Score of the month
710.8228
Master overall, out of 720
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.
November 2023 in BBQ
Every sanctioned contest scored in November 2023 — 1 Nov to 30 Nov.
12contests scored
285teams competed
466top-ten calls
18perfect 180s
60biggest field
8states & provinces
53new teams
2Backyard boards
Now on the newsstand
The Smoke Ring
Competition Barbecue’s Paper of Record
November 2023, set as a proper newspaper.
Every Grand Champion named, the month in figures across the top, the perfect 180s,
the box scores, and the calendar as classified notices.
Read the November 2023 edition →
The stories
First one ever
47th
contest — and their first GC
2LiveQ won their first Grand Championship at Golden State Battle of Indio, in their 47th contest in the data.
- 17 Nov
Upset of the month
14-in-100
shot on pre-contest ratings
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
18
perfect scores handed out
Six judges, every card a 9: 18 perfect 180s were handed out in November 2023.
- Chicken ×7
- Pork Ribs ×6
- Pork ×3
- Brisket ×2
Closest call
2.8800
points between 1st and 2nd
Colorado Bulldawg BBQ edged HOLD YOUR HORSES BBQ by 2.8800 at Biloxi Blues & BBQ Festival.
- Master Series
Biggest riser
+25
power rating points
Shiggin aint easy gained 25 rating points across 2 contests — the biggest climb of the month.
- 2 contests
- now #188 overall
Best debut
2nd
in their very first contest
Rum Runners finished 2nd at Plant City Pig Jam — the first contest they appear in anywhere in the data.
- 53 new teams in Nov 2023
- field of 25
Best in the backyard
353.7028
Backyard overall, out of 360
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 field
60
teams at one contest
Atlanta BBQ Store Classic drew 60 teams, and Triple H won it.
- Cumming
- GA
Road warriors
5
contests cooked
SMOKIN' VOLTS BBQ cooked 5 contests in November 2023 — nobody hauled the rig further.
- best finish 1st
- 1 GC
New on the calendar
40
teams at a brand-new contest
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
contests on one date
4 sanctioned contests were cooked on 3 Nov alone.
- 3 Nov
Rep of the month
4
contests worked
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 |
180.0000 |
| Pork Ribs ×6 💯 | Kermit's Ex VPD Back the Blue BBQ Competition |
180.0000 |
| Pork ×3 💯 | Walk The Swine VPD Back the Blue BBQ Competition |
180.0000 |
| Brisket ×2 💯 | STEVO'S BBQ TEAM Downtown Mesa BBQ Classic |
180.0000 |
Straight nines (perfect 180s)
| Team | Category | Contest |
|---|---|---|
| 2LiveQ | Chicken | Golden State Battle of Indio |
| 2LiveQ | Pork | 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 #188 | 1,761 | +25 |
| SMOKIN' VOLTS BBQ #77 | 1,820 | +22 |
| B.G.Q. #1220 | 1,584 | +19 |
| OFF THE CHAIN #1322 | 1,576 | +17 |
| OM BBQ #700 | 1,641 | +16 |
| 4 Paws BBQ #1962 | 1,539 | +16 |
| 2LiveQ #787 | 1,629 | +16 |
| BIG RED BBQ #821 | 1,625 | +15 |
| Rum Runners | 1,515 | +15 |
| Ramblin Fork BBQ Co #1451 | 1,568 | +15 |
| COOL HAND QUE #725 | 1,637 | -15 |
| ROAST BEAST BBQ #442 | 1,689 | -15 |
| GIRLS CAN GRILL #811 | 1,626 | -16 |
| Off The Rack BBQ #218 | 1,750 | -16 |
| Rhythm n QUE #349 | 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.