A dynasty in the making
2×
wins at this contest
2 of 6 tracked editions
THE SMOKE HUNTERS has won this contest 2 times across its 6 tracked editions.
- 2013
- 2016
Grill Games 2013
Aug 23–24, 2013 · Kenosha, WI
THE SMOKE HUNTERS won Grand Champion at the Grill Games on August 23, 2013 in Kenosha, WI, scoring 685.7488 in a field of 43 teams. DUCE'S WILD took Reserve Grand Champion with 678.8116. Category winners: Chicken — Top Shelf Smoking Crew (174.3316); Pork Ribs — DUCE'S WILD (177.7372); Pork — BRINGIN' THE HEAT (177.7028); Brisket — THE SMOKE HUNTERS (178.8572). This is the 1st of 6 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.
488.50
median 621.73
685.75 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 174.33
- Pork Ribs 177.74
- Pork 177.70
- Brisket 178.86
20
178.86
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2013 to 2018 — this edition picked out.
Entries
43
4 judged meats · 2 ancillary
Top score
685.7488
Winning margin
6.9372
GC over RC
Field average
626.35
488.50685.75
median 621.73 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
5.2116 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
654.7772
488.50685.75
10th place overall
Field spread
197.2460
winner to last place
Double threats
7
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 80%
beats 20% of 4723 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.41 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,501
avg power rating going in · stronger than 2% of contests
Storylines (3 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 6 calls decided inside half a point
Pork Ribs places 6–7: THE SMOKE HUNTERS and FIREWISE BBQ tied on 169.1544 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 5–6: Risky Brisket edged THE SMOKE HUNTERS by 0.0112. Pork places 8–9: CAPTAIN RON'S BREW-N-QUE edged HARBOR HOGS BAR-B-QUE by 0.0116.
- Pork Ribs 6–7 · tie
- Pork Ribs 5–6 · 0.0112
- Pork 8–9 · 0.0116
- Chicken 7–8 · 0.0228
How the title was won
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
THE SMOKE HUNTERS took the title on 3 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was chicken at 15th.
- Chicken 15th
- Pork Ribs 6th
- Pork 3rd
- Brisket 1st
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 23, 2013 ← this one | Kenosha, WI | Kenosha, WI | 43 | 685.7488 | THE SMOKE HUNTERS | DUCE'S WILD |
| Aug 22, 2014 | Kenosha, WI | Kenosha, WI 53140 | 47 | 694.3200 | YELLOW RIVER BBQ | HILL-BILLY BBQ |
| Aug 28, 2015 | Kenosha, WI | Kenosha, WI 53140 | 49 | 686.2516 | THE AMERICAN DREAM BBQ | MUD'S BBQ |
| Aug 26, 2016 | Kenosha, WI | Larkefront, 1st Ave and 56th st | 37 | 692.5256 | THE SMOKE HUNTERS | ONE2BBQ |
| Aug 25, 2017 | Kenosha, WI | Lake Front 1st Ave& 56th st | 39 | 671.3256 | CHANNABILLY BBQ | DUCE'S WILD |
| Aug 24, 2018 | Kenosha, WI | Lake Front 1st Ave& 56th st | 42 | 686.3084 | D.F.G.'S BBQ | ONE2BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 174.3316 | 169.1200 | 166.8456 |
| Pork Ribs | 177.7372 | 169.1656 | 163.4172 |
| Pork | 177.7028 | 170.8228 | 165.7484 |
| Brisket | 178.8572 | 170.3200 | 164.5256 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
43 entries · top 685.7488 · median 621.7256
Chicken
43 entries · top 174.3316 · median 161.1312
Pork Ribs
43 entries · top 177.7372 · median 156.5256
Pork
43 entries · top 177.7028 · median 156.5944
Brisket
43 entries · top 178.8572 · median 157.0972
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 — Anything Goes
16 entries · top 162.8456 · median 147.0914
Master Series — Dessert
13 entries · top 173.2000 · median 153.0968