A first Grand Championship
13
tracked contests to get there
This was NICKLE BOYS BBQ's first Grand Championship in the data — it arrived at their 13th tracked contest.
Holy Smoke BBQ Contest
2013-08-23 – 2013-08-24 · Liberty, MO · 📍 Liberty, MO
Grand Champion: NICKLE BOYS BBQ (689.7488) · 31 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 MASTERQUE
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.
429.03
median 631.83
689.75 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 177.14
- Pork Ribs 173.71
- Pork 176.00
- Brisket 169.68
20.00
177.14
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2013 to 2015 — this edition picked out.
Entries
31
4 judged meats
Top score
689.7488
Winning margin
19.5776
GC over RC
Field average
607.35
429.03689.75
median 631.83 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork
4.0228 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
649.5772
429.03689.75
10th place overall
Field spread
260.7200
winner to last place
Double threats
6
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 71%
beats 29% of 4707 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Weak
ρ = -0.27 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1509
avg power rating going in · stronger than 7% 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 statement win
19.5776
points clear of the field
Wider than 99% of the 4,742 championships in the data
The champion won by 19.5776 points — a wider margin than 99% of championships in the data.
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 5 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 7–8: SMOKIN JO and DEAD LAST BBQ tied on 167.4400 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 8–9: PARK AVENUE PORK edged SONS OF A BRISKET by 0.0116. Pork Ribs places 3–4: SHUT THE FRONT DOOR BBQ edged MASTERQUE by 0.0228.
- Chicken 7–8 · tie
- Pork Ribs 8–9 · 0.0116
- Pork Ribs 3–4 · 0.0228
- Pork 4–5 · 0.0228
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
NICKLE BOYS BBQ won Pork Ribs, Pork — a double, and took the Grand Championship on top of it.
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 1st
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
NICKLE BOYS BBQ took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 2 outright wins — their weakest board was brisket at 6th.
- Chicken 2nd
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 6th
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-08-23 ← this one | Liberty, MO | Liberty, MO | 31 | 689.7488 | NICKLE BOYS BBQ | MASTERQUE |
| 2014-08-22 | Liberty, MO | Liberty, MO 64068 | 29 | 692.0004 | DIRT ROAD BBQ | SWEET BEAVER BBQ |
| 2015-08-21 | Liberty, MO | Liberty, MO 64068 | 28 | 699.9772 | PHAT JACKS BBQ NE | THUMP & STRUM BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 177.1428 | 170.8572 | 165.7028 |
| Pork Ribs | 173.7144 | 168.0000 | 164.5372 |
| Pork | 176.0000 | 171.9772 | 169.1084 |
| Brisket | 169.6800 | 164.5828 | 159.9544 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
31 entries · top 689.7488 · median 631.8284
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | NICKLE BOYS BBQ | |
| 2 | MASTERQUE | |
| 3 | DIRT ROAD BBQ | |
| 4 | FAT BOYS BBQ | |
| 5 | BURNT FINGER BBQ | |
| 6 | DEAD LAST BBQ | |
| 7 | SMOKE ME TENDER BBQ | |
| 8 | SHUT THE FRONT DOOR BBQ | |
| 9 | SMOKIN JO | |
| 10 | PARK AVENUE PORK | |
| 11 | SONS OF A BRISKET | |
| 12 | ALL DSG | |
| 13 | A&E THE ORIGINAL RIB COMPANY | |
| 14 | BLUE COLLAR SMOKERS OF KCMO | |
| 15 | Butt Commander | |
| 16 | THICK AND THIN BBQ | |
| 17 | SMOKIN IN THE BOARDROOM | |
| 18 | Crazy Canucks BBQ | |
| 19 | Deja Vu BBQ | |
| 20 | GEN QUE | |
| 21 | SMOKE DYNASTY | |
| 22 | Claymont Smokers | |
| 23 | None the Weiser | |
| 24 | Built for Smoke | |
| 25 | PIGSKINERS BBQ | |
| 26 | HOOK 'EM & COOK 'EM | |
| 27 | Storm Troopers | |
| 28 | Jeff and John BBQ | |
| 29 | SOMEWHERE IN THYME | |
| 30 | The 3 Wise Meat Men | |
| 31 | Wood Bee Smokers |
Chicken
31 entries · top 177.1428 · median 158.8572
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | FAT BOYS BBQ | |
| 2 | NICKLE BOYS BBQ | |
| 3 | PARK AVENUE PORK | |
| 4 | SHUT THE FRONT DOOR BBQ | |
| 5 | Butt Commander | |
| 6 | MASTERQUE | |
| 7 | SMOKIN JO | |
| 8 | DEAD LAST BBQ | |
| 9 | DIRT ROAD BBQ | |
| 10 | ALL DSG | |
| 11 | SMOKE ME TENDER BBQ | |
| 12 | SMOKE DYNASTY | |
| 13 | THICK AND THIN BBQ | |
| 14 | None the Weiser | |
| 15 | Jeff and John BBQ | |
| 16 | Wood Bee Smokers | |
| 17 | A&E THE ORIGINAL RIB COMPANY | |
| 18 | BURNT FINGER BBQ | |
| 19 | Built for Smoke | |
| 20 | SONS OF A BRISKET | |
| 21 | BLUE COLLAR SMOKERS OF KCMO | |
| 22 | Deja Vu BBQ | |
| 23 | Crazy Canucks BBQ | |
| 24 | Claymont Smokers | |
| 25 | SMOKIN IN THE BOARDROOM | |
| 26 | Storm Troopers | |
| 27 | PIGSKINERS BBQ | |
| 28 | HOOK 'EM & COOK 'EM | |
| 29 | GEN QUE | |
| 30 | SOMEWHERE IN THYME | |
| 31 | The 3 Wise Meat Men |
Pork Ribs
30 entries · top 173.7144 · median 160.5542
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | NICKLE BOYS BBQ | |
| 2 | DIRT ROAD BBQ | |
| 3 | SHUT THE FRONT DOOR BBQ | |
| 4 | MASTERQUE | |
| 5 | SMOKE ME TENDER BBQ | |
| 6 | BURNT FINGER BBQ | |
| 7 | GEN QUE | |
| 8 | PARK AVENUE PORK | |
| 9 | SONS OF A BRISKET | |
| 10 | Deja Vu BBQ | |
| 11 | SMOKIN IN THE BOARDROOM | |
| 12 | DEAD LAST BBQ | |
| 13 | Built for Smoke | |
| 14 | BLUE COLLAR SMOKERS OF KCMO | |
| 15 | THICK AND THIN BBQ | |
| 16 | FAT BOYS BBQ | |
| 17 | ALL DSG | |
| 18 | A&E THE ORIGINAL RIB COMPANY | |
| 19 | Jeff and John BBQ | |
| 20 | SMOKIN JO | |
| 21 | SMOKE DYNASTY | |
| 22 | None the Weiser | |
| 23 | HOOK 'EM & COOK 'EM | |
| 24 | SOMEWHERE IN THYME | |
| 25 | Claymont Smokers | |
| 26 | Butt Commander | |
| 27 | Crazy Canucks BBQ | |
| 28 | The 3 Wise Meat Men | |
| 29 | Storm Troopers | |
| 30 | PIGSKINERS BBQ |
Pork
31 entries · top 176.0000 · median 163.4400
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | NICKLE BOYS BBQ | |
| 2 | BURNT FINGER BBQ | |
| 3 | SHUT THE FRONT DOOR BBQ | |
| 4 | DIRT ROAD BBQ | |
| 5 | FAT BOYS BBQ | |
| 6 | SMOKIN IN THE BOARDROOM | |
| 7 | SMOKIN JO | |
| 8 | SONS OF A BRISKET | |
| 9 | Butt Commander | |
| 10 | MASTERQUE | |
| 11 | DEAD LAST BBQ | |
| 12 | BLUE COLLAR SMOKERS OF KCMO | |
| 13 | PIGSKINERS BBQ | |
| 14 | Deja Vu BBQ | |
| 15 | Crazy Canucks BBQ | |
| 16 | SMOKE ME TENDER BBQ | |
| 17 | ALL DSG | |
| 18 | PARK AVENUE PORK | |
| 19 | None the Weiser | |
| 20 | GEN QUE | |
| 21 | A&E THE ORIGINAL RIB COMPANY | |
| 22 | THICK AND THIN BBQ | |
| 23 | Jeff and John BBQ | |
| 24 | Claymont Smokers | |
| 25 | The 3 Wise Meat Men | |
| 26 | Wood Bee Smokers | |
| 27 | Storm Troopers | |
| 28 | SOMEWHERE IN THYME | |
| 29 | HOOK 'EM & COOK 'EM | |
| 30 | SMOKE DYNASTY | |
| 31 | Built for Smoke |
Brisket
31 entries · top 169.6800 · median 150.8116
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BURNT FINGER BBQ | |
| 2 | Crazy Canucks BBQ | |
| 3 | DEAD LAST BBQ | |
| 4 | SMOKE ME TENDER BBQ | |
| 5 | A&E THE ORIGINAL RIB COMPANY | |
| 6 | NICKLE BOYS BBQ | |
| 7 | MASTERQUE | |
| 8 | GEN QUE | |
| 9 | DIRT ROAD BBQ | |
| 10 | FAT BOYS BBQ | |
| 11 | SMOKIN JO | |
| 12 | BLUE COLLAR SMOKERS OF KCMO | |
| 13 | THICK AND THIN BBQ | |
| 14 | SOMEWHERE IN THYME | |
| 15 | SONS OF A BRISKET | |
| 16 | Claymont Smokers | |
| 17 | SMOKIN IN THE BOARDROOM | |
| 18 | PARK AVENUE PORK | |
| 19 | SHUT THE FRONT DOOR BBQ | |
| 20 | ALL DSG | |
| 21 | SMOKE DYNASTY | |
| 22 | Butt Commander | |
| 23 | Built for Smoke | |
| 24 | PIGSKINERS BBQ | |
| 25 | Deja Vu BBQ | |
| 26 | The 3 Wise Meat Men | |
| 27 | HOOK 'EM & COOK 'EM | |
| 28 | None the Weiser | |
| 29 | Wood Bee Smokers | |
| 30 | Storm Troopers | |
| 31 | Jeff and John BBQ |