Won without a category win
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
4:20 Q won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 4 calls from 4 boards, best of them 4th. Consistency beat fireworks.
- Chicken 5th
- Pork Ribs 4th
- Pork 9th
- Brisket 4th
12th Annual Maryland State BBQ Bash
Aug 9–10, 2013 · Bel Air, MD
4:20 Q won Grand Champion at the 12th Annual Maryland State BBQ Bash on August 9, 2013 in Bel Air, MD, scoring 677.7256 in a field of 60 teams. FIRE FIGHTING BBQ TEAM took Reserve Grand Champion with 674.2172. Category winners: Chicken — FAT MAXINE'S BBQ (176.0000); Pork Ribs — 3 EYZ BBQ (173.7028); Pork — JACKED UP BBQ (180.0000); Brisket — FIRE FIGHTING BBQ TEAM (173.7256).
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.
555.93
median 617.02
677.73 🏆
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 173.70
- Pork 180 🔥
- Brisket 173.73
122.73
180
Entries
60
4 judged meats · 2 ancillary
Top score
677.7256
Winning margin
3.5084
GC over RC
Field average
620.91
555.93677.73
median 617.02 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
2.8684 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
655.9660
555.93677.73
10th place overall
Field spread
121.7944
winner to last place
Double threats
4
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 91%
beats 9% of 4714 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.56 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.
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 11 calls decided inside half a point
Pork places 5–6: BIG BLOCK BBQ and ROCKIN ROBYNS BBQ tied on 166.8228 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 9–10: PORK BARREL BBQ and APORKALYPSE NOW tied on 167.3828 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 7–8: TASTY LICKS BBQ SUPPLY edged FAT MAXINE'S BBQ by 0.0112.
- Pork 5–6 · tie
- Brisket 9–10 · tie
- Pork 7–8 · 0.0112
- Chicken 8–9 · 0.0116
One of the big ones
60
teams on the grounds
Bigger than 92% of the 5,468 contests in the data
60 teams — bigger than 92% of the 5,468 contests in the data.
A perfect score on the table
1
perfect 180s
1 perfect 180 was scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- JACKED UP BBQ · Pork
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)
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 176 | 170.2972 | 166.8228 |
| Pork Ribs | 173.7028 | 170.8344 | 167.4172 |
| Pork | 180 | 166.8228 | 165.6684 |
| Brisket | 173.7256 | 170.8112 | 167.3828 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
60 entries · top 677.7256 · median 617.0168
Chicken
60 entries · top 176 · median 155.0856
Pork Ribs
60 entries · top 173.7028 · median 158.2514
Pork
60 entries · top 180 · median 155.1314 · 🔥 perfect 180
Brisket
60 entries · top 173.7256 · median 151.4286
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 — Rancher'S Reserve Beef
15 entries · top 172.5600 · median 153.1428
Master Series — Tailgate Ribs
41 entries · top 175.4972 · median 154.8228
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brew & Q | |
| 2 | Country Boy's Barbeque | |
| 3 | A-K BBQ | |
| 4 | Thunderstruck BBQ | |
| 5 | GreenRidge BBQ | |
| 6 | Dirty Boy BBQ | |
| 7 | Buckley Boys | |
| 8 | Snow Hillbilly BBQ | |
| 9 | THE SQUEALETTES | |
| 10 | Red Nex BBQ | |
| 11 | Pastor Chuck and Backyard Griller | |
| 12 | Four Roses BBQ | |
| 13 | In 'Que We Trust | |
| 14 | Smoking Guns | |
| 15 | Poplar Road BBQ Co. | |
| 16 | Smiling Swine | |
| 17 | SMOKE SIGNALS BBQ | |
| 18 | Old Glory BBQ | |
| 19 | Shifty & Company | |
| 20 | Bro B's Que | |
| 21 | Later Bones BBQ | |
| 22 | Clubhouse Beef and BBQ | |
| 23 | DIESEL SMOKE BBQ | |
| 24 | SLABULOUS | |
| 25 | Slow and Dirty | |
| 26 | Three Amigos BBQ | |
| 27 | Limp Brisket BBQ | |
| 28 | HARCO LOCO BBQ | |
| 29 | Penciltucky Woodchuck's BBQ | |
| 30 | Smokin' Deusens | |
| 31 | They Call Me Mr. Pig | |
| 32 | Island Porkers BBQ | |
| 33 | Bush River BBQ | |
| 34 | Trust D and Beer Crew | |
| 35 | Hoggie Style BBQ | |
| 36 | Honey Cubs | |
| 37 | Pork Engineering | |
| 38 | NO CLUE BBQ | |
| 39 | Grill Mates | |
| 40 | Mark and Vic's BBQ | |
| 41 | Groound Loop BBQ |