A new contest record
690.7656
highest overall ever cooked here
690.7656 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 686.3200 SMOKE ON THE WILD SIDE set in 2017.
- old record 686.3200
- set 2017 by SMOKE ON THE WILD SIDE
Vienna BBQ Days 2023
Oct 21–22, 2023 · Vienna, Austria · AUSTRIA · 📍 Otmar-Brix-Gasse 1
Reps: Andreas Schnoell, Eva Schnoell
COOKLOUNGE BBQ won Grand Champion at the Vienna BBQ Days 2023 on October 21, 2023 in Vienna, 1110 at Otmar-Brix-Gasse 1, scoring 690.7656 in a field of 13 teams. BACKCORNER BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 688.4684. Category winners: Chicken — SUNCITY BBQ SZEGED (178.2972); Pork Ribs — DREAMFIRE BBQ Team (174.8572); Pork — SCHLUCHTENGRILLER BBQ (173.1084); Brisket — BACKCORNER BBQ (171.9656). This is the 3rd of 8 editions of this contest on record; the 2018 edition was won by SMOKE ON THE WILD SIDE; the next was held in 2023.
The contest at a glance (read off the scored boards)
How the field scored
Overall totals, every team on the board — tall stacks are where the pack sat.
646.14
median 676.45
690.77 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 178.30
- Pork Ribs 174.86
- Pork 173.11
- Brisket 171.97
154.79
178.30
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2017 to 2025 — this edition picked out.
Entries
13
4 judged meats
Top score
690.7656
Winning margin
2.2972
GC over RC
Field average
673.07
646.14690.77
median 676.45 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork
1.6912 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
664.4344
646.14690.77
10th place overall
Field spread
44.6284
winner to last place
Double threats
5
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 69%
beats 31% of 4723 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
13%
2 of 15 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.81 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,623
avg power rating going in · stronger than 89% of contests
Storylines (6 found in this contest's numbers)
Everything below is read straight out of the results — the number on each card is the one that made it a story.
Won without a category win
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
COOKLOUNGE BBQ won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 4 calls from 4 boards, best of them 2nd. Consistency beat fireworks.
- Chicken 5th
- Pork Ribs 2nd
- Pork 3rd
- Brisket 2nd
A dynasty in the making
2×
wins at this contest
2 of 8 tracked editions
SMOKE ON THE WILD SIDE has won this contest 2 times across its 8 tracked editions.
- 2017
- 2018
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 7 calls decided inside half a point
Pork places 9–10: BADBOY BUTCHERS BBQ and Stammtischgriller tied on 166.2744 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 2–3: COOKLOUNGE BBQ and Woodquarter Smokerheads tied on 170.8228 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 5–6: BBQ+ and SCHLUCHTENGRILLER BBQ tied on 168.5372 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Pork 9–10 · tie
- Brisket 2–3 · tie
- Brisket 5–6 · tie
- Brisket 7–8 · 0.0112
A contest record in pork ribs
174.8572
best pork ribs ever cooked here
DREAMFIRE BBQ Team turned in 174.8572 in pork ribs — past the 173.1200 that had stood across 2 earlier editions.
- old best 173.1200
- across 2 past editions
The contest returns
5.3 yrs
since the last edition
This contest was away for 5.3 years — the previous tracked edition ran on 2018-07-14.
- previous edition 2018-07-14
Score curves (score by finishing position — steep cliffs mean a spread field, flat lines a knife fight)
Category showdown (top / average / median score per meat)
Score distribution
Biggest rating movers (power-rating points won and lost at this contest)
Did form hold? (pre-contest rating vs overall finish — ratings called it if the dots climb to the right)
This contest over the years full contest page →
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 8, 2017 | Vienna | Karl Farkas Gasses 1,1030 Wien | 20 | 686.3200 | SMOKE ON THE WILD SIDE | WHITE SQUIRREL BBQ |
| Jul 14, 2018 | Vienna | Karl Farkas Gasses 19,1030 Wien | 15 | 672.5484 | SMOKE ON THE WILD SIDE | SUNCITY BBQ SZEGED |
| Oct 21, 2023 ← this one | Vienna | Otmar-Brix-Gasse 1 | 13 | 690.7656 | COOKLOUNGE BBQ | BACKCORNER BBQ |
| Oct 21, 2023 | Vienna | Otmar-Brix-Gasse 1 | 15 | 177.7372 | COOKLOUNGE BBQ | — |
| Oct 19, 2024 | Vienna | Otmar-Brix-Gasse 1 | 14 | 693.7144 | Insomnia BBQ | COOKLOUNGE BBQ |
| Oct 19, 2024 | Vienna | Otmar-Brix-Gasse 1 | 19 | 178.8800 | Chris' BBQ | — |
| Oct 18, 2025 | Vienna | Otmar-Brix-Gasse 1 | 11 | 687.3600 | Woodquarter Smokerheads | COOKLOUNGE BBQ |
| Oct 18, 2025 | Vienna | Otmar-Brix-Gasse 1 | 14 | 178.8572 | BBQ Farm | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 178.2972 | 174.2628 | 163.9544 |
| Pork Ribs | 174.8572 | 171.9772 | 164.5256 |
| Pork | 173.1084 | 171.4172 | 166.2744 |
| Brisket | 171.9656 | 168.5372 | 162.8000 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
13 entries · top 690.7656 · median 676.4456
Chicken
13 entries · top 178.2972 · median 171.9656
Pork Ribs
13 entries · top 174.8572 · median 169.1316
Pork
13 entries · top 173.1084 · median 169.6800
Brisket
13 entries · top 171.9656 · median 165.1084