A statement win
17.7484
points clear of the field
Wider than 98% of the 4,710 championships in the data
The champion won by 17.7484 points — a wider margin than 98% of championships in the data.
Panama BBQ Fest 2024
Mar 2–3, 2024 · Panama City, Panama · PANAMA · 📍 Amador
Reps: Ernesto Uribe, Natasha Loew
Justice BBQ won Grand Champion at the Panama BBQ Fest on March 2, 2024 in Panama City, at Amador, scoring 665.0740 in a field of 22 teams. Webea Es Lo Q Hay took Reserve Grand Champion with 647.3256. Category winners: Chicken — Justice BBQ (174.2628); Pork Ribs — Grill and Chill (177.7144); Pork — Belen Grill and Chill (171.4400); Brisket — Lucky 3 (171.4056). This is the 2nd of 2 editions of this contest on record; the 2023 edition was won by Belen Grill and Chll.
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.
392.54
median 603.88
665.07 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 174.26
- Pork Ribs 177.71
- Pork 171.44
- Brisket 171.41
20
177.71
Entries
22
4 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
665.0740
Winning margin
17.7484
GC over RC
Field average
584.76
392.54665.07
median 603.88 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Brisket
9.1200 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
608.5596
392.54665.07
10th place overall
Field spread
272.5372
winner to last place
Double threats
6
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 98%
beats 2% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
26%
5 of 19 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.45 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,504
avg power rating going in · stronger than 4% 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.
A rookie on the podium
2nd
at their first tracked contest
WEBEA ES LO Q HAY finished 2nd overall in the first contest the data has them cooking at all.
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 7 calls decided inside half a point
Pork Ribs places 6–7: Justice BBQ and Ruta 45 BBQ tied on 161.1428 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 9–10: Los de la Septima edged Nevada Smoke Crew by 0.0112. Pork Ribs places 4–5: Smoke Friends edged Belen Grill and Chill by 0.0116.
- Pork Ribs 6–7 · tie
- Brisket 9–10 · 0.0112
- Pork Ribs 4–5 · 0.0116
- Chicken 7–8 · 0.0228
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
Justice BBQ took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was pork ribs at 6th.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 6th
- Pork 2nd
- Brisket 2nd
A contest record in pork ribs
177.7144
best pork ribs ever cooked here
Grill and Chill turned in 177.7144 in pork ribs — past the 169.6912 that had stood across 1 earlier editions.
- old best 169.6912
- across 1 past editions
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 28, 2023 | Panama City | Ciudad del Saber | 19 | 670.7996 | Belen Grill and Chll | Los Smokies |
| Mar 2, 2024 ← this one | Panama City | Amador | 22 | 665.0740 | Justice BBQ | Webea Es Lo Q Hay |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 174.2628 | 164.5944 | 155.4056 |
| Pork Ribs | 177.7144 | 161.6800 | 151.9428 |
| Pork | 171.4400 | 157.7028 | 148.6056 |
| Brisket | 171.4056 | 162.2856 | 157.6572 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
22 entries · top 665.0740 · median 603.8798
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Justice BBQ | |
| 2 | Webea Es Lo Q Hay | |
| 3 | Ruta 45 BBQ | |
| 4 | Los Smokies | |
| 5 | Belen Grill and Chill | |
| 6 | Lucky 3 | |
| 7 | Los de la Septima | |
| 8 | Humacera | |
| 9 | Grill and Chill | |
| 10 | La Mesa del Laurel | |
| 11 | Nevada Smoke Crew | |
| 12 | BBQ Fellas | |
| 13 | Brother BBQ | |
| 14 | Urban Smoke | |
| 15 | La Pandilla Parrillera | |
| 16 | Los Hijos de Noriega | |
| 17 | Smoke Friends | |
| 18 | Jartadera | |
| 19 | Los Drs. Del Grill | |
| 20 | Xavie's BBQ | |
| 21 | XPL | |
| 22 | Jungle Smoke Team |
Chicken
21 entries · top 174.2628 · median 152.5256
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Justice BBQ | |
| 2 | Ruta 45 BBQ | |
| 3 | Lucky 3 | |
| 4 | Los Smokies | |
| 5 | Webea Es Lo Q Hay | |
| 6 | Humacera | |
| 7 | Nevada Smoke Crew | |
| 8 | Los de la Septima | |
| 9 | La Mesa del Laurel | |
| 10 | Brother BBQ | |
| 11 | Urban Smoke | |
| 12 | Belen Grill and Chill | |
| 13 | Grill and Chill | |
| 14 | Los Hijos de Noriega | |
| 15 | BBQ Fellas | |
| 16 | Jartadera | |
| 17 | Smoke Friends | |
| 18 | La Pandilla Parrillera | |
| 19 | Los Drs. Del Grill | |
| 20 | Xavie's BBQ | |
| 21 | XPL |
Pork Ribs
22 entries · top 177.7144 · median 149.9714
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grill and Chill | |
| 2 | Los de la Septima | |
| 3 | Los Smokies | |
| 4 | Smoke Friends | |
| 5 | Belen Grill and Chill | |
| 6 | Justice BBQ | |
| 7 | Ruta 45 BBQ | |
| 8 | Webea Es Lo Q Hay | |
| 9 | Humacera | |
| 10 | BBQ Fellas | |
| 11 | Urban Smoke | |
| 12 | XPL | |
| 13 | Los Hijos de Noriega | |
| 14 | Nevada Smoke Crew | |
| 15 | La Mesa del Laurel | |
| 16 | Los Drs. Del Grill | |
| 17 | Jungle Smoke Team | |
| 18 | Lucky 3 | |
| 19 | Jartadera | |
| 20 | Brother BBQ | |
| 21 | La Pandilla Parrillera | |
| 22 | Xavie's BBQ |
Pork
22 entries · top 171.4400 · median 148.2914
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belen Grill and Chill | |
| 2 | Justice BBQ | |
| 3 | Webea Es Lo Q Hay | |
| 4 | Ruta 45 BBQ | |
| 5 | La Pandilla Parrillera | |
| 6 | Urban Smoke | |
| 7 | XPL | |
| 8 | Jartadera | |
| 9 | Nevada Smoke Crew | |
| 10 | Los Drs. Del Grill | |
| 11 | La Mesa del Laurel | |
| 12 | Lucky 3 | |
| 13 | Brother BBQ | |
| 14 | Grill and Chill | |
| 15 | Los Smokies | |
| 16 | BBQ Fellas | |
| 17 | Humacera | |
| 18 | Smoke Friends | |
| 19 | Jungle Smoke Team | |
| 20 | Los de la Septima | |
| 21 | Xavie's BBQ | |
| 22 | Los Hijos de Noriega |
Brisket
22 entries · top 171.4056 · median 153.6914
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lucky 3 | |
| 2 | Justice BBQ | |
| 3 | Webea Es Lo Q Hay | |
| 4 | La Mesa del Laurel | |
| 5 | Humacera | |
| 6 | BBQ Fellas | |
| 7 | La Pandilla Parrillera | |
| 8 | Brother BBQ | |
| 9 | Los de la Septima | |
| 10 | Nevada Smoke Crew | |
| 11 | Los Smokies | |
| 12 | Los Drs. Del Grill | |
| 13 | Los Hijos de Noriega | |
| 14 | Grill and Chill | |
| 15 | Belen Grill and Chill | |
| 16 | Ruta 45 BBQ | |
| 17 | Jartadera | |
| 18 | XPL | |
| 19 | Urban Smoke | |
| 20 | Smoke Friends | |
| 21 | Jungle Smoke Team | |
| 22 | Xavie's 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 — Burgers
18 entries · top 166.3200 · median 147.4228
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los de la Septima | |
| 2 | Webea Es Lo Q Hay | |
| 3 | Los Hijos de Noriega | |
| 4 | Ruta 45 BBQ | |
| 5 | Urban Smoke | |
| 6 | Belen Grill and Chill | |
| 7 | Jartadera | |
| 8 | Lucky 3 | |
| 9 | Nevada Smoke Crew | |
| 10 | BBQ Fellas | |
| 11 | La Mesa del Laurel | |
| 12 | Los Smokies | |
| 13 | Smoke Friends | |
| 14 | XPL | |
| 15 | Los Drs. Del Grill | |
| 16 | La Pandilla Parrillera | |
| 17 | Brother BBQ | |
| 18 | Xavie's BBQ |