In this edition
Every sanctioned contest scored in September 2022 — 1 Sep to 30 Sep.
Covering KCBS-sanctioned contests
September 2022 in BBQ
The recap: every contest scored, every story, every board
Inside
The Stories
By invitation only
QUE U won American Royal World Series of Barbecue - INVITATIONAL CONTEST, best of 249 invited teams; Bushmaster BBQ took reserve. An invite-only field, so it leaves the power rating alone and goes straight into the record book.
- top score 711.9656
- not in the power rating
Score of the month
top 1% of every Master overall ever scored
LOCAL YOKELS BBQ put up 716.0000 at Smoke on the Ohio — the highest overall of the month.
- a new contest record
Hottest hand
QUE U took 3 Grand Championships in September 2022.
First one ever
BLUE & GRAY BBQ won their first Grand Championship at 18th Annual Recovery Fest and 12th Annual KCBS BBQ Cookoff, in their 36th contest in the data.
- 9 Sep
Title defended
Smokin' Hoggz won Green Mountain BBQ Championship - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 2) again — back-to-back Grand Championships at the same contest.
- field of 26
Upset of the month
The ratings gave them a 7% chance
Swine Life BBQ won International Goat Days Championship BBQ Contest over top-rated GETTIN' BASTED as the ratings underdog.
Perfect 180s
Six judges, every card a 9: 84 perfect 180s were handed out in September 2022.
- Pork ×27
- Chicken ×25
- Brisket ×25
- Pork Ribs ×7
Closest call
CHUNKY BBQ edged BOGGS HOG BBQ by 0.0232 at I Love Barbecue & Music Festival (Masters) (JUDGING FULL).
- Master Series
Back on top
913 BBQ won Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship — their first Grand Championship since September 2018, after 58 contests without one.
- last won September 2018
- 58 contests in between
Near sweep
LOCAL YOKELS BBQ won 3 of 4 meats at Smoke on the Ohio (chicken, pork ribs and pork), and the Grand Championship with them.
- Chicken
- Pork Ribs
- Pork
- and the GC
Biggest riser
MACHETE BOYS BBQ gained 38 rating points across 4 contests — the biggest climb of the month.
- 4 contests
- now #481 overall
State champions crowned
30 state championships were decided in September 2022. The biggest, American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST (505 teams), went to QUE U.
- Kansas
- Illinois
- Nebraska
- California
- Oklahoma
- Tennessee
Best debut
Valtek finished 1st at Permian Basin Barbeque Cook-off (BACKYARD ONLY) — the first contest they appear in anywhere in the data.
- 282 new teams in Sep 2022
- field of 64
Best in the backyard
Swine-O-licious BBQ put up 358.8572 on the Backyard board at Car-B-Que (BACKYARD ONLY) — two meats, a different scale, and the same nerves.
- 14 Backyard boards in Sep 2022
- won it
Biggest blowout
4 LEGS UP BBQ won 6th Annual Smoke on the Trails by 11.4860 points over Fergolicious BBQ — the widest winning margin of the month.
- field of 37
Biggest field
American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST drew 505 teams, and QUE U won it.
- Kansas City, KS
Milestone
GETTIN' BASTED cooked their 350th contest on record at American Royal World Series of Barbecue - INVITATIONAL CONTEST, with 59 Grand Championships along the way.
- 59 GCs along the way
Road warriors
SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA cooked 7 contests in September 2022 — nobody hauled the rig further.
- best finish 1st
- 2 GCs
Won without a meat
QUE U won American Royal World Series of Barbecue - INVITATIONAL CONTEST without winning a single meat — their best category finish was 4th.
- field of 249
New on the calendar
Permian Basin Barbeque Cook-off (BACKYARD ONLY) ran for the first time on record, drawing 64 teams, and Valtek won it. Somebody put in the work to make a new contest happen.
- 12 first editions in Sep 2022
- Midland, TX
Always the reserve
BOGGS HOG BBQ finished second overall 2 times in September 2022 without a Grand Championship — one place short every time.
- 4 contests
Busiest weekend
12 sanctioned contests were cooked on 9 Sep alone.
- 9 Sep
Rep of the month
Karen Jane Williams repped 6 contests in September 2022 — somebody has to run the table.
The Boards
Highest overall scores (Master · /720)
Best of each meat (both series · /180)
| Category | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken ×25 💯 | Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit I Love Barbecue & Music Festival (Masters) (JUDGING FULL) |
180 |
| Pork Ribs ×7 💯 | HIGH i QUE 6th Annual Smoke on the Trails |
180 |
| Pork ×27 💯 | SLAPS BBQ Septemberfest BBQ & RibEye Steak Cookoff Challenge |
180 |
| Brisket ×25 💯 | Mr. Dudes BBQ Septemberfest BBQ & RibEye Steak Cookoff Challenge |
180 |
Straight nines (perfect 180s)
…and 60 more in September 2022.
On the move (power rating)
| Team | Rating | Sep 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| MACHETE BOYS BBQ No. 481 in the power rankings |
1,681 | +38 |
| BELGIAN BBQ TEAM FIVE Q No. 1,189 in the power rankings |
1,588 | +35 |
| Damn Fine Beef & Swine No. 58 in the power rankings |
1,838 | +35 |
| Glamping Grillers No. 258 in the power rankings |
1,737 | +33 |
| WAG'S BACKWOODS BBQ No. 123 in the power rankings |
1,789 | +33 |
| PIGLITICALLY INCORRECT BBQ No. 191 in the power rankings |
1,759 | +31 |
| Grandpa Val's BBQ No. 375 in the power rankings |
1,707 | +31 |
| POOR BOYS BBQ No. 202 in the power rankings |
1,756 | +30 |
| WELL SAUCED BBQ No. 1,391 in the power rankings |
1,572 | +30 |
| Ridge Bros BBQ No. 2,036 in the power rankings |
1,537 | +30 |
| SCORE ONE SMOKIN' No. 752 in the power rankings |
1,633 | -24 |
| All About Smokin Q No. 1,012 in the power rankings |
1,605 | -24 |
| Under the Radar No. 24 in the power rankings |
1,870 | -26 |
| GETTIN' SAUCED No. 563 in the power rankings |
1,666 | -28 |
| CLARK CREW BBQ No. 2 in the power rankings |
1,967 | -30 |
Who showed up
| Team | Contests | GCs | Best |
|---|---|---|---|
| SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA | 7 | 2 | 1 |
| 4 LEGS UP BBQ | 7 | 1 | 1 |
| Organizer Portal | 7 | 1 | 1 |
| Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit | 7 | 1 | 1 |
| CHUNKY BBQ | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| Meat Candy Q | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| SmokinGhost BBQ | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| TRIPLE H BBQ | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| JANKY LEG BBQ | 6 | — | 3 |
| SLAPS BBQ | 6 | — | 3 |
| PADDY MCQ'S | 6 | — | 4 |
| Piggin' Whiskey | 6 | — | 4 |
| MAN MEAT BBQ | 6 | — | 6 |
| MEAT RUSHMORE BBQ | 6 | — | 8 |
| BUNCH OF SWINES | 5 | 1 | 1 |
Who ran the table
| Rep | Contests | States |
|---|---|---|
| Karen Jane Williams | 6 | 4 |
| Lynda Voth | 6 | 3 |
| Larry Voth | 5 | 3 |
| Ralph Williams | 5 | 4 |
| Bill Jones | 4 | 1 |
| Bob McKinnon | 4 | 2 |
| Bunny Tuttle | 4 | 3 |
| Forrest Bruce | 4 | 1 |
| Jeanne Titus | 4 | 2 |
| Julie Cook | 4 | 2 |
| Larry Hadley | 4 | 1 |
| Rich Tuttle | 4 | 3 |
| Rusty Cook | 4 | 2 |
| Terri McKinnon | 4 | 2 |
| Bill Wright | 3 | 1 |
| Charlie Brinza | 3 | 2 |
| Clara Williams | 3 | 2 |
| Dave Rogers | 3 | 2 |
| Debra Gage | 3 | 2 |
| Donna Young | 3 | 3 |
Where they cooked
| State/Prov. | Contests | Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Kansas | 5 | 606 |
| Virginia | 5 | 48 |
| California | 3 | 55 |
| Missouri | 3 | 54 |
| Vermont | 3 | 29 |
| Alabama | 2 | 105 |
| Illinois | 2 | 84 |
| Kentucky | 2 | 70 |
| Wisconsin | 2 | 54 |
| Tennessee | 2 | 49 |
| Iowa | 2 | 44 |
| Oklahoma | 2 | 44 |
| Arkansas | 2 | 38 |
| Georgia | 2 | 31 |
| New York | 2 | 22 |
| Texas | 1 | 71 |
| Alberta | 1 | 55 |
| Nebraska | 1 | 45 |
| North Carolina | 1 | 32 |
| Utah | 1 | 31 |
Best in the backyard (Backyard · /360)
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swine-O-licious BBQ Car-B-Que (BACKYARD ONLY) |
358.8572 |
| 2 | Hickory Hangover Mission Q (Backyard Only) |
355.4288 |
| 3 | Fluffy Butt BBQ Car-B-Que (BACKYARD ONLY) |
355.4172 |
| 4 | PUCKDADDY'S KILLER Q Mission Q (Backyard Only) |
354.8688 |
| 5 | HELL ON SQUEALS Mission Q (Backyard Only) |
353.7144 |
| 6 | Valtek Permian Basin Barbeque Cook-off (BACKYARD ONLY) |
352.0228 |
| 7 | RIBLIFE Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ |
351.9656 |
| 8 | Shmack Q Tri City BBQ Fest |
350.8456 |
| 9 | DAD BOD BARBEQUE Bent Brewstillery BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY) |
349.7144 |
| 10 | The Real Squeal BBQ Mission Q (Backyard Only) |
349.7032 |
| 11 | REDBONES BBQ Mission Q (Backyard Only) |
349.1316 |
| 12 | Deviant Smoke Mission Q (Backyard Only) |
349.1200 |
By invitation (invite-only fields)
| Contest | Teams | Grand Champion |
|---|---|---|
| American Royal Invitational Sep 29, 2022 · Kansas City, KS |
249 | QUE U |
New to the circuit
First editions (new on the calendar)
| Contest | Teams | Won by |
|---|---|---|
| Permian Basin Barbeque Cook-off (BACKYARD ONLY) Midland, TX |
64 | Valtek |
| Murphysboro BBQ Cook-off/Praise the Lard Murphysboro, IL |
46 | Smokin' Ghost |
| The Great Kearney BBQ Smoke-Out Fresno, CA |
43 | B'Mackin BBQ |
| International Goat Days Championship BBQ Contest Millington, TN |
38 | SWINE LIFE BBQ |
| 6th Annual Smoke on the Trails Gardner, KS |
37 | 4 Legs Up BBQ |
| Barbeque on the Bow Calgary, AB |
36 | Arrowhead North BBQ |
| 34th Annual Jesse James Barbeque Cook Out Kearney, MO |
33 | All Forked Up for Q |
| Downtown Jonesboro BarBQ Festival Jonesboro, AR |
33 | PIGLITICALLY INCORRECT BBQ |
| Bent Brewstillery BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY) Roseville, MN |
30 | Dad Bod BBQ |
| Smoketember Fest Baxley, GA |
30 | SMOKE CENTRAL BBQ |
| Smokin' For Garrett Mt. Carmel, IL |
27 | Triple H BBQ |
| Het BBQkampioenschap van het Waasland 2020 Sint Niklaas, Belgium |
25 | Bunch of Swines |
Running a contest? The organizer tools →
Every contest scored (56 in September 2022)
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.