2019 Season

← 2018 2020 →

Every number below is read straight out of the 2019 results: 450 contests, 6,888 teams and 16,152 team entries.

📰 Read it as The Smoke Ring 📊 The season in charts 📋 The boards 🔢 More numbers 🗓 All 2019 contests

Contests

450

430 scored · 20 still out · 4 cancelled

Teams competing

6,888

2,615 new · 4,273 back from before

Team entries

16,152

2.3 contests per team

Different champions

292

430 contests won · 209 won just once

It took this to win

693.86

average winning Master overall · won by 5.21 on average

Top score

714.8572

Fat&Dumb BBQ

Perfect 180s

304 🔥

5 per 1,000 meat entries

States & provinces

busiest KS (32)

Typical field

teams · biggest was 468

Came back

48.4%

3,374 of 6,971 teams from 2018

Purse on the line

$3,094,603

listed across 314 contests

State championships

321

contests carrying a state title

Team of the Year

👑 Master Series — B-S BBQ OUTLAWS (2774 pts) full board ↗
🥇 Chicken (Backyard) — REDBONES BBQ (619 pts)
🥇 Pork Ribs (Backyard) — RIBLIFE (509 pts)
🥇 Brisket (Master) — B-S BBQ OUTLAWS (2722 pts)
🥇 Chicken (Master) — WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ (2612 pts)
🥇 Pork (Master) — BIG RAZ BBQ (2615 pts)
🥇 Pork Ribs (Master) — ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN (2743 pts)

Storylines (11 found in the 2019 numbers)

Everything here is read out of the results — the number on each card is the one that made it a story.

Team of the Year

2,774 Master Series points

B-S BBQ OUTLAWS finished 2019 as KCBS Master Series Team of the Year on 2,774 points.

The season’s big winner

16× grand championships in 2019

16 of the 430 contests won this season

BOOMERANG BBQ took 16 grand championships in 2019, more than anyone else — out of 430 won by 292 different teams.

CLARK CREW BBQ ×9
B-S BBQ OUTLAWS ×8
BUNCH OF SWINES ×7

The score of the year

714.8572 highest Master overall of 2019

Fat&Dumb BBQ put up 714.8572 at Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship — 20.99 points clear of what a 2019 win averaged.

Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship
Sep 27, 2019

The closest finish

0.0112 points between first and second

CHECKERED FLAG 500 BBQ beat 3N1 Q by 0.0112 at 8th Annual Covington Cork & Pork Festival — the narrowest Master win of 2019, and 2 more finished dead level and went to the KCBS tiebreaker.

8th Annual Covington Cork & Pork Festival
Jun 21, 2019

Rookie champion

3× GC in their first season

PUCKDADDY'S KILLER Q cooked their first tracked KCBS contest in 2019 and won 3 grand championships — one of 6 rookies to take a title.

17 contests cooked
class of 2019: 2,615 new teams

The biggest upset

5% their odds against the top seed

5% — what the rating gave them going in

Hickory Stick BBQ (rated 1499) won BBQ, Bikes and Blues out of a field headed by SHAKE 'N BAKE BBQ at 2020.

39 teams
Apr 26, 2019

The season’s biggest climb

+175 power rating gained in 2019

Sweet Cheeks BBQ added 175 rating points across 19 rated contests in 2019 — they sit at #501 today.

19 rated contests
now #501 at 1677

Perfect boxes

304 perfect 180s in 2019

Judges handed out 304 perfect 180s in 2019 — 5 for every 1,000 meat entries. BOOMERANG BBQ collected 12 of them.

BOOMERANG BBQ ×12
CLARK CREW BBQ ×5
Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit ×5

Most miles cooked

46 contests entered in 2019

B-S BBQ OUTLAWS entered 46 contests in 2019, winning 8 of them.

8 GCs
30 top-ten overalls
17 states/provinces

The biggest room

468 teams at one contest

The 2019 average field was 35 teams

40th American Royal World Series of Barbecue- OPEN CONTEST drew 468 teams, against a 2019 average of 35 — RIO Valley Meat BBQ won it.

Sep 12, 2019
KS

A shorter calendar

-20% contests against 2018

KCBS ran 450 contests in 2019, down 116 on the 566 of 2018.

450 in 2019
566 in 2018

The season in charts

When they cooked (contests per month)

Where they cooked (busiest states and provinces)

How the season scored (every Master overall, in 10-point bins)

How big the fields were (contests by number of teams)

How the meats scored (average of every entry, /180)

2019 in the run of seasons (2019 picked out in both)

Contests held, season by season

What it took to win (average winning Master overall, /720)

The boards

Master Series Team of the Year (top 10)

#	Team	Points
1	B-S BBQ OUTLAWS	2774
2	BIG RAZ BBQ	2719
3	GETTIN' BASTED	2718
4	IQ - NETHERLANDS	2697
5	Under the Radar	2695
6	Burnin and Lootin	2690
7	WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ	2688
8	CLARK CREW BBQ	2685
9	SLAPS BBQ	2666
10	MAN MEAT BBQ	2656

Most Grand Championships

#	Team	GCs
1	BOOMERANG BBQ	16
2	CLARK CREW BBQ	9
3	B-S BBQ OUTLAWS	8
4	BUNCH OF SWINES	7
5	Heavy Smoke BBQ	7
6	IQ - NETHERLANDS	7
7	RAZORRACKS	7
8	Sweet Cheeks BBQ	7
9	Under the Radar	7
10	WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ	7

Highest overall scores (Master · /720)

#	Team	Score
1	Fat&Dumb BBQ Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship · Sep 27, 2019	714.8572
2	MAN MEAT BBQ Grasshopper '19 · May 10, 2019	713.7372
3	LA PASADITA Smokin On The Pecos (Day 2) · Jun 29, 2019	709.7256
4	Burnin and Lootin 8th Annual Santa Anita Winners Circle BBQ Championship Day 1 · Mar 29, 2019	709.1428
5	AMERICAN FIRE BBQ West Bottoms BBQ Contest · Sep 28, 2019	709.1200
6	BOOMERANG BBQ BBQ and Fly In on the River · Aug 16, 2019	708.5372
7	GETTIN' BASTED International Goat Days Championship BBQ Contest-SMOKIN IN THE GOAT PEN · Sep 6, 2019	708.5372
8	BIG POPPA SMOKERS Clayton BBQ Cook-off · Jul 12, 2019	708.0344
9	GREY STREET BBQ PigMania Franklin State Championship BBQ Competition · Mar 22, 2019	708.0116
10	Rio Valley Meat BBQ Mark Marley's Go Big or Go Home BBQ Bash (DAY 2) · May 11, 2019	707.9884

Highest overall scores (Backyard · /360)

#	Team	Score
1	Sweet Cheeks BBQ Mission Q (Backyard Only) · Nov 22, 2019	359.4400
2	REDBONES BBQ Fire at the Foothills (BACKYARD ONLY) · Apr 5, 2019	356.5944
3	PUCKDADDY'S KILLER Q Fire at the Foothills (BACKYARD ONLY) · Apr 5, 2019	356
4	PUCKDADDY'S KILLER Q Roast N Boast · Oct 4, 2019	355.4056
5	Kiss My Rack-3 Mark Marley's Go Big or Go Home BBQ Bash (DAY 1) · May 10, 2019	354.8572
6	Thin Blue Swine Poosa-Q · Jun 14, 2019	354.2744
7	PUCKDADDY'S KILLER Q Elkmont Lions Club Smokin Railroad St. BBQ Cook-off (BACKYARD ONLY) · Jun 21, 2019	354.2744
8	Sweet Cheeks BBQ RiverFest · Sep 13, 2019	354.2744
9	ZIPS BBQ Smokin' Bike Fest · May 31, 2019	353.7144
10	PUCKDADDY'S KILLER Q COTR BBQ · Dec 6, 2019	353.7028

Best cook of the season, meat by meat (/180)

Meat	Team	Score
Chicken	MASTERS OF FIRE W.E.S.T. Winter Extreme South Tyrol BBQ Contest	180 🔥
Pork Ribs	IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown	180 🔥
Pork	2LiveQ The Golden State Battle	180 🔥
Brisket	HAMTOWN SMOKERS Brasstown Valley Resort BBQ Throwdown (JUDGES FULL)	180 🔥

How hard each meat was (2019 only)

Meat	Entries	Avg	Avg win	180s per 1,000
Chicken	15,783	164.47	176.90	5.8
Pork Ribs	15,822	162.99	176	2.4
Pork	14,352	163.90	176.76	6.6
Brisket	14,409	162.22	176.77	5.5

Busiest teams (contests entered)

Team	Contests	GCs	Top 10
B-S BBQ OUTLAWS 17 states	46	8	30
BOOMERANG BBQ 13 states	43	16	38
4 LEGS UP BBQ 12 states	36	3	28
WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ 8 states	33	7	26
ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN 10 states	33	2	23
GETTIN' BASTED 9 states	32	6	24
SLAPS BBQ 6 states	32	5	26
Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit 10 states	32	5	22
MAN MEAT BBQ 5 states	32	4	26
SMOKE ON THIS 9 states	31	2	19

Biggest climbers (power rating gained in 2019)

Team	Gained	Contests
Sweet Cheeks BBQ #501 today	+175	19
MAN MEAT BBQ #129 today	+173.5	30
PUCKDADDY'S KILLER Q #242 today	+160.3	17
REDBONES BBQ #597 today	+157.3	20
Heavy Smoke BBQ #112 today	+155.1	17
SMILIN' DRAGON BBQ #452 today	+149.8	19
LEE LA Q #249 today	+137.3	21
BIG RAZ BBQ #99 today	+135.3	29
Pig-Chicka-Cow-Cow #474 today	+118.7	9
T-N-T Que Crew #239 today	+115.6	14

Biggest contests

Contest	Teams	Grand Champion
40th American Royal World Series of Barbecue- OPEN CONTEST Kansas City, KS	468	RIO Valley Meat BBQ
The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle-Kansas State Championship Lenexa, KS	183	Sublime BBQ
40th American Royal World Series of Barbecue- INVITATIONAL CONTEST Kansas City, KS	135	Mudville BBQ
Humble Rodeo and BBQ Humble, TX	126	War Pig BBQ
Smoke In the Springs Osage City, KS	104	Clark Crew BBQ
Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship Shawnee, KS	102	Fat & Dumb BBQ
31st Annual Jack Daniels World Championship Invitational Barbecue (JUDGES FULL) (COMPETITORS SERIES) Lynchburg, TN	97	Clark Crew BBQ
KCBS World Invitational Barbeque Championship Little Rock, AR	92	HEAVY SMOKE STL
SC Festival of Discovery Greenwood, SC	83	SMOKIN' GRINGOS
Firelake BBQ Cook Off Day 1 Shawnee, OK	74	Smoked Out BBQ

Closest finishes (Master, first over second)

Margin	Contest
0.0112	8th Annual Covington Cork & Pork Festival CHECKERED FLAG 500 BBQ over 3N1 Q
0.0116	8th Annual Santa Anita Winners Circle BBQ Championship Day 2 Burnin and Lootin over BIG POPPA SMOKERS
0.0116	Barbourville BBQ Cookoff & Festival GREY STREET BBQ over WHO CARES BBQ
0.0224	Interstate BBQ Festival Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit over DRILLING & GRILLING
0.0228	The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ South Pork over Organizer Portal
0.0228	BBQ SmokeDown at Chicagoland THE BBQ BUS over One2BBQ
0.0228	Gold Ribbin' BBQ Fest of Greater Green Bay-Heat 1 B-S BBQ OUTLAWS over CLARK CREW BBQ
0.0232	Poosa-Q Under the Radar over Q-BONES BBQ
0.0344	VFW Post 846 Battle of the Pits MAN MEAT BBQ over 4 LEGS UP BBQ
0.0456	Go Hog Wild Arkansas BBQ Championship DAD'S GRILLIN CREW over THE AMERICAN DREAM BBQ

2 more finished dead level and were settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.

Widest winning margins (Master)

Margin	Contest
26.9260	Battle River BBQ Showdown FROZEN TOQUE BBQ over ROCKY MOUNTAIN SMOKERS
25.8060	D'Iberville BBQ Throw Down Festival CAJUN BLAZE over THE BLUE BLOODS
25.1660	BBQ Battle Finland ROKENDE REGAHS over Clean Smoke BBQ
19.5544	The Finals Churras de Patrao over The Storm
19.4972	Honeybee BBQ Competition Under the Radar over Q-INATOR!

Biggest upsets (winner's odds against the top-rated team)

Odds	Contest
5%	BBQ, Bikes and Blues Hickory Stick BBQ (1499) over a field led by SHAKE 'N BAKE BBQ (2020)
6%	26th Annual Colorado BBQ Challenge PORKY'S PIT CREW (1548) over a field led by SHAKE 'N BAKE BBQ (2025)
6%	Smokin in the Bogs SmokinGhost BBQ (1557) over a field led by IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ (2034)
7%	Elk Grove Western Festival and BBQ Championship The Smoking J's (1550) over a field led by BIG POPPA SMOKERS (1992)
8%	Murphysboro BBQ Cook Off HEATH RILES BBQ (1601) over a field led by IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ (2032)
8%	San Luis Valley Beat the Heat BBQ Texas Smoke Whisper (1567) over a field led by BOOMERANG BBQ (1997)
8%	Firelake BBQ Cook Off Day 1 SMOKED OUT BBQ (1601) over a field led by CLARK CREW BBQ (2026)
8%	Humble Rodeo and BBQ TEXAS WARPIG BBQ (1535) over a field led by BOOMERANG BBQ (1954)
8%	McGregor Lions Club Barrels & BBQ Chat N Choo BBQ (1510) over a field led by THE AMERICAN DREAM BBQ (1925)
8%	America's Finest BBQ State Championship (JUDGES FULL) Part Time BBQ (1503) over a field led by Burnin and Lootin (1917)

Read off the nightly power-rating replay. Invitationals and non-points contests are not rated, so they never appear here.

Most perfect 180s (in 2019)

Team	180s	Contests
BOOMERANG BBQ	12	10
CLARK CREW BBQ	5	5
Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit	5	5
4 LEGS UP BBQ	4	4
BUNCH OF SWINES	4	4
DIRT ROAD BBQ	4	4
Fat&Dumb BBQ	4	2
GETTIN' BASTED	4	4
HAMTOWN SMOKERS	4	4
HIGH i QUE	4	4

Class of 2019 (2,615 teams debuted · how the class did →)

Team	Contests	GCs
PUCKDADDY'S KILLER Q	17	3
Big Smoke BBQ Australia	6	3
HELL ON SQUEALS	15	2
Thin Blue Swine	12	2
COOL HAND QUE	9	2
The King and His Q	5	2
Zoni-Q	4	2
THREE CROSSES BBQ	2	2
REDBONES BBQ	20	1
PERFECTLY BLENDED	19	1
Texas Smoke Whisper	17	1
RIBLIFE	15	1

State by state

State/Prov.	Contests	Scored	Avg field
KS 29 titles	32	31	63
MO 26 titles	31	31	31
AL 8 titles	22	21	26
CA 18 titles	21	21	34
GA 13 titles	20	14	36
NC 16 titles	18	18	33
IL 14 titles	15	14	38
TN 9 titles	13	13	41
WI 12 titles	13	13	33
TX 8 titles	12	11	43
CO 11 titles	11	11	37
IN 11 titles	11	11	30
PA 9 titles	11	11	39
MS 9 titles	10	9	28
VA 10 titles	10	10	35
AR 9 titles	9	9	36
OK 7 titles	9	9	38
KY 7 titles	8	8	29
IA 7 titles	7	7	32
OH 6 titles	7	7	24
FL 4 titles	5	5	39
MI 5 titles	5	5	32
NE 5 titles	5	5	32
NJ 4 titles	5	5	47
NY 5 titles	5	5	38
AZ 4 titles	4	4	46
MD 4 titles	4	4	37
MN 4 titles	4	4	41
MT 4 titles	4	4	28
NM 4 titles	4	4	29
SC 4 titles	4	4	34
SD 4 titles	4	4	34
CT 3 titles	3	3	39
LA 1 title	3	1	48
MA 3 titles	3	3	27
AB	2	2	21
DE 2 titles	2	2	50
ME 2 titles	2	2	32
NV 2 titles	2	2	33
ON	2	2	33
OR 2 titles	2	2	25
VT 2 titles	2	2	32
WV 2 titles	2	2	24
WY 2 titles	2	2	29
BC	1	1	21
BZ	1	1	30
DC 1 title	1	1	31
ID 1 title	1	1	25
NH 1 title	1	1	29
QC	1	1	23
RI 1 title	1	1	36
SK	1	1	19
UT 1 title	1	1	18
WA 1 title	1	1	27

State championships (321 in 2019)

Contest	Grand Champion
National Western BBQ Throwdown CO · Jan 11, 2019	Gettin' Basted
Slab-O-Rama Barbeque Challenge AZ · Jan 18, 2019	4 LEGS UP BBQ
Lakeland Pig Festival FL · Jan 25, 2019	Accutech BBQ
The Golden State Battle CA · Jan 25, 2019	Lady of Q
Humble Rodeo and BBQ TX · Feb 1, 2019	War Pig BBQ
Brasstown Valley Resort BBQ Throwdown (JUDGES FULL) GA · Feb 1, 2019	HAMTOWN SMOKERS
KCBS World Invitational Barbeque Championship AR · Feb 8, 2019	HEAVY SMOKE STL
Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown TX · Feb 15, 2019	Rio Valley Meats BBQ
D'Iberville BBQ Throw Down Festival MS · Feb 22, 2019	Cajun Blaze
Bama Q Capital City Cook-Off AL · Feb 22, 2019	The Specialists
Sip & Swine BBQ Festival GA · Mar 1, 2019	ATLANTA BBQ STORE
Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship TN · Mar 8, 2019	BILLY RAY BBQ
Mountain Smoke Barbecue Festival Day 1 NM · Mar 14, 2019	Buckshot BBQ
Qlathe BBQ Championship KS · Mar 15, 2019	Man Meats BBQ
Smokin In the Square FL · Mar 15, 2019	MIDNIGHT BURN
Mountain Smoke Barbecue Festival Day 2 NM · Mar 15, 2019	B-S BBQ Outlaws
BBQ Gives Back-III (Day 1) VA · Mar 22, 2019	Who Cares BBQ
Firelake BBQ Cook Off Day 1 OK · Mar 22, 2019	Smoked Out BBQ
Hammond BBQ LA · Mar 22, 2019	RAZORRACK BBQ
PigMania Franklin State Championship BBQ Competition IN · Mar 22, 2019	Grey Street BBQ

Busiest reps (contests worked in 2019)

Rep	Contests
Carol Bigler	18
Randy G Bigler	18
Doug Reid	14
Kelly McIntosh	14
Kathleen McIntosh	13
Rusty Cook	12
Alan Rothrock	11
Alex Jr Brown	11
Julie Cook	11
Julie Poe	11

More from 2019

Season ran Jan 11 → Dec 31 first and last contest on the 2019 calendar

Average winning margin 5.21 across 396 Master contests · 2 settled by tiebreaker

Walks to the stage 17,773 top-ten calls handed out in the four meats

New teams 2,615 first tracked contest anywhere was in 2019

Contest series 434 distinct recurring contests on the calendar

Busiest weekend 17 contests all on Apr 26, 2019

Reps working 114 KCBS reps on the season’s contests

Toughest table Brisket lowest average of the four meats at 162.22

Outside the rating 16 invitationals and non-points contests that do not move a power rating

Cancelled 4 contests that came off the calendar

Results still out 20 of 450 contests on the 2019 calendar

Contest counts exclude cancelled events. Overall scores are split by series because they are on different scales — Master is out of 720, Backyard out of 360 — and only the four judged meats count toward perfect 180s. Browse every 2019 contest →