A first Grand Championship
12
tracked contests to get there
This was THE PIT CREW BBQ OF AZ's first Grand Championship in the data — it arrived at their 12th tracked contest.
Wine Country Big Q 2013
Jul 12–13, 2013 · Santa Rosa, CA
THE PIT CREW BBQ OF AZ won Grand Champion at the Wine Country Big Q on July 12, 2013 in Santa Rosa, CA, scoring 678.8684 in a field of 44 teams. I.A.B. 30 BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 668.6060. Category winners: Chicken — MY SMOKIN GRILLFRIEND (176.0000); Pork Ribs — KNOCK UR SOX OFF BBQ (174.8688); Pork — THE PIT CREW BBQ OF AZ (174.2972); Brisket — ZZYZX BAR.B.Q (173.7372). This is the 1st of 3 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.
518.10
median 627.31
678.87 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 176
- Pork Ribs 174.87
- Pork 174.30
- Brisket 173.74
114.82
176
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2013 to 2015 — this edition picked out.
Entries
44
4 judged meats · 2 ancillary
Top score
678.8684
Winning margin
10.2624
GC over RC
Field average
620.40
518.10678.87
median 627.31 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Brisket
3.9772 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
654.9260
518.10678.87
10th place overall
Field spread
160.7656
winner to last place
Double threats
7
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 90%
beats 10% of 4715 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.58 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,517
avg power rating going in · stronger than 12% of contests
Storylines (4 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
10.2624
points clear of the field
Wider than 88% of the 4,714 championships in the data
The champion won by 10.2624 points — a wider margin than 88% of championships in the data.
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 10 calls decided inside half a point
Pork places 3–4: I.A.B. 30 BBQ and Tex Wasabi's All Stars tied on 169.6800 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 9–10: SLAP YO' DADDY BBQ edged PIRATES OF THE PIG by 0.0116. Brisket places 2–3: Tex Wasabi's All Stars edged THE PIT CREW BBQ OF AZ by 0.0116.
- Pork 3–4 · tie
- Pork 9–10 · 0.0116
- Brisket 2–3 · 0.0116
- Pork Ribs 7–8 · 0.0228
How the title was won
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
THE PIT CREW BBQ OF AZ took the title on 3 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was pork ribs at 17th.
- Chicken 4th
- Pork Ribs 17th
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 3rd
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 | Santa Rosa, CA | Santa Rosa, CA | 44 | 678.8684 | THE PIT CREW BBQ OF AZ | I.A.B. 30 BBQ |
| Jul 11, 2014 | Rohnert Park, CA | Rohnert Park, CA 95406 | 44 | 695.9656 | CECIL'S SMOK'N BBQ | BIG B'S DOWN-N-DIRTY BBQ |
| Jul 10, 2015 | Rohnert Park, CA | Rohnert Park, CA 95406 | 38 | 682.7428 | SMOKIN YANKEES | DG FIREHOUSE BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 176 | 169.7256 | 165.7488 |
| Pork Ribs | 174.8688 | 165.7144 | 164 |
| Pork | 174.2972 | 167.3828 | 163.9656 |
| Brisket | 173.7372 | 169.7600 | 165.0968 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
44 entries · top 678.8684 · median 627.3142
Chicken
44 entries · top 176 · median 160.5314
Pork Ribs
44 entries · top 174.8688 · median 158.2284
Pork
44 entries · top 174.2972 · median 156.2228
Brisket
44 entries · top 173.7372 · median 157.0914
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 — Mystery Meat
22 entries · top 180 · median 159.1084 · 🔥 perfect 180
Master Series — Rancher'S Reserve
15 entries · top 166.8228 · median 157.1656