Decided by a tiebreaker
Tie
identical totals at the top
The top two teams finished on identical totals — the Grand Championship came down to the KCBS tiebreaker rules.
The Golden State Battle VI
2024-03-01 – 2024-03-02 · Hollister, CA · 📍 Casa de Fruta · State championship
Reps: KATHLEEN MCINTOSH, KELLY MCINTOSH · Prize money: $6,000.00
Grand Champion: Colorado Bull Dawg BBQ (693.6228) · 33 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 Meat Candy Q
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.
638.77
median 675.38
693.62 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 180.00 🔥
- Pork Ribs 179.44
- Pork 180.00 🔥
- Brisket 178.86
147.43
180.00
Entries
33
4 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
693.6228
Winning margin
Tie
identical totals — KCBS tiebreaker
Field average
675.29
638.77693.62
median 675.38 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Pork
3.4400 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
686.1712
638.77693.62
10th place overall
Field spread
54.8568
winner to last place
Prize money
$6,000.00
on the line
Double threats
3
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 59%
beats 41% of 4707 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.59 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1604
avg power rating going in · stronger than 80% of contests
Storylines (5 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
2 of 4
meats called to the stage
Colorado Bulldawg BBQ won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 2 calls from 4 boards, best of them 2nd. Consistency beat fireworks.
- Chicken 14th
- Pork Ribs 6th
- Pork 2nd
- Brisket 19th
A day of perfect scores
3
perfect 180s
3 perfect 180s were scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- BULL MARKET BBQ · Chicken
- Meat Candy Q · Chicken
- SIMPLY MARVELOUS BBQ · Pork
A knife fight at the top
2.2860
points across the top five
First to fifth in the overall standings covered just 2.2860 points — 2 teams sat within a single point of the lead.
- 1st Colorado Bulldawg BBQ
- 2nd Meat Candy Q
- 3rd B' MACKIN BBQ
- 4th Big Johns BBQ Company
- 5th CYNICAL BBQ
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 12 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 1–2: BULL MARKET BBQ and Meat Candy Q tied on 180.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 3–4: LADY OF Q and Cherry Anchor BBQ tied on 176.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 5–6: LADY OF Q and B' MACKIN BBQ tied on 176.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 1–2 · tie
- Pork Ribs 3–4 · tie
- Pork 5–6 · tie
- Pork 8–9 · tie
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)
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180.0000 | 176.0000 | 173.1316 |
| Pork Ribs | 179.4400 | 175.4056 | 171.9772 |
| Pork | 180.0000 | 176.5600 | 171.9772 |
| Brisket | 178.8572 | 174.2628 | 171.9772 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
33 entries · top 693.6228 · median 675.3832
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colorado Bulldawg BBQ | |
| 2 | Meat Candy Q | |
| 3 | B' MACKIN BBQ | |
| 4 | Big Johns BBQ Company | |
| 5 | CYNICAL BBQ | |
| 6 | BULL MARKET BBQ | |
| 7 | Big Boys BBQ | |
| 8 | 7 SINS BBQ | |
| 9 | SIMPLY MARVELOUS BBQ | |
| 10 | Cherry Anchor BBQ | |
| 11 | OM BBQ | |
| 12 | LADY OF Q | |
| 13 | BAR-B-CUDA BBQ | |
| 14 | 5TH GEAR BBQ | |
| 15 | SMOKIN' AXE BBQ | |
| 16 | Big Cat BBQ | |
| 17 | MYA&DJ'S BBQ | |
| 18 | RIDGE ROUTE BOYS BBQ | |
| 19 | SMOKIN' BLISS BBQ | |
| 20 | SMOKIN' VOLTS BBQ | |
| 21 | Beards BBQ | |
| 22 | OLD TOWN FRANKLIN BBQ | |
| 23 | West Coast BBQ Shop | |
| 24 | Bad Bears BBQ | |
| 25 | BLAZIN BARRELS BBQ | |
| 26 | BONE RUBBIN BBQ | |
| 27 | Rio Good BBQ | |
| 28 | KO BBQ | |
| 29 | Old Greenwood BBQ | |
| 30 | Pops BBQ 22 | |
| 31 | NUTIN2IT BUT2QIT | |
| 32 | Mid Valley BBQ | |
| 33 | Los Mexi%22Q%22tioners |
Chicken
33 entries · top 180.0000 · median 171.9656 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BULL MARKET BBQ | |
| 2 | Meat Candy Q | |
| 3 | Bad Bears BBQ | |
| 4 | NUTIN2IT BUT2QIT | |
| 5 | Big Johns BBQ Company | |
| 6 | SMOKIN' VOLTS BBQ | |
| 7 | B' MACKIN BBQ | |
| 8 | Mid Valley BBQ | |
| 9 | KO BBQ | |
| 10 | 5TH GEAR BBQ | |
| 11 | West Coast BBQ Shop | |
| 12 | MYA&DJ'S BBQ | |
| 13 | Rio Good BBQ | |
| 14 | Colorado Bulldawg BBQ | |
| 15 | Beards BBQ | |
| 16 | SMOKIN' BLISS BBQ | |
| 17 | Cherry Anchor BBQ | |
| 18 | OLD TOWN FRANKLIN BBQ | |
| 19 | SIMPLY MARVELOUS BBQ | |
| 20 | Big Boys BBQ | |
| 21 | Old Greenwood BBQ | |
| 22 | 7 SINS BBQ | |
| 23 | BONE RUBBIN BBQ | |
| 24 | CYNICAL BBQ | |
| 25 | Big Cat BBQ | |
| 26 | BAR-B-CUDA BBQ | |
| 27 | SMOKIN' AXE BBQ | |
| 28 | BLAZIN BARRELS BBQ | |
| 29 | RIDGE ROUTE BOYS BBQ | |
| 30 | OM BBQ | |
| 31 | LADY OF Q | |
| 32 | Pops BBQ 22 | |
| 33 | Los Mexi%22Q%22tioners |
Pork Ribs
33 entries · top 179.4400 · median 167.4172
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | OM BBQ | |
| 2 | SIMPLY MARVELOUS BBQ | |
| 3 | LADY OF Q | |
| 4 | Cherry Anchor BBQ | |
| 5 | CYNICAL BBQ | |
| 6 | Colorado Bulldawg BBQ | |
| 7 | Big Boys BBQ | |
| 8 | KO BBQ | |
| 9 | 7 SINS BBQ | |
| 10 | Rio Good BBQ | |
| 11 | 5TH GEAR BBQ | |
| 12 | BULL MARKET BBQ | |
| 13 | OLD TOWN FRANKLIN BBQ | |
| 14 | BAR-B-CUDA BBQ | |
| 15 | Meat Candy Q | |
| 16 | SMOKIN' BLISS BBQ | |
| 17 | Pops BBQ 22 | |
| 18 | SMOKIN' AXE BBQ | |
| 19 | RIDGE ROUTE BOYS BBQ | |
| 20 | B' MACKIN BBQ | |
| 21 | SMOKIN' VOLTS BBQ | |
| 22 | Big Cat BBQ | |
| 23 | Big Johns BBQ Company | |
| 24 | MYA&DJ'S BBQ | |
| 25 | BONE RUBBIN BBQ | |
| 26 | Mid Valley BBQ | |
| 27 | Beards BBQ | |
| 28 | West Coast BBQ Shop | |
| 29 | Los Mexi%22Q%22tioners | |
| 30 | Old Greenwood BBQ | |
| 31 | BLAZIN BARRELS BBQ | |
| 32 | NUTIN2IT BUT2QIT | |
| 33 | Bad Bears BBQ |
Pork
33 entries · top 180.0000 · median 168.5944 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SIMPLY MARVELOUS BBQ | |
| 2 | Colorado Bulldawg BBQ | |
| 3 | SMOKIN' AXE BBQ | |
| 4 | 7 SINS BBQ | |
| 5 | LADY OF Q | |
| 6 | B' MACKIN BBQ | |
| 7 | Big Johns BBQ Company | |
| 8 | SMOKIN' BLISS BBQ | |
| 9 | CYNICAL BBQ | |
| 10 | West Coast BBQ Shop | |
| 11 | Big Boys BBQ | |
| 12 | Meat Candy Q | |
| 13 | Cherry Anchor BBQ | |
| 14 | MYA&DJ'S BBQ | |
| 15 | OM BBQ | |
| 16 | Big Cat BBQ | |
| 17 | RIDGE ROUTE BOYS BBQ | |
| 18 | BAR-B-CUDA BBQ | |
| 19 | Beards BBQ | |
| 20 | KO BBQ | |
| 21 | BULL MARKET BBQ | |
| 22 | BLAZIN BARRELS BBQ | |
| 23 | Bad Bears BBQ | |
| 24 | Pops BBQ 22 | |
| 25 | Mid Valley BBQ | |
| 26 | SMOKIN' VOLTS BBQ | |
| 27 | OLD TOWN FRANKLIN BBQ | |
| 28 | BONE RUBBIN BBQ | |
| 29 | Rio Good BBQ | |
| 30 | Old Greenwood BBQ | |
| 31 | Los Mexi%22Q%22tioners | |
| 32 | 5TH GEAR BBQ | |
| 33 | NUTIN2IT BUT2QIT |
Brisket
33 entries · top 178.8572 · median 170.2744
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Big Johns BBQ Company | |
| 2 | BLAZIN BARRELS BBQ | |
| 3 | B' MACKIN BBQ | |
| 4 | Big Cat BBQ | |
| 5 | RIDGE ROUTE BOYS BBQ | |
| 6 | BONE RUBBIN BBQ | |
| 7 | CYNICAL BBQ | |
| 8 | OM BBQ | |
| 9 | Meat Candy Q | |
| 10 | 5TH GEAR BBQ | |
| 11 | Big Boys BBQ | |
| 12 | Beards BBQ | |
| 13 | BAR-B-CUDA BBQ | |
| 14 | MYA&DJ'S BBQ | |
| 15 | BULL MARKET BBQ | |
| 16 | Bad Bears BBQ | |
| 17 | NUTIN2IT BUT2QIT | |
| 18 | SMOKIN' VOLTS BBQ | |
| 19 | Colorado Bulldawg BBQ | |
| 20 | Old Greenwood BBQ | |
| 21 | 7 SINS BBQ | |
| 22 | Cherry Anchor BBQ | |
| 23 | West Coast BBQ Shop | |
| 24 | OLD TOWN FRANKLIN BBQ | |
| 25 | SMOKIN' AXE BBQ | |
| 26 | LADY OF Q | |
| 27 | Los Mexi%22Q%22tioners | |
| 28 | Pops BBQ 22 | |
| 29 | Rio Good BBQ | |
| 30 | SMOKIN' BLISS BBQ | |
| 31 | SIMPLY MARVELOUS BBQ | |
| 32 | KO BBQ | |
| 33 | Mid Valley BBQ |
Ancillary categories
Run by the organizers alongside the sanctioned contest. These are judged on their own terms and do not count toward the overall score, so they're kept out of the meat stats above.
Ancillary — Dessert
13 entries · top 180.0000 · median 174.8572 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | CYNICAL BBQ | |
| 2 | 7 SINS BBQ | |
| 3 | West Coast BBQ Shop | |
| 4 | Lady Mahalo | |
| 5 | BLAZIN BARRELS BBQ | |
| 6 | Bad Bears BBQ | |
| 7 | Colorado Bulldawg BBQ | |
| 8 | OM BBQ | |
| 9 | BAR-B-CUDA BBQ | |
| 10 | Big Boys BBQ | |
| 11 | Old Greenwood BBQ | |
| 12 | Mid Valley BBQ | |
| 13 | Pops BBQ 22 |