In this edition
Every sanctioned contest scored in April 2021 — 1 Apr to 30 Apr.
Covering KCBS-sanctioned contests
April 2021 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
ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN put up 709.1200 at Rufus Teague BBQ Throwdown - Pine Ridge — the highest overall of the month.
Hottest hand
Top Gun Barbecue took 3 Grand Championships in April 2021.
First one ever
Pig Destroyer won their first Grand Championship at Fire at the Foothills (BACKYARD ONLY), in their 9th contest in the data.
- 17 Apr
Upset of the month
The ratings gave them a 8% chance
Team GMG won High Plains Wine, Brews & BBQ Cook Off over top-rated BOOMERANG BBQ as the ratings underdog.
Perfect 180s
Six judges, every card a 9: 25 perfect 180s were handed out in April 2021.
- Chicken ×8
- Pork Ribs ×8
- Pork ×7
- Brisket ×2
Closest call
Boom Chicka Cow Cow edged BnB BBQ by 0.5484 at 16th Annual HANOR Smokin' Red Dirt BBQ.
- Master Series
Back on top
THE PIT CREW GA won Boss of the Sauce BBQ Festival — their first Grand Championship since March 2018, after 28 contests without one.
- last won March 2018
- 28 contests in between
Biggest riser
SWEET & SAVORY BBQ gained 46 rating points across 4 contests — the biggest climb of the month.
- 4 contests
- now #582 overall
State champions crowned
14 state championships were decided in April 2021. The biggest, Smoke in the Spring (105 teams), went to Piggin Whiskey O.G..
- Kansas
- Maryland
- Missouri
- Tennessee
- California
- Florida
Best debut
Dogpatch Que finished 1st at Boss of the Sauce BBQ Festival — the first contest they appear in anywhere in the data.
- 170 new teams in Apr 2021
- field of 40
Best in the backyard
RIBLIFE put up 351.4056 on the Backyard board at Smoke on the Water Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) — two meats, a different scale, and the same nerves.
- 9 Backyard boards in Apr 2021
- won it
Biggest blowout
Justice BBQ won Fuego y Humo 2021 by 16.5712 points over PELON PARRILLERO TEAM — the widest winning margin of the month.
- field of 22
Biggest field
Smoke in the Spring drew 105 teams, and Piggin Whiskey O.G. won it.
- Osage City, KS
Road warriors
Rogue Hog BBQ cooked 6 contests in April 2021 — nobody hauled the rig further.
- best finish 2nd
Won without a meat
PIGGIN' WHISKEY O.G won Smoke in the Spring without winning a single meat — their best category finish was 2nd.
- field of 105
New on the calendar
Interstate BBQ Festival - Day 1 ran for the first time on record, drawing 47 teams, and Top Gun Barbecue won it. Somebody put in the work to make a new contest happen.
- 12 first editions in Apr 2021
- Hagerstown, MD
Busiest weekend
8 sanctioned contests were cooked on 23 Apr alone.
- 23 Apr
Rep of the month
Louise Weidner repped 6 contests in April 2021 — somebody has to run the table.
The Boards
Highest overall scores (Master · /720)
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN Rufus Teague BBQ Throwdown - Pine Ridge |
709.1200 |
| 2 | Piggin' Whiskey Smokin' For Down Syndrome (Formally Bull Moose) |
705.6800 |
| 3 | PIGGIN' WHISKEY O.G Smoke in the Spring |
703.4400 |
| 4 | DOUBLE BARREL BBQ - OK Ozarks BBQ Fest |
702.8456 |
| 5 | Heavy Smoke BBQ Rufus Teague BBQ Throwdown - Pine Ridge |
702.8116 |
| 6 | THE PIT CREW GA Boss of the Sauce BBQ Festival |
702.2860 |
| 7 | BIG POPPA SMOKERS The Golden State Battle III - Day 2 |
702.2400 |
| 8 | SLAPS BBQ Ozarks BBQ Fest |
702.2400 |
| 9 | FINGER LEIKAM GOOD Smoke in the Spring |
701.7028 |
| 10 | SMILIN' DRAGON BBQ Ozarks BBQ Fest |
701.7028 |
| 11 | Top Gun Barbecue Interstate BBQ Festival - Day 2 |
701.6688 |
| 12 | Team GMG High Plains Wine, Brews & BBQ Cook Off |
701.1200 |
| 13 | WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ Interstate BBQ Festival - Day 2 |
701.0972 |
| 14 | Top Gun Barbecue Interstate BBQ Festival - Day 1 |
700.5600 |
| 15 | One2BBQ Smokin' For Down Syndrome (Formally Bull Moose) |
700.5256 |
Best of each meat (both series · /180)
| Category | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken ×8 💯 | KC SMOKE DAWGS Smoke in the Spring |
180 |
| Pork Ribs ×8 💯 | Happy Grillmore Smoke in the Spring |
180 |
| Pork ×7 💯 | SLAPS BBQ Smoke in the Spring |
180 |
| Brisket ×2 💯 | Top Gun Barbecue Interstate BBQ Festival - Day 2 |
180 |
Straight nines (perfect 180s)
…and 1 more in April 2021.
On the move (power rating)
| Team | Rating | Apr 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| SWEET & SAVORY BBQ No. 582 in the power rankings |
1,662 | +46 |
| Ham Squad No. 125 in the power rankings |
1,789 | +45 |
| Kane's BBQ No. 424 in the power rankings |
1,692 | +42 |
| Weber's Backyard BBQ No. 319 in the power rankings |
1,719 | +31 |
| Top Gun Barbecue No. 198 in the power rankings |
1,758 | +29 |
| The Real Squeal BBQ No. 1,025 in the power rankings |
1,603 | +28 |
| Can Country Outlaw BBQ No. 196 in the power rankings |
1,758 | +27 |
| CHOOCHOO BBQ No. 817 in the power rankings |
1,626 | +25 |
| Meat Candy Q No. 55 in the power rankings |
1,843 | +25 |
| NORALA BBQ TEAM No. 83 in the power rankings |
1,816 | +25 |
| MAN MEAT BBQ No. 129 in the power rankings |
1,788 | -23 |
| Mountain Shine BBQ | 1,464 | -23 |
| M2BBQ Team | 1,454 | -25 |
| iBQ'n No. 165 in the power rankings |
1,773 | -25 |
| DRILLING & GRILLING No. 414 in the power rankings |
1,695 | -32 |
Who showed up
| Team | Contests | GCs | Best |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rogue Hog BBQ | 6 | — | 2 |
| Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit | 6 | — | 2 |
| WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ | 6 | — | 2 |
| BOGGS HOG BBQ | 6 | — | 5 |
| SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA | 6 | — | 8 |
| CHUNKY BBQ | 6 | — | 11 |
| LEM'S MEAT VARNISH | 5 | — | 4 |
| OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE | 5 | — | 4 |
| Top Gun Barbecue | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| SWEET & SAVORY BBQ | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| Grandpa Val's BBQ | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| Ham Squad | 4 | — | 2 |
| BAD AZZ MULE BBQ | 4 | — | 4 |
| GOOD GOOGLY GOO BBQ | 4 | — | 7 |
| SMOKIN' TEX BBQ | 4 | — | 16 |
Who ran the table
| Rep | Contests | States |
|---|---|---|
| Louise Weidner | 6 | 2 |
| Jeff Chambers | 4 | 1 |
| Robert McKee | 3 | 2 |
| Bill Jones | 2 | 1 |
| Bob McKinnon | 2 | 2 |
| Charlie Brinza | 2 | 1 |
| Dave Rogers | 2 | 1 |
| Janet Appleton | 2 | 1 |
| Jeanne Titus | 2 | 1 |
| Kathleen McIntosh | 2 | 1 |
| Kelly McIntosh | 2 | 1 |
| Peg Rogers | 2 | 1 |
| Sam Appleton | 2 | 1 |
| Terri McKinnon | 2 | 2 |
| Alan Rothrock | 1 | 1 |
| Alex Jr Brown | 1 | 1 |
| Alfred T Bowen | 1 | 1 |
| Carol Bigler | 1 | 1 |
| Carolyn Wells | 1 | 1 |
| Chere Amend | 1 | 1 |
Where they cooked
| State/Prov. | Contests | Teams |
|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | 4 | 64 |
| Alabama | 3 | 118 |
| Kansas | 2 | 144 |
| Missouri | 2 | 82 |
| Maryland | 2 | 81 |
| California | 2 | 50 |
| Florida | 1 | 62 |
| Oklahoma | 1 | 46 |
| Tennessee | 1 | 44 |
| Ohio | 1 | 37 |
| South Carolina | 1 | 27 |
| Texas | 1 | 22 |
Best in the backyard (Backyard · /360)
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | RIBLIFE Smoke on the Water Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) |
351.4056 |
| 2 | The Real Squeal BBQ Smoke on the Falls |
349.1656 |
| 3 | LEE LA Q Smoke on the Water Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) |
349.1544 |
| 4 | Hickory Hangover Smoke on the Falls |
348.5600 |
| 5 | NORALA BBQ TEAM Smoke on the Water Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) |
348.5600 |
| 6 | BLOWIN' SMOKE - TONEY, AL Smoke on the Water Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) |
347.9772 |
| 7 | Full Throttle BBQ Marietta River City BBQ |
346.9032 |
| 8 | SWEET & SAVORY BBQ Interstate BBQ Festival - Day 2 |
346.8344 |
| 9 | PUCKDADDY'S KILLER Q Smoke on the Water Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) |
346.2860 |
| 10 | The Fat is Where It's At New Jersey KnoQ-out: Day 1-CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES |
346.2628 |
| 11 | SWEET & SAVORY BBQ Interstate BBQ Festival - Day 1 |
346.2516 |
| 12 | WHEN PIGS FLY Smoke on the Water Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) |
345.1316 |
New to the circuit
First editions (new on the calendar)
| Contest | Teams | Won by |
|---|---|---|
| Interstate BBQ Festival - Day 1 Hagerstown, MD |
47 | Top Gun Barbecue |
| WashMo BBQ & Bluesfest Washington, MO |
45 | T-Mac Smokin |
| Smokin' For Down Syndrome (Formally Bull Moose) Collierville, TN |
44 | Piggin' Whiskey |
| The Golden State Battle III - Day 1 Hollister, CA |
41 | Hickory and Spice BBQ |
| 16th Annual HANOR Smokin' Red Dirt BBQ Enid, OK |
41 | Boom Chicka Cow Cow |
| Boss of the Sauce BBQ Festival Jacksonville, FL |
40 | The Pit Crew |
| Smoke on the Falls Gadsden, AL |
38 | chicken fried bbq |
| Interstate BBQ Festival - Day 2 Hagerstown, MD |
34 | Top Gun Barbecue |
| Smoke on the Water Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Florence, AL |
29 | RIB LIFE |
| Rufus Teague BBQ Throwdown - Pine Ridge Roebuck, SC |
27 | Rooters-N-Tooters |
| The Golden State Battle III - Day 2 Hollister, CA |
26 | Big Poppa Smokers |
| Fuego y Humo 2021 San Jose, Costa Rica |
22 | JUSTICE BBQ |
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Every contest scored (22 in April 2021)
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.