In this edition
Every sanctioned contest scored in September 2021 — 1 Sep to 30 Sep.
Covering KCBS-sanctioned contests
September 2021 in BBQ
The recap: every contest scored, every story, every board
Inside
The Stories
By invitation only
TRIPLE H BBQ won American Royal World Series of Barbecue-INVITATIONAL CONTEST, best of 185 invited teams; SIN CIRCLE BBQ took reserve. An invite-only field, so it leaves the power rating alone and goes straight into the record book.
- top score 708.5372
- not in the power rating
Score of the month
top 1% of every Master overall ever scored
SLAPS BBQ put up 711.4172 at Smoke on the Trails — the highest overall of the month.
Hottest hand
MAD MUTT'S BBQ took 2 Grand Championships in September 2021.
They will not let it go
Under the Radar won BBQ Boogie & Blues again — 3 straight editions of this contest.
- 2018–2021
- field of 27
First one ever
GOOD GOOGLY GOO BBQ won their first Grand Championship at Smoke in the Park, in their 59th contest in the data.
- 24 Sep
Upset of the month
The ratings gave them a 8% chance
Kings BBQ Team won Papa Joe's Banjo-B-Que Day 1 over top-rated SLAPS BBQ as the ratings underdog.
Perfect 180s
Six judges, every card a 9: 56 perfect 180s were handed out in September 2021.
- Chicken ×19
- Brisket ×16
- Pork ×14
- Pork Ribs ×7
Closest call
HIGH ON THE HAWG edged ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN by 0.0228 at Bands & BBQ at the Point.
- Master Series
Back on top
ELEGANTLY VIOLENT BBQ won Destination Outlets Labor Day BBQ Championship — their first Grand Championship since September 2017, after 22 contests without one.
- last won September 2017
- 22 contests in between
Contest record
Top Gun Barbecue put up 699.4628 at I Love Barbecue & Music Festival — the best overall in 8 editions of the contest on record, past the old mark of 677.1540.
- old record 677.1540
- 7 earlier editions
Near sweep
CONTINENTAL BARBEQUE CO. won 3 of 4 meats at Grillin and Chillin BBQ (chicken, pork ribs and pork), and the Grand Championship with them.
- Chicken
- Pork Ribs
- Pork
- and the GC
Biggest riser
MAD MUTT'S BBQ gained 43 rating points across 4 contests — the biggest climb of the month.
- 4 contests
- now #201 overall
State champions crowned
32 state championships were decided in September 2021. The biggest, American Royal World Series of Barbecue-OPEN CONTEST (467 teams), went to LAST CALL HEROES BBQ.
- Kansas
- Tennessee
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Kentucky
Best debut
Mulkey's BBQ finished 1st at A Celebration of Our Heroes — the first contest they appear in anywhere in the data.
- 297 new teams in Sep 2021
- field of 20
Best in the backyard
Damn Fine Beef & Swine put up 341.0972 on the Backyard board at Mozingo Lake BBQ — two meats, a different scale, and the same nerves.
- 8 Backyard boards in Sep 2021
- won it
Biggest blowout
SOUTHERN DUTCH BBQ won Farm Meat "De Vaartse Hoeve" Barbeque Contest by 14.8340 points over IQ - NETHERLANDS — the widest winning margin of the month.
- field of 29
Biggest field
American Royal World Series of Barbecue-OPEN CONTEST drew 467 teams, and LAST CALL HEROES BBQ won it.
- Kansas City, KS
Milestone
BUTCHER BBQ cooked their 200th contest on record at American Royal World Series of Barbecue-INVITATIONAL CONTEST, with 25 Grand Championships along the way.
- 25 GCs along the way
Road warriors
SLAPS BBQ cooked 6 contests in September 2021 — nobody hauled the rig further.
- best finish 1st
- 1 GC
Won without a meat
LAST CALL HEROES BBQ won American Royal World Series of Barbecue-OPEN CONTEST without winning a single meat — their best category finish was 2nd.
- field of 467
New on the calendar
American Royal World Series of Barbecue-OPEN CONTEST ran for the first time on record, drawing 467 teams, and LAST CALL HEROES BBQ won it. Somebody put in the work to make a new contest happen.
- 12 first editions in Sep 2021
- Kansas City, KS
Always the reserve
White Squirrel BBQ finished second overall 2 times in September 2021 without a Grand Championship — one place short every time.
- 3 contests
Busiest weekend
10 sanctioned contests were cooked on 24 Sep alone.
- 24 Sep
Rep of the month
Ralph Williams repped 5 contests in September 2021 — somebody has to run the table.
The Boards
Highest overall scores (Master · /720)
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SLAPS BBQ Smoke on the Trails |
711.4172 |
| 2 | CONTINENTAL BARBEQUE CO. Grillin and Chillin BBQ |
711.4172 |
| 3 | JANKY LEG BBQ Smithfield Classic in Nashville |
710.2860 |
| 4 | LAST CALL HEROES BBQ American Royal World Series of Barbecue-OPEN CONTEST |
709.1428 |
| 5 | MAD MUTT'S BBQ Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship (TEAM & JUDGES ARE FULL-WAITLIST ONLY) |
709.1316 |
| 6 | 913 BBQ Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship (TEAM & JUDGES ARE FULL-WAITLIST ONLY) |
709.1084 |
| 7 | TRIPLE H BBQ American Royal World Series of Barbecue-INVITATIONAL CONTEST |
708.5372 |
| 8 | BLUE CHIP BBQ Grillin and Chillin BBQ |
707.4060 |
| 9 | SMOKE RINGERS Smoke on the Trails |
706.8344 |
| 10 | LOCAL YOKELS BBQ Smokin' in the Hills |
705.7144 |
| 11 | LC BBQ Papa Joe's Banjo-B-Que Day 2 |
705.6800 |
| 12 | HIGH i QUE Smoke on the Trails |
705.6684 |
| 13 | CONTINENTAL BARBEQUE CO. Smithfield Classic in Nashville |
705.1316 |
| 14 | The Art of Que Jesse James Barbeque Cook Out |
705.1200 |
| 15 | Smoke Central BBQ Papa Joe's Banjo-B-Que Day 2 |
705.0856 |
Best of each meat (both series · /180)
| Category | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken ×19 💯 | DB BBQ A Celebration of Our Heroes |
180 |
| Pork Ribs ×7 💯 | SLAPS BBQ Papa Joe's Banjo-B-Que Day 1 |
180 |
| Pork ×14 💯 | Top Gun Barbecue I Love Barbecue & Music Festival |
180 |
| Brisket ×16 💯 | Kings BBQ Team Papa Joe's Banjo-B-Que Day 1 |
180 |
Straight nines (perfect 180s)
…and 32 more in September 2021.
On the move (power rating)
| Team | Rating | Sep 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| MAD MUTT'S BBQ No. 201 in the power rankings |
1,757 | +43 |
| Kings BBQ Team No. 105 in the power rankings |
1,805 | +35 |
| Mr. Dudes BBQ No. 353 in the power rankings |
1,711 | +35 |
| LOCAL YOKELS BBQ No. 77 in the power rankings |
1,821 | +31 |
| MACHETE BOYS BBQ No. 481 in the power rankings |
1,681 | +30 |
| MEAT SWEATS BBQ AB No. 1,039 in the power rankings |
1,601 | +28 |
| REDMULE'S BBQ No. 334 in the power rankings |
1,715 | +26 |
| Mulkey's BBQ No. 296 in the power rankings |
1,725 | +26 |
| The Yellow Rose Texas BBQ Company No. 502 in the power rankings |
1,676 | +26 |
| BooyaQ No. 297 in the power rankings |
1,725 | +26 |
| Shu-B-Que No. 5,390 in the power rankings |
1,454 | -28 |
| Killer B's BBQ No. 269 in the power rankings |
1,732 | -28 |
| Holy Fire BBQ | 1,479 | -29 |
| PARROTHEAD SMOKERS No. 487 in the power rankings |
1,680 | -29 |
| HICKORY BARBEQUE COMPANY No. 1,129 in the power rankings |
1,592 | -34 |
Who showed up
| Team | Contests | GCs | Best |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLAPS BBQ | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN | 6 | — | 2 |
| LOCAL YOKELS BBQ | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| MAD MUTT'S BBQ | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| Heavy Smoke BBQ | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| JANKY LEG BBQ | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| LC BBQ | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| Piggin' Whiskey | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| REDNECK SCIENTIFIC | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| THE BBQ BUS | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| MEAT RUSHMORE BBQ | 5 | — | 2 |
| GETTIN' BASTED | 5 | — | 3 |
| One2BBQ | 5 | — | 3 |
| The Yellow Rose Texas BBQ Company | 5 | — | 3 |
| RAZORRACKS | 5 | — | 4 |
Who ran the table
| Rep | Contests | States |
|---|---|---|
| Ralph Williams | 5 | 3 |
| Alan Rothrock | 4 | 2 |
| Dena Milhous | 4 | 3 |
| Doug Reid | 4 | 2 |
| Forrest Bruce | 4 | 1 |
| Jeff Chambers | 4 | 2 |
| Karen Jane Williams | 4 | 3 |
| Larry Hadley | 4 | 1 |
| Ron Milhous | 4 | 3 |
| Becky Druetzler | 3 | 3 |
| Brenda Black | 3 | 1 |
| Bunny Tuttle | 3 | 2 |
| Dave Druetzler | 3 | 3 |
| Ken Black | 3 | 1 |
| Kim Collier | 3 | 1 |
| Larry Voth | 3 | 2 |
| Lynda Voth | 3 | 2 |
| Mark Collier | 3 | 1 |
| Peg Rogers | 3 | 2 |
| Regina Bodnar | 3 | 1 |
Where they cooked
| State/Prov. | Contests | Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Kansas | 6 | 585 |
| Georgia | 3 | 83 |
| Illinois | 3 | 66 |
| Missouri | 3 | 54 |
| Kentucky | 2 | 72 |
| Wisconsin | 2 | 57 |
| Tennessee | 2 | 56 |
| Michigan | 2 | 54 |
| Iowa | 2 | 46 |
| Ohio | 2 | 39 |
| Alberta | 2 | 30 |
| Virginia | 2 | 21 |
| Texas | 1 | 54 |
| Pennsylvania | 1 | 31 |
| South Dakota | 1 | 31 |
| Oklahoma | 1 | 30 |
| North Carolina | 1 | 27 |
| Nebraska | 1 | 27 |
| Indiana | 1 | 26 |
| Massachusetts | 1 | 26 |
Best in the backyard (Backyard · /360)
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Damn Fine Beef & Swine Mozingo Lake BBQ |
341.0972 |
| 2 | BONE LICK-N BBQ Silver Lake Sand Dunes BBQ Competition |
338.2512 |
| 3 | Grillberts BBQ Silver Lake Sand Dunes BBQ Competition |
336.0460 |
| 4 | Damn Fine Beef & Swine So.Bo.Co. BBQ Showdown (BACKYARD) |
333.1200 |
| 5 | Mistler's BBQ So.Bo.Co. BBQ Showdown (BACKYARD) |
332.5828 |
| 6 | Swine-O-licious BBQ So.Bo.Co. BBQ Showdown (BACKYARD) |
332.5372 |
| 7 | Big Kokx Silver Lake Sand Dunes BBQ Competition |
327.4972 |
| 8 | TWISTED-Q So.Bo.Co. BBQ Showdown (BACKYARD) |
327.4172 |
| 9 | BEST Pump & Flow Permain Basin Barbeque Cook-off (BACKYARD ONLY) |
325.7944 |
| 10 | TWISTED-Q Mozingo Lake BBQ |
325.0512 |
| 11 | Dune Ready BBQ Silver Lake Sand Dunes BBQ Competition |
323.9772 |
| 12 | SMOKE INC Mozingo Lake BBQ |
322.1828 |
By invitation (invite-only fields)
| Contest | Teams | Grand Champion |
|---|---|---|
| American Royal Invitational Sep 16, 2021 · Kansas City, KS |
185 | TRIPLE H BBQ |
New to the circuit
First editions (new on the calendar)
| Contest | Teams | Won by |
|---|---|---|
| American Royal World Series of Barbecue-OPEN CONTEST Kansas City, KS |
467 | LAST CALL HEROES BBQ |
| American Royal World Series of Barbecue-INVITATIONAL CONTEST Kansas City, KS |
185 | TRIPLE H BBQ |
| Permain Basin Barbeque Cook-off (BACKYARD ONLY) Midland, TX |
54 | BEST Pump & Flow |
| Smoke on the Trails Gardner, KS |
53 | Slaps BBQ |
| Smithfield Classic in Nashville Nashville, TN |
50 | Janky Leg BBQ |
| Papa Joe's Banjo-B-Que Day 2 Augusta, GA |
43 | LC BBQ |
| Praise the Lard Murphysboro BBQ Cook-Off Murphysboro, IL |
39 | The BBQ Bus |
| Papa Joe's Banjo-B-Que Day 1 Augusta, GA |
37 | KINGS BBQ |
| Ottumwa 4th Annual Smoketoberfest Ottumwa, IA |
35 | Phoenix BBQ |
| Grillin and Chillin BBQ Owensboro, KY |
31 | Continental BBQ Co |
| Farm Meat "De Vaartse Hoeve" Barbeque Contest Dongen, Netherlands |
29 | Southern Dutch BBQ |
| Rumble on the River Presented by TheBBQSuperStore.com Grand Haven, MI |
28 | Kevlar |
Running a contest? The organizer tools →
Every contest scored (48 in September 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.