In this edition
Every sanctioned contest scored in June 2025 — 1 Jun to 30 Jun.
Covering KCBS-sanctioned contests
June 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
Burnin and Lootin put up 712.5716 at Pitmaster's NorUt KCBS BBQ Championship — the highest overall of the month.
Hottest hand
Rudes BBQ took 2 Grand Championships in June 2025.
First one ever
HICKORY BARBEQUE COMPANY won their first Grand Championship at WV Coalfields Cookoff WV KCBS State Championship, in their 122nd contest in the data.
- 6 Jun
Title defended
CHUNKY BBQ won Almost Heaven BBQ Bash again — back-to-back Grand Championships at the same contest.
- 2024–2025
- field of 30
Upset of the month
The ratings gave them a 8% chance
ALPINE SMOKE WORKS won Big BBQ Bash over top-rated ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN as the ratings underdog.
Perfect 180s
Six judges, every card a 9: 77 perfect 180s were handed out in June 2025.
- Chicken ×22
- Pork Ribs ×20
- Pork ×20
- Brisket ×15
Closest call
SLAPS BBQ edged Squealin N Dealin BBQ by 0.0112 at The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship.
- Master Series
Back on top
Sugar Hounds won Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest — their first Grand Championship since June 2019, after 3 contests without one.
- last won June 2019
- 3 contests in between
Contest record
SLAPS BBQ put up 707.4400 at The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship — the best overall in 5 editions of the contest on record, past the old mark of 704.0344.
- old record 704.0344
- 4 earlier editions
Near sweep
Loco Smokers won 3 of 4 meats at IBEW So Cal BBQ & Chili Cook-Off (COMPETITOR SERIES) (chicken, pork ribs and pork), and the Grand Championship with them.
- Chicken
- Pork Ribs
- Pork
- and the GC
Biggest riser
Bramble BBQ gained 49 rating points across 5 contests — the biggest climb of the month.
- 5 contests
- now #280 overall
State champions crowned
28 state championships were decided in June 2025. The biggest, The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship (159 teams), went to Slaps BBQ.
- Kansas
- South Dakota
- Alabama
- Wisconsin
- Montana
- Idaho
Best debut
Fire Family BBQ PTY finished 1st at Pz al Carbon, Festival BBQ 2025 — the first contest they appear in anywhere in the data.
- 218 new teams in Jun 2025
- field of 16
Best in the backyard
Leaning Jowler BBQ put up 360.0000 on the Backyard board at Catskills Barbeque - Backyard Competition (Day 2) — two meats, a different scale, and the same nerves.
- 17 Backyard boards in Jun 2025
- won it
Biggest blowout
Damn Fine Beef & Swine won Big Blue BBQ Championship by 8.5944 points over THE SMOKING HILLS — the widest winning margin of the month.
- field of 29
Biggest field
The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship drew 159 teams, and Slaps BBQ won it.
- Lenexa, KS
Milestone
WHEN PIGS DIE cooked their 200th contest on record at Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD), with 3 Grand Championships along the way.
- 3 GCs along the way
Road warriors
WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ cooked 7 contests in June 2025 — nobody hauled the rig further.
- best finish 2nd
Won without a meat
SLAPS BBQ won The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship without winning a single meat — their best category finish was 3rd.
- field of 159
New on the calendar
Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) ran for the first time on record, drawing 36 teams, and Rudes BBQ won it. Somebody put in the work to make a new contest happen.
- 12 first editions in Jun 2025
- Morris, IL
Always the reserve
WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ finished second overall 3 times in June 2025 without a Grand Championship — one place short every time.
- 5 contests
Busiest weekend
12 sanctioned contests were cooked on 27 Jun alone.
- 27 Jun
Rep of the month
Charlie Brinza repped 7 contests in June 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 ×22 💯 | COCAMOKE SMOKE BBQ Hayden West's Delta Smoke BBQ Contest |
180 |
| Pork Ribs ×20 💯 | MUTTLEY CREW BBQ WV Coalfields Cookoff WV KCBS State Championship |
180 |
| Pork ×20 💯 | PIGLITICALLY INCORRECT BBQ Hayden West's Delta Smoke BBQ Contest |
180 |
| Brisket ×15 💯 | Thin Blue Smoke MS Hayden West's Delta Smoke BBQ Contest |
180 |
Straight nines (perfect 180s)
…and 53 more in June 2025.
On the move (power rating)
| Team | Rating | Jun 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Bramble BBQ No. 280 in the power rankings |
1,729 | +49 |
| Too Sauced Guys Bar-B-Que No. 807 in the power rankings |
1,627 | +41 |
| SMOKIN E'S BBQ No. 654 in the power rankings |
1,649 | +41 |
| FENDER BENDER BBQ No. 314 in the power rankings |
1,721 | +39 |
| Dog Bite Barbecue No. 546 in the power rankings |
1,669 | +39 |
| Rudes BBQ No. 136 in the power rankings |
1,785 | +38 |
| HOME FARM BBQ No. 596 in the power rankings |
1,660 | +38 |
| PAPA'S PIT CREW No. 939 in the power rankings |
1,612 | +35 |
| Split Borders BBQ No. 4,665 in the power rankings |
1,470 | +33 |
| SASSY SMOKE BBQ No. 883 in the power rankings |
1,618 | +31 |
| All About the Wood No. 943 in the power rankings |
1,611 | -28 |
| Yankee Twang BBQ Co. No. 5,828 in the power rankings |
1,441 | -29 |
| Unknown Smokers No. 3,068 in the power rankings |
1,504 | -29 |
| Clean Smoke BBQ Team No. 1,229 in the power rankings |
1,584 | -30 |
| BUCKSHOT BBQ - TX No. 2,408 in the power rankings |
1,523 | -32 |
Who showed up
| Team | Contests | GCs | Best |
|---|---|---|---|
| WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ | 7 | — | 2 |
| WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ | 7 | — | 2 |
| Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit | 7 | — | 3 |
| Risky Brisket | 7 | — | 4 |
| WHEN PIGS DIE | 7 | — | 6 |
| Buckeye Blue Smoke BBQ | 7 | — | 8 |
| Rudes BBQ | 6 | 2 | 1 |
| Big Racks BBQ | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| Bramble BBQ | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| DAWGS BBQ | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| FENDER BENDER BBQ | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| HOT DADDY'S BBQ | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| LEE LA Q | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| LC BBQ | 6 | — | 2 |
| SASSY SMOKE BBQ | 6 | — | 2 |
Who ran the table
| Rep | Contests | States |
|---|---|---|
| Charlie Brinza | 7 | 3 |
| Jeanne Titus | 6 | 2 |
| Brenda Black | 5 | 2 |
| Ken Black | 5 | 2 |
| Alex Jr Brown | 4 | 2 |
| Bill Jones | 4 | 2 |
| Bunny Tuttle | 4 | 3 |
| Luca Famigli | 4 | — |
| Rich Tuttle | 4 | 3 |
| Roberto Sirok | 4 | — |
| Angela McKee | 3 | 2 |
| Becky Druetzler | 3 | 1 |
| Carol Bigler | 3 | 1 |
| Dave Druetzler | 3 | 1 |
| David Burstein | 3 | 1 |
| Eugene Wickham | 3 | 3 |
| Forrest Bruce | 3 | 2 |
| Haymo Gutweniger | 3 | — |
| Jeff Chambers | 3 | 1 |
| John Scharffbillig | 3 | 1 |
Where they cooked
| State/Prov. | Contests | Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Kansas | 5 | 288 |
| Iowa | 5 | 67 |
| Wisconsin | 3 | 102 |
| Illinois | 3 | 76 |
| Arkansas | 3 | 44 |
| New York | 3 | 26 |
| Alabama | 2 | 101 |
| Tennessee | 2 | 60 |
| South Dakota | 2 | 52 |
| Pennsylvania | 2 | 50 |
| West Virginia | 2 | 45 |
| Indiana | 2 | 37 |
| District of Columbia | 2 | 26 |
| Virginia | 2 | 19 |
| Idaho | 1 | 51 |
| Montana | 1 | 33 |
| Saskatchewan | 1 | 27 |
| Manitoba | 1 | 24 |
| California | 1 | 17 |
| SJ | 1 | 16 |
Best in the backyard (Backyard · /360)
New to the circuit
First editions (new on the calendar)
| Contest | Teams | Won by |
|---|---|---|
| Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Morris, IL |
36 | Rudes BBQ |
| Hayden West's Delta Smoke BBQ Contest Wynne, AR |
30 | Petie's Smokin Pits BBQ |
| 11th Annual K of C BBQ Smoke Off 4-Life Kansas City, KS |
30 | Hefty Lefty BBQ |
| McLouth BBQ Blowout 34th Annual McLouth, KS |
28 | Parts 'R' Smokin |
| Smokey Skies BBQ Competition Kipling, SK |
27 | Kreiser Barbecue |
| Old Town Smokeout Van Buren, AR |
27 | Blind Hog BBQ |
| KCBS Brasil Barbecue Contest Sorocaba - Sao Paulo, Brazil |
26 | B.R.A. BARBECUE TEAM |
| Rose Festival's 24th Annual KCBS BBQ Competition State Center, IA |
25 | HOT DADDY'S BBQ |
| Blue Bombers BBQ Pit Master Showdown Winnipeg, MB |
24 | Bigg Smoak BBQ |
| Pitmaster's NorUt KCBS BBQ Championship Ogden, UT |
16 | Burnin and Lootin |
| Pz al Carbon, Festival BBQ 2025 Perez Zeldon, Costa Rica |
16 | Fire Family BBQ PTY |
| Devils Backbone BBQ Championship (Day 1) Roseland, VA |
15 | Old Virginia Smoke |
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Every contest scored (57 in June 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.