A first Grand Championship
22
tracked contests to get there
This was Sailor Nicks BBQ's first Grand Championship in the data — it arrived at their 22nd tracked contest.
Marietta River City BBQ 2025
Apr 25–26, 2025 · Marietta, OH · 📍 Washington County Fairgrounds · State championship
Reps: Becky Druetzler, Dave Druetzler · Prize money: $4,700
Sailor Nicks BBQ won Grand Champion at the Marietta River City BBQ on April 25, 2025 in Marietta, OH at Washington County Fairgrounds, scoring 702.8460 in a field of 10 teams. T & S BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 691.9428. Category winners: Chicken — Sailor Nicks BBQ (176.0116); Pork Ribs — Vegan Tears BBQ (176.0116); Pork — Sailor Nicks BBQ (178.8572); Brisket — BEER TIME BBQ (177.7028). This is the 12th of 14 editions of this contest on record; the 2024 edition was won by Chunky BBQ; the next was held in 2026.
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.
632.40
median 677.07
702.85 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 176.01
- Pork Ribs 176.01
- Pork 178.86
- Brisket 177.70
153.07
178.86
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2015 to 2026 — this edition picked out.
Entries
10
4 judged meats
Top score
702.8460
Winning margin
10.9032
GC over RC
Field average
672.03
632.40702.85
median 677.07 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
4.5944 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
632.4004
632.40702.85
10th place overall
Field spread
70.4456
winner to last place
Prize money
$4,700
on the line
Double threats
6
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 21%
beats 79% of 4714 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.66 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,523
avg power rating going in · stronger than 16% 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.
A statement win
10.9032
points clear of the field
Wider than 90% of the 4,713 championships in the data
The champion won by 10.9032 points — a wider margin than 90% of championships in the data.
A dynasty in the making
2×
wins at this contest
2 of 14 tracked editions
SLIPPERY PETE'S BBQ has won this contest 2 times across its 14 tracked editions.
- 2015
- 2019
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 4 calls decided inside half a point
Pork Ribs places 2–3: T & S BBQ and BEER TIME BBQ tied on 174.2972 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 9–10: CIRCLE L BBQ edged Tuff N Dry BBQ by 0.0112. Chicken places 4–5: Bigfoot Mountain BBQ edged T & S BBQ by 0.0116.
- Pork Ribs 2–3 · tie
- Pork 9–10 · 0.0112
- Chicken 4–5 · 0.0116
- Chicken 6–7 · 0.0232
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
Sailor Nicks BBQ won Chicken, Pork — a double, and took the Grand Championship on top of it.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork 1st
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
Sailor Nicks BBQ took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 2 outright wins — their weakest board was pork ribs at 5th.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 5th
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 2nd
This contest's own records (1 in the KCBS record book)
Records held by every edition of this contest put together, not just this one afternoon.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 12, 2015 | Marietta, OH | Marietta, OH 43724 | 17 | 705.1432 | SLIPPERY PETE'S BBQ | 2 WORTHLESS NUTS, NATURAL BORN GRILLERS |
| Jun 10, 2016 | Marietta, OH | Marietta, OH | 20 | 695.3716 | SPITTIN' FEATHERS BBQ | FOOMANCHOO BBQ |
| Jun 9, 2017 | Marietta, OH | 922 Front St.( Washington County Fairgrounds) | 16 | 698.2400 | CONTAGIOUS Q | BROTHA K'S BOARBECUE |
| Jun 8, 2018 | Marietta, OH | 922 Front St.( Washington County Fairgrounds) | 11 | 695.9544 | CONTAGIOUS Q | 270 SMOKERS |
| Apr 26, 2019 | Marietta, OH | 922 Front St.( Washington County Fairgrounds) | 26 | 686.8228 | Slippery Pete's BBQ | SPITTIN' FEATHERS BBQ |
| Apr 23, 2021 | Marietta, OH | Washington County Fairgrounds | 29 | 695.9884 | Under the Radar | PEACE LOVE & SMOKINESS |
| Apr 29, 2022 | Marietta, OH | Washington County Fairgrounds | 25 | 698.8000 | Peace, Love & Smokiness | SmokinGhost BBQ |
| Apr 28, 2023 | Marietta, OH | Washington County Fairgrounds | 42 | 701.6800 | High on the Hog | UNDER THE RADAR |
| Apr 28, 2023 | Marietta, OH | Washington County Fairgrounds | 18 | 178.8572 | The BBQ Bus | — |
| Apr 26, 2024 | Marietta, OH | Washington County Fairgrounds | 13 | 705.6800 | Chunky BBQ | CONVICTED PIGS BBQ |
| Apr 26, 2024 | Marietta, OH | Washington County Fairgrounds | 6 | 180 | Chunky BBQ | — |
| Apr 25, 2025 ← this one | Marietta, OH | Washington County Fairgrounds | 10 | 702.8460 | Sailor Nicks BBQ | T & S BBQ |
| Apr 25, 2025 | Marietta, OH | — | — | — | — | — |
| Apr 24, 2026 | Marietta, OH | Washington County Fairgrounds | 15 | 696.5716 | Beer Time BBQ | Freedom Meat Repeat |
| Apr 24, 2026 | Marietta, OH | Washington County Fairgrounds | 11 | 176.5600 | Puddleduck BBQ | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 176.0116 | 170.8228 | 153.0744 |
| Pork Ribs | 176.0116 | 171.4172 | 157.6572 |
| Pork | 178.8572 | 169.1200 | 156.5260 |
| Brisket | 177.7028 | 169.7028 | 154.2172 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
10 entries · top 702.8460 · median 677.0688
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sailor Nicks BBQ | |
| 2 | T & S BBQ | |
| 3 | BEER TIME BBQ | |
| 4 | Freedom Meat Repeat | |
| 5 | Buckeye Blue Smoke BBQ | |
| 6 | Vegan Tears BBQ | |
| 7 | CIRCLE L BBQ | |
| 8 | Bigfoot Mountain BBQ | |
| 9 | Red and Black BBQ Shack | |
| 10 | Tuff N Dry BBQ |
Chicken
10 entries · top 176.0116 · median 169.9772
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sailor Nicks BBQ | |
| 2 | CIRCLE L BBQ | |
| 3 | Freedom Meat Repeat | |
| 4 | Bigfoot Mountain BBQ | |
| 5 | T & S BBQ | |
| 6 | Buckeye Blue Smoke BBQ | |
| 7 | BEER TIME BBQ | |
| 8 | Vegan Tears BBQ | |
| 9 | Tuff N Dry BBQ | |
| 10 | Red and Black BBQ Shack |
Pork Ribs
10 entries · top 176.0116 · median 170.2744
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vegan Tears BBQ | |
| 2 | T & S BBQ | |
| 3 | BEER TIME BBQ | |
| 4 | Freedom Meat Repeat | |
| 5 | Sailor Nicks BBQ | |
| 6 | Red and Black BBQ Shack | |
| 7 | CIRCLE L BBQ | |
| 8 | Buckeye Blue Smoke BBQ | |
| 9 | Tuff N Dry BBQ | |
| 10 | Bigfoot Mountain BBQ |
Pork
10 entries · top 178.8572 · median 167.9714
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sailor Nicks BBQ | |
| 2 | Freedom Meat Repeat | |
| 3 | T & S BBQ | |
| 4 | Buckeye Blue Smoke BBQ | |
| 5 | BEER TIME BBQ | |
| 6 | Red and Black BBQ Shack | |
| 7 | Vegan Tears BBQ | |
| 8 | Bigfoot Mountain BBQ | |
| 9 | CIRCLE L BBQ | |
| 10 | Tuff N Dry BBQ |
Brisket
10 entries · top 177.7028 · median 169.1544
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BEER TIME BBQ | |
| 2 | Sailor Nicks BBQ | |
| 3 | T & S BBQ | |
| 4 | Buckeye Blue Smoke BBQ | |
| 5 | Vegan Tears BBQ | |
| 6 | CIRCLE L BBQ | |
| 7 | Freedom Meat Repeat | |
| 8 | Bigfoot Mountain BBQ | |
| 9 | Red and Black BBQ Shack | |
| 10 | Tuff N Dry BBQ |