A first Grand Championship
8
tracked contests to get there
This was PORK PATROL BBQ's first Grand Championship in the data — it arrived at their 8th tracked contest.
Sam's Club National BBQ Tour 2013
Jul 19–20, 2013 · Des Moines, IA
PORK PATROL BBQ won Grand Champion at the Sam's Club National BBQ Tour on July 19, 2013 in Des Moines, IA, scoring 686.2284 in a field of 28 teams. GRILLS GONE WILD IOWA took Reserve Grand Champion with 679.4856. Category winners: Chicken — PORK PATROL BBQ (177.7028); Pork Ribs — LION 'BOUT THE Q (174.8916); Pork — LION 'BOUT THE Q (174.2744); Brisket — ddon's Pit crew (176.0000). This is the 21st of 125 editions of this contest on record; the 2013 edition was won by TIPPYCANOE BBQ CREW; the next was held in 2013.
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.
574.73
median 657.38
686.23 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 177.70
- Pork Ribs 174.89
- Pork 174.27
- Brisket 176
123.93
177.70
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2013 to 2017 — this edition picked out.
Entries
28
4 judged meats
Top score
686.2284
Winning margin
6.7428
GC over RC
Field average
654.74
574.73686.23
median 657.38 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork
2.2860 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
662.8800
574.73686.23
10th place overall
Field spread
111.4968
winner to last place
Double threats
5
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 80%
beats 20% of 4715 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
0%
0 of 29 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Weak
ρ = -0.24 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.
A dynasty in the making
4×
wins at this contest
4 of 125 tracked editions
LOOT N' BOOTY BBQ has won this contest 4 times across its 125 tracked editions.
- 2014
- 2015
- 2017
- 2017
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 6 calls decided inside half a point
Pork Ribs places 6–7: LUCKY'S Q and GRILLS GONE WILD IOWA tied on 170.2972 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 6–7: SWINE ASSASSINS edged BIG CHAIN BBQ GANG by 0.0112. Chicken places 8–9: IOWA WILD HOGS BBQ edged IOWA STATE GRILL TEAM by 0.0116.
- Pork Ribs 6–7 · tie
- Brisket 6–7 · 0.0112
- Chicken 8–9 · 0.0116
- Pork Ribs 1–2 · 0.0344
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
LION 'BOUT THE Q won Pork Ribs, Pork — a double.
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 1st
How the title was won
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
PORK PATROL BBQ took the title on 3 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was pork ribs at 14th.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 14th
- Pork 3rd
- Brisket 5th
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 →
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 177.7028 | 170.2972 | 167.3828 |
| Pork Ribs | 174.8916 | 171.4172 | 169.1544 |
| Pork | 174.2744 | 171.9884 | 168.5716 |
| Brisket | 176 | 168.5372 | 165.7372 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
28 entries · top 686.2284 · median 657.3772
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | PORK PATROL BBQ | |
| 2 | GRILLS GONE WILD IOWA | |
| 3 | BIG CHAIN BBQ GANG | |
| 4 | SMOKETACULAR | |
| 5 | ddon's Pit crew | |
| 6 | LUCKY'S Q | |
| 7 | FARMBOY BBQ | |
| 8 | THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SMOKE | |
| 9 | Big Brads BBQ | |
| 10 | Uncle Bub's BBQ LLC | |
| 11 | SMOKIN O BBQ | |
| 12 | SMOKIN BUTT BBQ | |
| 13 | S&S BBQ | |
| 14 | THE WICKED PIG | |
| 15 | LION 'BOUT THE Q | |
| 16 | TEMPLETON RYE WOODFELLAS | |
| 17 | HONEYBADGER BBQ | |
| 18 | SWINE ASSASSINS | |
| 19 | SMOKEY D'S WANNABEES | |
| 20 | POLITICAL PORK | |
| 21 | Spanky and the Meat Mafia | |
| 22 | IOWA WILD HOGS BBQ | |
| 23 | BREW-B-Q | |
| 24 | BURNT FINGER BBQ | |
| 25 | IOWA STATE GRILL TEAM | |
| 26 | OLD BOY'S BBQ | |
| 27 | KLASSY KREW BBQ | |
| 28 | BIG HEAD DOG BBQ |
Chicken
28 entries · top 177.7028 · median 165.4400
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | PORK PATROL BBQ | |
| 2 | SMOKETACULAR | |
| 3 | FARMBOY BBQ | |
| 4 | SMOKIN BUTT BBQ | |
| 5 | LUCKY'S Q | |
| 6 | BURNT FINGER BBQ | |
| 7 | SMOKIN O BBQ | |
| 8 | IOWA WILD HOGS BBQ | |
| 9 | IOWA STATE GRILL TEAM | |
| 10 | THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SMOKE | |
| 11 | HONEYBADGER BBQ | |
| 12 | BIG CHAIN BBQ GANG | |
| 13 | THE WICKED PIG | |
| 14 | SMOKEY D'S WANNABEES | |
| 15 | GRILLS GONE WILD IOWA | |
| 16 | Uncle Bub's BBQ LLC | |
| 17 | Spanky and the Meat Mafia | |
| 18 | ddon's Pit crew | |
| 19 | Big Brads BBQ | |
| 20 | BREW-B-Q | |
| 21 | OLD BOY'S BBQ | |
| 22 | BIG HEAD DOG BBQ | |
| 23 | SWINE ASSASSINS | |
| 24 | LION 'BOUT THE Q | |
| 25 | S&S BBQ | |
| 26 | TEMPLETON RYE WOODFELLAS | |
| 27 | KLASSY KREW BBQ | |
| 28 | POLITICAL PORK |
Pork Ribs
28 entries · top 174.8916 · median 165.7200
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | LION 'BOUT THE Q | |
| 2 | BIG CHAIN BBQ GANG | |
| 3 | SMOKEY D'S WANNABEES | |
| 4 | POLITICAL PORK | |
| 5 | SWINE ASSASSINS | |
| 6 | LUCKY'S Q | |
| 7 | GRILLS GONE WILD IOWA | |
| 8 | FARMBOY BBQ | |
| 9 | HONEYBADGER BBQ | |
| 10 | S&S BBQ | |
| 11 | TEMPLETON RYE WOODFELLAS | |
| 12 | SMOKIN O BBQ | |
| 13 | THE WICKED PIG | |
| 14 | PORK PATROL BBQ | |
| 15 | Spanky and the Meat Mafia | |
| 16 | Big Brads BBQ | |
| 17 | IOWA WILD HOGS BBQ | |
| 18 | IOWA STATE GRILL TEAM | |
| 19 | SMOKIN BUTT BBQ | |
| 20 | BREW-B-Q | |
| 21 | Uncle Bub's BBQ LLC | |
| 22 | SMOKETACULAR | |
| 23 | ddon's Pit crew | |
| 24 | THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SMOKE | |
| 25 | BURNT FINGER BBQ | |
| 26 | KLASSY KREW BBQ | |
| 27 | OLD BOY'S BBQ | |
| 28 | BIG HEAD DOG BBQ |
Pork
28 entries · top 174.2744 · median 164.2972
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | LION 'BOUT THE Q | |
| 2 | Uncle Bub's BBQ LLC | |
| 3 | PORK PATROL BBQ | |
| 4 | SMOKETACULAR | |
| 5 | GRILLS GONE WILD IOWA | |
| 6 | ddon's Pit crew | |
| 7 | TEMPLETON RYE WOODFELLAS | |
| 8 | Big Brads BBQ | |
| 9 | SMOKIN BUTT BBQ | |
| 10 | POLITICAL PORK | |
| 11 | THE WICKED PIG | |
| 12 | SMOKIN O BBQ | |
| 13 | THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SMOKE | |
| 14 | S&S BBQ | |
| 15 | Spanky and the Meat Mafia | |
| 16 | OLD BOY'S BBQ | |
| 17 | BIG CHAIN BBQ GANG | |
| 18 | FARMBOY BBQ | |
| 19 | BREW-B-Q | |
| 20 | IOWA STATE GRILL TEAM | |
| 21 | IOWA WILD HOGS BBQ | |
| 22 | HONEYBADGER BBQ | |
| 23 | LUCKY'S Q | |
| 24 | BURNT FINGER BBQ | |
| 25 | SWINE ASSASSINS | |
| 26 | SMOKEY D'S WANNABEES | |
| 27 | KLASSY KREW BBQ | |
| 28 | BIG HEAD DOG BBQ |
Brisket
28 entries · top 176 · median 163.1430
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ddon's Pit crew | |
| 2 | THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SMOKE | |
| 3 | GRILLS GONE WILD IOWA | |
| 4 | LUCKY'S Q | |
| 5 | PORK PATROL BBQ | |
| 6 | SWINE ASSASSINS | |
| 7 | BIG CHAIN BBQ GANG | |
| 8 | S&S BBQ | |
| 9 | SMOKETACULAR | |
| 10 | Uncle Bub's BBQ LLC | |
| 11 | Big Brads BBQ | |
| 12 | SMOKEY D'S WANNABEES | |
| 13 | BURNT FINGER BBQ | |
| 14 | FARMBOY BBQ | |
| 15 | POLITICAL PORK | |
| 16 | OLD BOY'S BBQ | |
| 17 | TEMPLETON RYE WOODFELLAS | |
| 18 | SMOKIN BUTT BBQ | |
| 19 | HONEYBADGER BBQ | |
| 20 | BREW-B-Q | |
| 21 | KLASSY KREW BBQ | |
| 22 | IOWA WILD HOGS BBQ | |
| 23 | THE WICKED PIG | |
| 24 | SMOKIN O BBQ | |
| 25 | Spanky and the Meat Mafia | |
| 26 | IOWA STATE GRILL TEAM | |
| 27 | LION 'BOUT THE Q | |
| 28 | BIG HEAD DOG BBQ |