In this edition
Every sanctioned contest scored in March 2025 — 1 Mar to 31 Mar.
Covering KCBS-sanctioned contests
March 2025 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
Glamping Grillers put up 715.4288 at Kickin' It Route 66 Barbecue Challenge (Day 1) — the highest overall of the month.
Hottest hand
When Pigs Fly Family BBQ took 2 Grand Championships in March 2025.
They will not let it go
Smokey Bees BBQ - MS won Foley BBQ & Blues Cook-Off (BACKYARD ONLY) again — 3 straight editions of this contest.
- 2023–2025
- field of 30
First one ever
HOLLOW Q won their first Grand Championship at University of Arkansas Animal Science Boots, Brews, and BBQ Contest, in their 69th contest in the data.
- 14 Mar
Upset of the month
The ratings gave them a 8% chance
HOLLOW Q won University of Arkansas Animal Science Boots, Brews, and BBQ Contest over top-rated GETTIN' BASTED as the ratings underdog.
Perfect 180s
Six judges, every card a 9: 67 perfect 180s were handed out in March 2025.
- Chicken ×23
- Pork ×19
- Brisket ×13
- Pork Ribs ×12
Closest call
WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ edged SMOKIN SKULLIES by 0.0004 at Smokin' in the Pines.
- Master Series
Back on top
Sloppy Hogs won Torry Island BBQ Showdown — their first Grand Championship since January 2022, after 4 contests without one.
- last won January 2022
- 4 contests in between
Biggest riser
E SQUARED BBQ gained 42 rating points across 4 contests — the biggest climb of the month.
- 4 contests
- now #866 overall
State champions crowned
15 state championships were decided in March 2025. The biggest, Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship (100 teams), went to Triple H BBQ.
- Tennessee
- Kansas
- Texas
- Georgia
- Virginia
- Arkansas
Best debut
Average Joe BBQ Team finished 1st at BBQ Expo Master's Challenge — the first contest they appear in anywhere in the data.
- 114 new teams in Mar 2025
- field of 30
Best in the backyard
Smokey Bees BBQ - MS put up 358.8572 on the Backyard board at Foley BBQ & Blues Cook-Off (BACKYARD ONLY) — two meats, a different scale, and the same nerves.
- 11 Backyard boards in Mar 2025
- won it
Biggest field
Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship drew 100 teams, and Triple H BBQ won it.
- Lebanon, TN
Road warriors
GETTIN' BASTED cooked 6 contests in March 2025 — nobody hauled the rig further.
- best finish 1st
- 2 GCs
Won without a meat
TRIPLE H BBQ won Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship without winning a single meat — their best category finish was 5th.
- field of 100
New on the calendar
7th Annual Qlathe BBQ Championship ran for the first time on record, drawing 70 teams, and Slaps BBQ won it. Somebody put in the work to make a new contest happen.
- 10 first editions in Mar 2025
- Olathe, KS
Always the reserve
Big Racks BBQ finished second overall 2 times in March 2025 without a Grand Championship — one place short every time.
- 2 contests
Busiest weekend
9 sanctioned contests were cooked on 21 Mar alone.
- 21 Mar
Rep of the month
Charlie Brinza repped 6 contests in March 2025 — somebody has to run the table.
The Boards
Highest overall scores (Master · /720)
Best of each meat (both series · /180)
| Category | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken ×23 💯 | Electro-Que-ted Sip & Swine BBQ Festival |
180 |
| Pork Ribs ×12 💯 | The BBQ Ranch Vienna Pet Fair BBQ |
180 |
| Pork ×19 💯 | HOLD YOUR HORSES BBQ Sip & Swine BBQ Festival |
180 |
| Brisket ×13 💯 | TRIPLE H BBQ Sip & Swine BBQ Festival |
180 |
Straight nines (perfect 180s)
…and 43 more in March 2025.
On the move (power rating)
| Team | Rating | Mar 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| E SQUARED BBQ No. 866 in the power rankings |
1,620 | +42 |
| Big Boys BBQ No. 953 in the power rankings |
1,610 | +33 |
| The Swine Doctor's BBQ No. 374 in the power rankings |
1,707 | +32 |
| When Pigs Fly Family BBQ No. 1,223 in the power rankings |
1,585 | +32 |
| K-10 BBQ No. 1,784 in the power rankings |
1,548 | +31 |
| Say My Name BBQ No. 675 in the power rankings |
1,646 | +30 |
| PUDDLEDUCK BBQ No. 331 in the power rankings |
1,716 | +28 |
| Wapatui Smokers No. 975 in the power rankings |
1,608 | +27 |
| Rough Cut Q No. 238 in the power rankings |
1,745 | +26 |
| Big James Kitchen No. 600 in the power rankings |
1,659 | +26 |
| SmokinGhost BBQ No. 227 in the power rankings |
1,749 | -28 |
| HOOS SMOKIN No. 1,360 in the power rankings |
1,575 | -28 |
| PIGLITICALLY INCORRECT BBQ No. 191 in the power rankings |
1,759 | -35 |
| WE WILL ROCK QUE No. 405 in the power rankings |
1,698 | -36 |
| THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SMOKE No. 295 in the power rankings |
1,725 | -37 |
Who showed up
| Team | Contests | GCs | Best |
|---|---|---|---|
| GETTIN' BASTED | 6 | 2 | 1 |
| SMOKIN SKULLIES | 6 | — | 2 |
| Rudes BBQ | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| Mad Dog BBQ | 5 | — | 3 |
| OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE | 5 | — | 3 |
| The Swine Doctor's BBQ | 5 | — | 3 |
| QUE U | 5 | — | 4 |
| Wapatui Smokers | 5 | — | 5 |
| Rollin Smoke BBQ | 5 | — | 7 |
| Take It Easy BBQ | 5 | — | 7 |
| THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SMOKE | 5 | — | 15 |
| WE WILL ROCK QUE | 5 | — | 16 |
| JANKY LEG BBQ | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| Smokey Bees BBQ - MS | 4 | 1 | 1 |
Who ran the table
| Rep | Contests | States |
|---|---|---|
| Charlie Brinza | 6 | 3 |
| Jeanne Titus | 6 | 3 |
| Alex Jr Brown | 4 | 1 |
| Louise Weidner | 4 | 1 |
| Regina Bodnar | 3 | 1 |
| Andreas Schnoell | 2 | — |
| Bunny Tuttle | 2 | 2 |
| Carol Bigler | 2 | 1 |
| Carolyn Wells | 2 | 1 |
| Connie Amidei | 2 | 1 |
| David Burstein | 2 | 1 |
| David Dyche | 2 | 1 |
| Eva Schnoell | 2 | — |
| Ian Schmidt | 2 | 1 |
| Jo Dyche | 2 | 1 |
| Jonathan Amidei | 2 | 1 |
| Julie Poe | 2 | 1 |
| Mike Garretson | 2 | 1 |
| Rachel Harper | 2 | 1 |
| Randy G Bigler | 2 | 1 |
Where they cooked
| State/Prov. | Contests | Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Missouri | 5 | 70 |
| Virginia | 4 | 75 |
| Tennessee | 2 | 150 |
| Georgia | 2 | 101 |
| Alabama | 2 | 68 |
| Florida | 2 | 57 |
| Kansas | 1 | 70 |
| Texas | 1 | 48 |
| Arkansas | 1 | 28 |
| Arizona | 1 | 26 |
| California | 1 | 26 |
| North Carolina | 1 | 22 |
Best in the backyard (Backyard · /360)
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Smokey Bees BBQ - MS Foley BBQ & Blues Cook-Off (BACKYARD ONLY) |
358.8572 |
| 2 | Furlongs Smoke & Seafood Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship |
357.7144 |
| 3 | K-10 BBQ BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) (Masters and Backyard) |
357.7028 |
| 4 | Electro-Que-ted Sip & Swine BBQ Festival |
356.5600 |
| 5 | LEE LA Q Singing River Smoke-O-Rama (BACKYARD ONLY) |
355.4172 |
| 6 | Big James Kitchen Sip & Swine BBQ Festival |
354.2744 |
| 7 | HESSHOGS Kickin' It Route 66 Barbecue Challenge (Day 2) |
354.2744 |
| 8 | Too Sauced BBQ American Royal World Series of Barbecue Backyard Contest |
353.7028 |
| 9 | SMOKE RING AND BARK Sip & Swine BBQ Festival |
353.1200 |
| 10 | RUNNING STYLE BBQ - GA Sip & Swine BBQ Festival |
353.1200 |
| 11 | Rough Cut Q BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) (Masters and Backyard) |
352.5484 |
| 12 | Bentley Que Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship |
351.9888 |
New to the circuit
First editions (new on the calendar)
| Contest | Teams | Won by |
|---|---|---|
| 7th Annual Qlathe BBQ Championship Olathe, KS |
70 | Slaps BBQ |
| BBQ Expo Master's Challenge Brescia, Italy |
30 | Average Joe BBQ Team |
| University of Arkansas Animal Science Boots, Brews, and BBQ Contest Fayetteville, AR |
28 | HOLLOW Q |
| Kickin' It Route 66 Barbecue Challenge (Day 1) St. Robert, MO |
27 | Glamping Grillers |
| Okefenokee Smoke (formerly Swamptown Showdown) Waycross, GA |
26 | Poppa Pig |
| Q's & Brews Lake Havasu, AZ |
26 | Meat Candy Q |
| Smokin' in the Pines Carthage, NC |
22 | Wolf's Revenge BBQ |
| Masters BBQ Challenge CR San Jose, Costa Rica |
17 | Club Carbon |
| Vienna Pet Fair BBQ Vienna, Austria |
4 | The BBQ Ranch |
| Vienna Pet Fair BBQ (ONE MEAT RIBS) Vienna, Austria |
4 | The BBQ Ranch |
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Every contest scored (27 in March 2025)
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.