In this edition
Every sanctioned contest scored in May 2025 — 1 May to 31 May.
Covering KCBS-sanctioned contests
May 2025 in BBQ
The recap: every contest scored, every story, every board
Inside
The Stories
By invitation only
Meat Me In St. Louis won 7th Annual KCBS World Invitational (Saturday, May 24, 2025), best of 106 invited teams; SmokinGhost BBQ took reserve. An invite-only field, so it leaves the power rating alone and goes straight into the record book.
- top score 705.6800
- 5 invitationals in May 2025
- not in the power rating
Score of the month
top 1% of every Master overall ever scored
FOOD'VENTURE GRILL & BBQ put up 714.2628 at Transylvanian Grill & BBQ Camp — the highest overall of the month.
Hottest hand
FIRE AT THE END OF THE DAY took 4 Grand Championships in May 2025.
First one ever
BooyaQ won their first Grand Championship at 11th Annual Rockin' BBQ, in their 58th contest in the data.
- 16 May
Title defended
FIRE AT THE END OF THE DAY won Massachusetts in May (Day 2) again — back-to-back Grand Championships at the same contest.
- field of 29
Upset of the month
The ratings gave them a 5% chance
Cuatro D Barbeque won The All American Comeback BBQ, Bourbon, & Bands over top-rated GETTIN' BASTED as the ratings underdog.
Perfect 180s
Six judges, every card a 9: 92 perfect 180s were handed out in May 2025.
- Chicken ×44
- Pork ×23
- Brisket ×15
- Pork Ribs ×10
Closest call
JANKY LEG BBQ edged Rusty Pig BBQ by 0.0000 at 43rd Annual Kennett Jaycees BBQ Cook Off.
- Master Series
Back on top
SCHLUCHTENGRILLER BBQ won Muehlviertler BBQ Festival — their first Grand Championship since September 2021, after 31 contests without one.
- last won September 2021
- 31 contests in between
Contest record
CROOKED PIGS put up 703.3828 at BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay — the best overall in 11 editions of the contest on record, past the old mark of 698.3200.
- old record 698.3200
- 10 earlier editions
Near sweep
FOOD'VENTURE GRILL & BBQ won 3 of 4 meats at Transylvanian Grill & BBQ Camp (pork ribs, pork and brisket), and the Grand Championship with them.
- Pork Ribs
- Pork
- Brisket
- and the GC
Biggest riser
FIRE & SHINE BBQ gained 48 rating points across 4 contests — the biggest climb of the month.
- 4 contests
- now #211 overall
State champions crowned
30 state championships were decided in May 2025. The biggest, Minnesota in May (58 teams), went to Ash Kickin' BBQ.
- Minnesota
- Georgia
- New Jersey
- Indiana
- Tennessee
- Iowa
Best debut
Cuatro D Barbeque finished 1st at The All American Comeback BBQ, Bourbon, & Bands — the first contest they appear in anywhere in the data.
- 192 new teams in May 2025
- field of 30
Best in the backyard
NORALA BBQ TEAM put up 358.8572 on the Backyard board at O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Day 2 — two meats, a different scale, and the same nerves.
- 14 Backyard boards in May 2025
- won it
Biggest blowout
LOOT N' BOOTY BBQ won Horse Town Brew n Que Festival (Day 1) by 16.0456 points over Meat Candy Q — the widest winning margin of the month.
- field of 27
Biggest field
7th Annual KCBS World Invitational (Saturday, May 24, 2025) drew 106 teams, and Meat Me In St. Louis won it.
- Lebanon, TN
Milestone
MAN MEAT BBQ cooked their 250th contest on record at Hog Wild BBQ Cookoff and Family Fest, with 11 Grand Championships along the way.
- 11 GCs along the way
Road warriors
SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA cooked 13 contests in May 2025 — nobody hauled the rig further.
- best finish 1st
- 1 GC
Won without a meat
MEAT ME IN ST. LOUIS won 7th Annual KCBS World Invitational (Saturday, May 24, 2025) without winning a single meat — their best category finish was 3rd.
- field of 106
New on the calendar
7th Annual KCBS World Invitational (Saturday, May 24, 2025) ran for the first time on record, drawing 106 teams, and Meat Me In St. Louis won it. Somebody put in the work to make a new contest happen.
- 12 first editions in May 2025
- Lebanon, TN
Always the reserve
Meat Candy Q finished second overall 4 times in May 2025 without a Grand Championship — one place short every time.
- 4 contests
Busiest weekend
10 sanctioned contests were cooked on 16 May alone.
- 16 May
Rep of the month
Charlie Brinza repped 7 contests in May 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 ×44 💯 | BrewsCue The All American Comeback BBQ, Bourbon, & Bands |
180 |
| Pork Ribs ×10 💯 | NORALA BBQ TEAM O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Day 2 |
180 |
| Pork ×23 💯 | Deviant Smoke O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Day 1 |
180 |
| Brisket ×15 💯 | SMOKIN' VOLTS BBQ The All American Comeback BBQ, Bourbon, & Bands |
180 |
Straight nines (perfect 180s)
…and 68 more in May 2025.
On the move (power rating)
| Team | Rating | May 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| FIRE & SHINE BBQ No. 211 in the power rankings |
1,753 | +48 |
| SUSQUEHANNA SMOKERS No. 762 in the power rankings |
1,632 | +39 |
| House of Que No. 913 in the power rankings |
1,615 | +36 |
| Bad Bears BBQ No. 726 in the power rankings |
1,637 | +35 |
| HalaQyah BBQ No. 995 in the power rankings |
1,606 | +33 |
| All About the Wood No. 943 in the power rankings |
1,611 | +31 |
| RACK CITY BBQ No. 1,353 in the power rankings |
1,575 | +30 |
| FIRE AT THE END OF THE DAY No. 96 in the power rankings |
1,811 | +29 |
| Pinky Out BBQ No. 326 in the power rankings |
1,718 | +29 |
| Woodquarter Smokerheads No. 1,154 in the power rankings |
1,590 | +28 |
| Red and Black BBQ Shack No. 5,924 in the power rankings |
1,438 | -28 |
| Grate Expectations No. 1,321 in the power rankings |
1,578 | -29 |
| Let It Smoke Barbecue No. 2,666 in the power rankings |
1,514 | -29 |
| NECTAR OF THE HOGS No. 337 in the power rankings |
1,714 | -29 |
| Mullen It Over BBQ No. 6,427 in the power rankings |
1,385 | -33 |
Who showed up
| Team | Contests | GCs | Best |
|---|---|---|---|
| SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA | 13 | 1 | 1 |
| Professor Smoke | 12 | — | 21 |
| House of Que | 11 | — | 2 |
| Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit | 11 | — | 2 |
| HUMPHREY'S BBQ | 10 | — | 6 |
| GOOD GOOGLY GOO BBQ | 9 | — | 2 |
| BrewsCue | 9 | — | 3 |
| Leaning Jowler BBQ | 8 | 1 | 1 |
| Deviant Smoke | 8 | — | 2 |
| Kith n' Kin | 8 | — | 2 |
| LEE LA Q | 8 | — | 2 |
| PADDY MCQ'S | 8 | — | 2 |
| BAD ROOSTER BBQ | 8 | — | 3 |
| THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SMOKE | 8 | — | 3 |
| Buckeye Blue Smoke BBQ | 8 | — | 5 |
Who ran the table
| Rep | Contests | States |
|---|---|---|
| Charlie Brinza | 7 | 3 |
| Bill Wright | 6 | 2 |
| Dave Rogers | 6 | 2 |
| Jeanne Titus | 6 | 3 |
| Kim Wright | 6 | 2 |
| Peg Rogers | 6 | 2 |
| Haymo Gutweniger | 5 | — |
| Ian Schmidt | 4 | 2 |
| Jeff Chambers | 4 | 1 |
| Julie Poe | 4 | 2 |
| Kathleen McIntosh | 4 | 2 |
| Kelly McIntosh | 4 | 2 |
| Regina Bodnar | 4 | 1 |
| Robert McKee | 4 | 2 |
| Alan Rothrock | 3 | 2 |
| Carol Bigler | 3 | 2 |
| Carolyn Wells | 3 | 1 |
| David Burstein | 3 | 1 |
| Doug Reid | 3 | 2 |
| Eugene Wickham | 3 | 1 |
Where they cooked
| State/Prov. | Contests | Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Tennessee | 8 | 210 |
| California | 4 | 75 |
| New Jersey | 4 | 52 |
| New Hampshire | 4 | 29 |
| Minnesota | 3 | 130 |
| Pennsylvania | 3 | 67 |
| Oregon | 3 | 49 |
| Georgia | 2 | 108 |
| Alberta | 2 | 68 |
| Indiana | 2 | 43 |
| Massachusetts | 2 | 40 |
| Michigan | 2 | 31 |
| Alabama | 2 | 30 |
| NO | 2 | 16 |
| Iowa | 1 | 33 |
| New Mexico | 1 | 31 |
| Nevada | 1 | 29 |
| Kansas | 1 | 27 |
| Missouri | 1 | 27 |
| Mississippi | 1 | 27 |
Best in the backyard (Backyard · /360)
By invitation (invite-only fields)
| Contest | Teams | Grand Champion |
|---|---|---|
| KCBS World Invitational May 24, 2025 · Lebanon, TN |
106 | Meat Me In St. Louis |
| KCBS World Invitational May 25, 2025 · Lebanon, TN |
70 | Scuffletown Smokers |
| KCBS World Invitational May 23, 2025 · Lebanon, TN |
55 | Scuffletown Smokers |
| KCBS World Invitational May 23, 2025 · Lebanon, TN |
43 | Take It Easy BBQ |
| KCBS World Invitational May 23, 2025 · Lebanon, TN |
— | — |
New to the circuit
First editions (new on the calendar)
| Contest | Teams | Won by |
|---|---|---|
| 7th Annual KCBS World Invitational (Saturday, May 24, 2025) Lebanon, TN |
106 | Meat Me In St. Louis |
| 7th Annual KCBS World Invitational Ribs (Friday, May 23, 2025) Lebanon, TN |
55 | Scuffletown Smokers |
| 7th Annual KCBS World Invitational Chicken (Friday, May 23, 2025) Lebanon, TN |
43 | Take It Easy BBQ |
| 11th Annual Rockin' BBQ Warsaw, IN |
34 | BooyaQ |
| King of the Corn Ottumwa, IA |
33 | Wag's Backwoods BBQ |
| The All American Comeback BBQ, Bourbon, & Bands Ruidoso Downs, NM |
30 | Cuatro D Barbeque |
| The Santiam Smoke Show (Day 1) Sweet Home, OR |
30 | Bad Bears BBQ |
| 11th Annual Rockin' BBQ (ONE MEAT RIBS) Warsaw, IN |
29 | Risky Brisket |
| Hog Wild BBQ Cookoff and Family Fest Brookhaven, MS |
27 | Kermit's Ex |
| 43rd Annual Kennett Jaycees BBQ Cook Off Kennett, MO |
27 | Janky Leg BBQ |
| Smoke in the Mitten Westland, MI |
26 | iBQ'n |
| Jack9 Memorial BBQ Competition La Salette, ON |
26 | Cyclone BBQ |
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Every contest scored (58 in May 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.