In this edition
Every sanctioned contest scored in November 2023 — 1 Nov to 30 Nov.
Covering KCBS-sanctioned contests
November 2023 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
2LiveQ put up 710.8228 at Golden State Battle of Indio — the highest overall of the month.
First one ever
2LiveQ won their first Grand Championship at Golden State Battle of Indio, in their 48th contest in the data.
- 17 Nov
Upset of the month
The ratings gave them a 14% chance
2LiveQ won Golden State Battle of Indio over top-rated BIG POPPA SMOKERS as the ratings underdog.
Perfect 180s
Six judges, every card a 9: 17 perfect 180s were handed out in November 2023.
- Chicken ×7
- Pork Ribs ×6
- Pork ×2
- Brisket ×2
Closest call
Colorado Bulldawg BBQ edged HOLD YOUR HORSES BBQ by 2.8800 at Biloxi Blues & BBQ Festival.
- Master Series
Back on top
The King and His Q won Smokin' in the Valley — their first Grand Championship since November 2019, after 3 contests without one.
- last won November 2019
- 3 contests in between
Near sweep
The King and His Q won 3 of 4 meats at Smokin' in the Valley (pork ribs, pork and brisket), and the Grand Championship with them.
- Pork Ribs
- Pork
- Brisket
- and the GC
Biggest riser
Shiggin aint easy gained 25 rating points across 2 contests — the biggest climb of the month.
- 2 contests
- now #173 overall
State champions crowned
8 state championships were decided in November 2023. The biggest, Atlanta BBQ Store Classic (60 teams), went to Triple H.
- Georgia
- California
- Louisiana
- Arizona
- Florida
- North Carolina
Best debut
Rum Runners finished 2nd at Plant City Pig Jam — the first contest they appear in anywhere in the data.
- 51 new teams in Nov 2023
- field of 25
Best in the backyard
RUNNING STYLE BBQ - GA put up 353.7028 on the Backyard board at Atlanta BBQ Store Classic — two meats, a different scale, and the same nerves.
- 2 Backyard boards in Nov 2023
- won it
Biggest blowout
LOOT N' BOOTY BBQ won Downtown Mesa BBQ Classic by 12.0228 points over BIG POPPA SMOKERS — the widest winning margin of the month.
- field of 26
Biggest field
Atlanta BBQ Store Classic drew 60 teams, and Triple H won it.
- Cumming, GA
Milestone
MUTTLEY CREW BBQ cooked their 250th contest on record at Currituck Bulls and BBQ, with 12 Grand Championships along the way.
- 12 GCs along the way
Road warriors
SMOKIN' VOLTS BBQ cooked 5 contests in November 2023 — nobody hauled the rig further.
- best finish 1st
- 1 GC
Won without a meat
Glamping Grillers won VPD Back the Blue BBQ Competition without winning a single meat — their best category finish was 2nd.
- field of 27
New on the calendar
Golden State Battle of Indio ran for the first time on record, drawing 40 teams, and 2LiveQ won it. Somebody put in the work to make a new contest happen.
- 7 first editions in Nov 2023
- Indio, CA
Busiest weekend
4 sanctioned contests were cooked on 3 Nov alone.
- 3 Nov
Rep of the month
Julie Poe repped 4 contests in November 2023 — somebody has to run the table.
The Boards
Highest overall scores (Master · /720)
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2LiveQ Golden State Battle of Indio |
710.8228 |
| 2 | Glamping Grillers VPD Back the Blue BBQ Competition |
709.1200 |
| 3 | TRIPLE H BBQ Atlanta BBQ Store Classic |
708.5372 |
| 4 | Meat Candy Q Golden State Battle of Indio |
706.2744 |
| 5 | Kermit's Ex VPD Back the Blue BBQ Competition |
704.5372 |
| 6 | Colorado Bulldawg BBQ Biloxi Blues & BBQ Festival |
704.5256 |
| 7 | LOOT N' BOOTY BBQ Downtown Mesa BBQ Classic |
703.9884 |
| 8 | Walk The Swine VPD Back the Blue BBQ Competition |
703.3712 |
| 9 | Poppa Pig VPD Back the Blue BBQ Competition |
702.2744 |
| 10 | HOLD YOUR HORSES BBQ Biloxi Blues & BBQ Festival |
701.6456 |
| 11 | Organizer Portal Biloxi Blues & BBQ Festival |
701.6456 |
| 12 | OM BBQ Golden State Battle of Indio |
700.5372 |
| 13 | BAD ROOSTER BBQ Atlanta BBQ Store Classic |
700.5256 |
| 14 | BULL MARKET BBQ Golden State Battle of Indio |
700.5028 |
| 15 | 7 SINS BBQ Golden State Battle of Indio |
699.9428 |
Best of each meat (both series · /180)
| Category | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken ×7 💯 | Heavy Smoke BBQ Biloxi Blues & BBQ Festival |
180 |
| Pork Ribs ×6 💯 | Kermit's Ex VPD Back the Blue BBQ Competition |
180 |
| Pork ×2 💯 | Walk The Swine VPD Back the Blue BBQ Competition |
180 |
| Brisket ×2 💯 | STEVO'S BBQ TEAM Downtown Mesa BBQ Classic |
180 |
Straight nines (perfect 180s)
| Team | Category | Contest |
|---|---|---|
| 2LiveQ | Chicken | Golden State Battle of Indio |
| Cherry Anchor BBQ | Chicken | Golden State Battle of Indio |
| Meat Candy Q | Chicken | Golden State Battle of Indio |
| Smoke Central BBQ | Pork Ribs | Atlanta BBQ Store Classic |
| Smokin' Ain't EZ | Chicken | Plant City Pig Jam |
| Stewbabys BBQ | Pork Ribs | Atlanta BBQ Store Classic |
| TRIPLE H BBQ | Brisket | Atlanta BBQ Store Classic |
| TRIPLE H BBQ | Chicken | Atlanta BBQ Store Classic |
| Tillman's BBQ | Pork Ribs | Plant City Pig Jam |
| Heavy Smoke BBQ | Chicken | Biloxi Blues & BBQ Festival |
| Poppa Pig | Chicken | Biloxi Blues & BBQ Festival |
| SMOKIN' VOLTS BBQ | Pork Ribs | Warrior BBQ's "The Great Hawaiian Smokeout" (ONE MEAT RIBS) |
| Glamping Grillers | Pork | VPD Back the Blue BBQ Competition |
| Italians Do it Better | Pork Ribs | VPD Back the Blue BBQ Competition |
| Kermit's Ex | Pork Ribs | VPD Back the Blue BBQ Competition |
| STEVO'S BBQ TEAM | Brisket | Downtown Mesa BBQ Classic |
| Walk The Swine | Pork | VPD Back the Blue BBQ Competition |
On the move (power rating)
| Team | Rating | Nov 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Shiggin aint easy No. 173 in the power rankings |
1,768 | +25 |
| SMOKIN' VOLTS BBQ No. 106 in the power rankings |
1,804 | +22 |
| B.G.Q. No. 1,233 in the power rankings |
1,584 | +18 |
| OFF THE CHAIN No. 1,347 in the power rankings |
1,576 | +17 |
| OM BBQ No. 663 in the power rankings |
1,647 | +16 |
| 4 Paws BBQ No. 2,251 in the power rankings |
1,529 | +16 |
| 2LiveQ No. 809 in the power rankings |
1,627 | +16 |
| BIG RED BBQ No. 820 in the power rankings |
1,625 | +15 |
| Rum Runners | 1,515 | +15 |
| Ramblin Fork BBQ Co No. 1,456 in the power rankings |
1,568 | +15 |
| COOL HAND QUE No. 729 in the power rankings |
1,637 | -15 |
| ROAST BEAST BBQ No. 429 in the power rankings |
1,692 | -16 |
| GIRLS CAN GRILL No. 872 in the power rankings |
1,620 | -16 |
| Off The Rack BBQ No. 224 in the power rankings |
1,750 | -16 |
| Rhythm n QUE No. 351 in the power rankings |
1,711 | -19 |
Who showed up
| Team | Contests | GCs | Best |
|---|---|---|---|
| SMOKIN' VOLTS BBQ | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| SMOKECRAFT - MD | 4 | — | 6 |
| LOOT N' BOOTY BBQ | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| HOLD YOUR HORSES BBQ | 3 | — | 2 |
| Small Axe BBQ | 3 | — | 3 |
| CROOKED PIGS | 3 | — | 4 |
| WARPIG BBQ & SAUSAGE CO. | 3 | — | 5 |
| SHIG NINJA BBQ | 3 | — | 6 |
| VRM Pit Crew | 3 | — | 8 |
| B Lee's BBQ | 3 | — | 9 |
| Smokey's Bar-B-Que | 3 | — | 10 |
| Hometown BBQ | 3 | — | 11 |
| It's Just Me BBQ | 3 | — | 12 |
| Daddy Delicious BBQ LLC | 3 | — | 14 |
| Big Boys BBQ | 3 | — | 15 |
Who ran the table
| Rep | Contests | States |
|---|---|---|
| Julie Poe | 4 | 1 |
| Kathleen McIntosh | 4 | 2 |
| Kelly McIntosh | 4 | 2 |
| Ian Schmidt | 3 | 1 |
| Alex Jr Brown | 1 | 1 |
| Bill Jones | 1 | 1 |
| Carol Bigler | 1 | 1 |
| Carolyn Wells | 1 | 1 |
| Charlie Brinza | 1 | 1 |
| Craig Maidens | 1 | — |
| Heather Maidens | 1 | — |
| Julie Cook | 1 | 1 |
| Karina Rumens | 1 | — |
| Maria Lohman | 1 | 1 |
| Mike Garretson | 1 | 1 |
| Rachel Harper | 1 | 1 |
| Randy G Bigler | 1 | 1 |
| Rob Stevens | 1 | — |
| Rusty Cook | 1 | 1 |
| Steven Flewallen | 1 | 1 |
Where they cooked
| State/Prov. | Contests | Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | 3 | 19 |
| Arizona | 2 | 30 |
| Georgia | 1 | 103 |
| Florida | 1 | 47 |
| California | 1 | 40 |
| Louisiana | 1 | 27 |
| North Carolina | 1 | 21 |
| Mississippi | 1 | 19 |
Best in the backyard (Backyard · /360)
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | RUNNING STYLE BBQ - GA Atlanta BBQ Store Classic |
353.7028 |
| 2 | B.G.Q. Atlanta BBQ Store Classic |
350.2628 |
| 3 | NORALA BBQ TEAM Atlanta BBQ Store Classic |
349.6800 |
| 4 | Smokey Bees BBQ - MS Atlanta BBQ Store Classic |
347.9772 |
| 5 | Ramblin Fork BBQ Co Plant City Pig Jam |
347.3828 |
| 6 | 4 Paws BBQ Atlanta BBQ Store Classic |
345.0856 |
| 7 | Dogpatch Q Atlanta BBQ Store Classic |
344.5256 |
| 8 | SLATER HOUSE BBQ Atlanta BBQ Store Classic |
343.3828 |
| 9 | Steak Princess BBQ Atlanta BBQ Store Classic |
342.8344 |
| 10 | WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ Atlanta BBQ Store Classic |
341.6340 |
| 11 | BAD BRAD'S BBQ Atlanta BBQ Store Classic |
338.2400 |
| 12 | Scott’s Smoke Shack BBQ Atlanta BBQ Store Classic |
337.6800 |
New to the circuit
First editions (new on the calendar)
| Contest | Teams | Won by |
|---|---|---|
| Golden State Battle of Indio Indio, CA |
40 | 2LiveQ |
| VPD Back the Blue BBQ Competition Vidalia, LA |
27 | Glamping Grillers |
| Downtown Mesa BBQ Classic Mesa, AZ |
26 | Loot N' Booty BBQ |
| Currituck Bulls and BBQ Powells Point, NC |
21 | SHIGGIN AINT EASY |
| Downtown Mesa BBQ Classic (One Meat Ribs) Mesa, AZ |
19 | Big Boys BBQ |
| Warrior BBQ's "The Great Hawaiian Smokeout" Honolulu, HI |
18 | Smokin' Volts BBQ |
| Warrior BBQ's "The Great Hawaiian Smokeout" (ONE MEAT RIBS) Honolulu, HI |
14 | Smokin' Volts BBQ |
Running a contest? The organizer tools →
Every contest scored (12 in November 2023)
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.