1 |
| Kim Collier | 3 | 1 |
| Larry Voth | 3 | 2 |
| Lynda Voth | 3 | 2 |
| Mark Collier | 3 | 1 |
| Michael Eberle | 3 | 3 |
| Ron Milhous | 3 | 3 |
| Scott Grinstead | 3 | 1 |
| Steve Grinstead | 3 | 1 |
| Alan Rothrock | 2 | 1 |
| Bunny Tuttle | 2 | 2 |
| Carol Bigler | 2 | 1 |
| Dave Rogers | 2 | 2 |
| Debby Harwell | 2 | 2 |
| Debra Gage | 2 | 1 |
| Dennis Polson | 2 | 1 |
| Don Harwell | 2 | 2 |
| Don Lovely | 2 | 2 |
| Haymo Gutweniger | 2 | — |
Where they cooked
| State/Prov. | Contests | Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Kansas | 7 | 637 |
| Missouri | 3 | 103 |
| Alabama | 2 | 87 |
| North Carolina | 2 | 77 |
| Michigan | 2 | 69 |
| Kentucky | 2 | 68 |
| Indiana | 2 | 63 |
| Arkansas | 2 | 53 |
| Colorado | 2 | 52 |
| New York | 1 | 59 |
| Illinois | 1 | 56 |
| Pennsylvania | 1 | 40 |
| Wisconsin | 1 | 39 |
| South Dakota | 1 | 37 |
| Rhode Island | 1 | 36 |
| Iowa | 1 | 34 |
| Arizona | 1 | 33 |
| Tennessee | 1 | 32 |
| Virginia | 1 | 31 |
| Vermont | 1 | 31 |
Best in the backyard (Backyard · /360)
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sweet Cheeks BBQ RiverFest |
354.2744 |
| 2 | Go Ham BBQ West Bottoms BBQ Contest |
346.2628 |
| 3 | LEE LA Q RiverFest |
344.5488 |
| 4 | Hickory Hangover RiverFest |
343.3944 |
| 5 | Thin Blue Swine RiverFest |
342.7884 |
| 6 | WHEN PIGS FLY RiverFest |
341.6688 |
| 7 | PERFECTLY BLENDED RiverFest |
341.0972 |
| 8 | BEER PRESSURE RiverFest |
340.5256 |
| 9 | REDBONES BBQ RiverFest |
340.5144 |
| 10 | PUCKDADDY'S KILLER Q RiverFest |
338.7884 |
| 11 | Booyah Q Silver Lake Sand Dunes Apple & BBQ Festival |
338.3428 |
| 12 | PIT ROW BBQ RiverFest |
338.2744 |
By invitation (invite-only fields)
| Contest | Teams | Grand Champion |
|---|---|---|
| American Royal Invitational Sep 12, 2019 · Kansas City, KS |
135 | Mudville BBQ |
New to the circuit
First editions (new on the calendar)
| Contest | Teams | Won by |
|---|---|---|
| 40th American Royal World Series of Barbecue- OPEN CONTEST Kansas City, KS |
468 | RIO Valley Meat BBQ |
| 40th American Royal World Series of Barbecue- INVITATIONAL CONTEST Kansas City, KS |
135 | Mudville BBQ |
| Murphysboro BBQ Cook Off Murphysboro, IL |
54 | Heath Riles BBQ |
| 5th Annual Hot Q's & Cold Brews BBQ Championship |
44 | Cynical BBQ |
| Downtown Jonesboro BBQ Festival Jonesboro, AR |
43 | COWBOY Q |
| RiverFest Decatur, AL |
37 | Midnight Burn |
| Ocean Sate BBQ Championship-CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES Hope Valley, RI |
36 | Rhode Hog BBQ |
| Silver Lake Sand Dunes Apple & BBQ Festival Mears, MI |
35 | Big Brothers BBQ |
| Grillin & Chillin BBQ Owensboro, KY |
34 | Scuffletown Smokers |
| 15th annual Recovery Fest/ 10th annual State BBQ Championship (JUDGES FULL) Richmond, VA |
31 | Uncle Pig BBQ Pit |
| West Bottoms BBQ Contest Kansas City, MO |
29 | Tebo Creek BBQ |
| Rumble on the River Presented by TheBBQSuperStore.com Grand Haven, MI |
28 | iBQn@thebbqsuperstore.com |
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Every contest scored (52 in September 2019)
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.