A first Grand Championship
2
tracked contests to get there
This was LOCAL SMOKE BBQ's first Grand Championship in the data — it arrived at their 2nd tracked contest.
New Jersey State Barbecue Championship 2013
Jul 12–14, 2013 · North Wildwood, NJ
LOCAL SMOKE BBQ won Grand Champion at the New Jersey State Barbecue Championship on July 12, 2013 in North Wildwood, NJ, scoring 655.3940 in a field of 65 teams. RIBS WITHIN took Reserve Grand Champion with 648.4912. Category winners: Chicken — SMOKOPOLIS BBQ (173.7372); Pork Ribs — LOCAL SMOKE BBQ (167.9884); Pork — Whole Hog Cafe (170.8800); Brisket — PHILLY PIGS (170.2744). This is the 1st of 12 editions of this contest on record; the next was held in 2014.
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.
469.21
median 601.63
655.39 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 173.74
- Pork Ribs 167.99
- Pork 170.88
- Brisket 170.27
20
173.74
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2013 to 2026 — this edition picked out.
Entries
65
4 judged meats · 4 ancillary
Top score
655.3940
Winning margin
6.9028
GC over RC
Field average
597.09
469.21655.39
median 601.63 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
2.2740 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
636.4228
469.21655.39
10th place overall
Field spread
186.1824
winner to last place
Double threats
3
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 100%
beats 0% of 4714 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Weak
ρ = -0.27 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,504
avg power rating going in · stronger than 3% 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 dynasty in the making
3×
wins at this contest
3 of 12 tracked editions
Chunky BBQ has won this contest 3 times across its 12 tracked editions.
- 2022
- 2023
- 2024
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 11 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 5–6: MOON RIVER BARBEQUE and PIGHEADED BBQ tied on 165.6912 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 7–8: MIKEY O'S REAL BBQ and OUTTA HERE BBQ tied on 164.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 9–10: TEAM OLD SCHOOL and LOCAL SMOKE BBQ tied on 163.9656 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 5–6 · tie
- Chicken 7–8 · tie
- Chicken 9–10 · tie
- Pork Ribs 6–7 · tie
How the title was won
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
LOCAL SMOKE BBQ took the title on 3 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was pork at 23rd.
- Chicken 10th
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 23rd
- Brisket 2nd
One of the big ones
65
teams on the grounds
Bigger than 94% of the 5,468 contests in the data
65 teams — bigger than 94% of the 5,468 contests in the data.
This contest's own records (6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 12, 2013 ← this one | North Wildwood, NJ | North Wildwood, NJ | 65 | 655.3940 | LOCAL SMOKE BBQ | RIBS WITHIN |
| Jul 11, 2014 | North Wildwood, NJ | North Wildwood, NJ 08260 | 65 | 670.3088 | GONEHOGGIN.COM | SHADY CREW |
| Jul 10, 2015 | North Wildwood, NJ | North Wildwood, NJ 08260 | 65 | 667.9200 | UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT | SLOWER LOWER BBQ |
| Jul 8, 2016 | North Wildwood, NJ | North Wildwood , NJ | 65 | 683.3372 | FINN'S FINEST BBQ | WILBUR'S REVENGE |
| Jul 7, 2017 | North Wildwood, NJ | 201 New Jersey Ave | 67 | 674.1480 | LOCAL SMOKE BBQ | FINN'S FINEST BBQ |
| Jul 14, 2018 | North Wildwood, NJ | North Wildwood, NJ 08260 | 64 | 690.2516 | UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT | PIGGIN' WHISKEY |
| Jul 12, 2019 | North Wildwood, NJ | 201 New Jersey Ave | 64 | 689.6340 | Uncle Pigs Barbecue Pit | TOP GUN BARBECUE |
| Jul 9, 2022 | North Wildwood, NJ | 201 New Jersey Ave | 61 | 703.3828 | Chunky BBQ | UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT |
| Jul 14, 2023 | North Wildwood, NJ | 201 New Jersey Ave | 64 | 703.9772 | Chunky BBQ | GLAZED AND INFUSED NEW JERSEY BBQ |
| Jul 13, 2024 | North Wildwood, NJ | 201 New Jersey Ave | 62 | 695.3944 | Chunky BBQ | UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT |
| Jul 12, 2025 | North Wildwood, NJ | 201 New Jersey Ave | 63 | 694.2400 | Pig Candy Barbeque Co. | Big Butts BBQ |
| Jul 11, 2026 | North Wildwood, NJ | 201 New Jersey Ave | 62 | 704.5256 | B's Que | Bogg's Hog BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 173.7372 | 165.6912 | 163.9656 |
| Pork Ribs | 167.9884 | 165.7144 | 161.1428 |
| Pork | 170.8800 | 164.5600 | 162.7884 |
| Brisket | 170.2744 | 162.2744 | 159.4400 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
65 entries · top 655.3940 · median 601.6344
Chicken
65 entries · top 173.7372 · median 152
Pork Ribs
65 entries · top 167.9884 · median 149.1316
Pork
65 entries · top 170.8800 · median 150.3084
Brisket
65 entries · top 170.2744 · median 147.9772
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.
Master Series — Best Ribs In Jersey
42 entries · top 167.9884 · median 147.7086
Master Series — Dessert
42 entries · top 178.8572 · median 159.7200
Master Series — Iron Chef
51 entries · top 173.7828 · median 158.2516
Master Series — Sauce
58 entries · top 172.5828 · median 153.1372