Tightest contest ever cooked
Out of 720 points, this many teams finished inside ONE of the leader. Any of them could have won it with a better garnish.
596
teams within a point of the lead
🥇 36th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbeque- Open
- Set 3 Oct 2015
- How in a field of 606 · won with 706.2972
- Standing held outright
- Scope national, and available by state on the record book
The top 25
| # | Contest | teams within a point of the lead | Set |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 36th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbeque- Open in a field of 606 · won with 706.2972 |
596 | 3 Oct 2015 |
| 2 | New Holland Summer Fest in a field of 71 · won with 675.4056 |
144 | 23 Aug 2013 |
| 3 | 20th Annual Decatur Jaycee's Riverfest in a field of 75 · won with 705.1316 |
77 | 19 Sep 2014 |
| 4 | Rock N Ribs BBQ Festival in a field of 61 · won with 693.0856 |
64 | 22 Apr 2016 |
| 5 | Southern Maryland Brew & BBQ in a field of 54 · won with 686.2628 |
56 | 31 Jul 2015 |
| 6 | The River Grill before the Big Chill in a field of 49 · won with 704.5944 |
51 | 10 Oct 2014 |
| 7 | Dodge City Days Barbeque Cook-off in a field of 47 · won with 843.4744 |
50 | 26 Jul 2013 |
| 8 | Maryland State BBQ Bash in a field of 47 · won with 686.2056 |
48 | 11 Aug 2017 |
| 9 | Roman Roast on the River in a field of 39 · won with 699.4288 |
41 | 11 May 2018 |
| 10 | *BBQ Boogie & Blues in a field of 28 · won with 693.6340 |
32 | 27 Apr 2018 |
| 11 | I love Barbecue & Music Festival in a field of 28 · won with 658.2856 |
8 | 2 Jul 2016 |
| 12 | The Harpoon Brewery BBQ Festival in a field of 26 · won with 689.1088 |
8 | 23 Jul 2016 |
| 13 | The Harpoon Championships of New England BBQ in a field of 31 · won with 690.2972 |
7 | 26 Jul 2013 |
| 14 | Rock'n Ribfest NH State BBQ Championship in a field of 28 · won with 678.2744 |
7 | 13 Jun 2014 |
| 15 | *Great Maine BBQ Challenge in a field of 29 · won with 696.5484 |
7 | 22 Sep 2017 |
| 16 | Hudson Valley Ribfest in a field of 59 · won with 690.8572 |
6 | 18 Aug 2017 |
| 17 | Iowa State BBQ Championship in a field of 48 · won with 689.6800 |
5 | 1 Apr 2022 |
| 18 | Red, White, Blue BBQ Competition in a field of 77 · won with 702.2744 |
5 | 29 Apr 2022 |
| 19 | Southaven Springfest in a field of 34 · won with 699.9428 |
5 | 25 Apr 2025 |
| 20 | Smokin' Eagles International BBQ Festival in a field of 31 · won with 673.6800 |
4 | 9 Aug 2013 |
| 21 | Monadnock Up in Smoke BBQ, Beer Fest in a field of 48 · won with 680.4912 |
4 | 31 May 2014 |
| 22 | Riverside Blues & BBQ Festival in a field of 27 · won with 683.4056 |
4 | 10 Oct 2014 |
| 23 | Harvard Fall Festival BBQ Contest in a field of 37 · won with 694.7996 |
4 | 12 Sep 2015 |
| 24 | Riverside Blues, Brews & BBQ Festival in a field of 25 · won with 682.7540 |
4 | 9 Oct 2015 |
| 25 | National Western BBQ Throwdown in a field of 39 · won with 691.3712 |
4 | 5 Jan 2018 |
Rebuilt nightly from every KCBS result we can find. A record here is only as complete as the data behind it — if a contest is missing from the archive, so is anything that happened at it.
🎪 More from contests, fields & days
Records held by the contests themselves rather than by the teams.