A new contest record
693.0512
highest overall ever cooked here
693.0512 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 177.7028 Let It Smoke Barbecue set in 2024.
- old record 177.7028
- set 2024 by Let It Smoke Barbecue
Weekend of Giving 2024
Oct 26–27, 2024 · Wrentham, MA · 📍 529 South Street · State championship
Reps: Karen Jane Williams, Ralph Williams · Prize money: $4,000
PADDY MCQ'S won Grand Champion at the Weekend of Giving on October 26, 2024 in Wrentham, MA at 529 South Street, scoring 693.0512 in a field of 25 teams. HOG WASH BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 690.2744. Category winners: Chicken — Grandpa Val's BBQ (176.5828); Pork Ribs — Grumpy Old Patriot Barbeque (174.2972); Pork — Big Bobby's Q (176.5600); Brisket — HOG WASH BBQ (177.7144). This is the 3rd of 3 editions of this contest on record; the 2024 edition was won by Let It Smoke Barbecue.
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.
314.81
median 666.19
693.05 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 176.58
- Pork Ribs 174.30
- Pork 176.56
- Brisket 177.71
140.56
177.71
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2024 to 2024 — this edition picked out.
Entries
25
4 judged meats · 2 ancillary
Top score
693.0512
Winning margin
2.7768
GC over RC
Field average
650.38
314.81693.05
median 666.19 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
1.7372 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
670.1600
314.81693.05
10th place overall
Field spread
378.2400
winner to last place
Prize money
$4,000
on the line
Double threats
8
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 62%
beats 38% of 4723 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.61 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,523
avg power rating going in · stronger than 16% 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
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
PADDY MCQ'S won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 4 calls from 4 boards, best of them 2nd. Consistency beat fireworks.
- Chicken 2nd
- Pork Ribs 2nd
- Pork 10th
- Brisket 2nd
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 12 calls decided inside half a point
Brisket places 9–10: American Barbecue Company and Titans of BBQ tied on 166.2400 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 6–7: Q Shanty edged Hot Mess BBQ NH by 0.0112. Pork places 8–9: Matt's Backyard BBQ edged Q Shanty by 0.0116.
- Brisket 9–10 · tie
- Pork Ribs 6–7 · 0.0112
- Pork 8–9 · 0.0116
- Chicken 4–5 · 0.0116
Back to defend
2
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: Grumpy Old Patriot Barbeque (won 2024), Let It Smoke Barbecue (won 2024).
- Grumpy Old Patriot Barbeque · 2024
- Let It Smoke Barbecue · 2024
The biggest field yet
25
teams — a contest high
This contest usually draws about 19 teams
25 teams is the deepest field this contest has drawn in the data, against a typical 19.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 25, 2024 | Wrentham, MA | 529 South Street | 19 | 176.5600 | Grumpy Old Patriot Barbeque | — |
| Oct 25, 2024 | Wrentham, MA | 529 South Street | 19 | 177.7028 | Let It Smoke Barbecue | — |
| Oct 26, 2024 ← this one | Wrentham, MA | 529 South Street | 25 | 693.0512 | Paddy McQ's | HOG WASH BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 176.5828 | 174.8456 | 171.9656 |
| Pork Ribs | 174.2972 | 169.1544 | 167.9772 |
| Pork | 176.5600 | 171.9884 | 170.2628 |
| Brisket | 177.7144 | 172.5600 | 166.2400 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
25 entries · top 693.0512 · median 666.1944
Chicken
25 entries · top 176.5828 · median 168.5944
Pork Ribs
25 entries · top 174.2972 · median 166.2628
Pork
24 entries · top 176.5600 · median 169.4230
Brisket
24 entries · top 177.7144 · median 163.9828
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.
Kids-Q — Kids-Q11-13
8 entries · top 180 · median 172.5370 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Starla's Sinister Smoke | |
| 2 | One Nine Jack | |
| 3 | Jurassic Pork | |
| 4 | Rough Cut Q-Ties | |
| 5 | Izabell's Backyard BBQ | |
| 6 | Crusher BBQ | |
| 7 | Hillside BBQ JR | |
| 8 | Half Inked Jr |
Kids-Q — Kids-Q5-10
8 entries · top 178.8572 · median 171.6856
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Starla's Sinister Smoke | |
| 2 | Hillside BBQ JR | |
| 3 | Jurassic Pork | |
| 4 | Half Inked Jr | |
| 5 | Crusher BBQ | |
| 6 | Izabell's Backyard BBQ | |
| 7 | Rough Cut Q-Ties | |
| 8 | One Nine Jack |