I think you're off to a good start. I'd focus on getting the pieces a little more uniform in size and make sure the turn-in pieces are evenly sauced. You have areas that are more heavily sauced than others. The judges like consistency and pretty-looking entries.
I compete with a team in the St. Louis area and handled the chicken entry entirely on my own for the first time at a big competition this fall. Different recipe, different smoker than previous comps. Did boneless thighs, initially braised in margarine, and finished on the smoker grate. Sauced with off-the-shelf BBQ sauce mixed with a little pineapple juice. 9 thighs were boxed. The trimmed boneless thighs end up fairly small, so they only take about an hour total to cook.
Here's a picture of what I turned in:
I didn't think the skin was "bite-through" but the judges must have thought differently. We won first place in chicken out of about 70 teams (14 out of 15 "9's" were scored). I really tried to make all the pieces as uniform as possible, and used quite a bit more seasoning (both sides of thighs, under and over skin; re-season after braising) than what it looks like you used.
You're certainly on the right track, at least for the current chicken trend. And yes, prepping is time-consuming, tedious, and downright gross at certain points. But the devil is in the details.
Best of luck to you.