A statement win
10.2972
points clear of the field
Wider than 88% of the 4,742 championships in the data
The champion won by 10.2972 points — a wider margin than 88% of championships in the data.
Murphysboro Barbecue Cook-off
2013-09-19 – 2013-09-21 · Murphysboro, IL · 📍 Murphysboro, IL
Grand Champion: TRUEBUD BBQ (699.9428) · 76 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 KILLER HOGS
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.
339.97
median 653.97
699.94 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 177.15
- Pork Ribs 178.86
- Pork 177.71
- Brisket 180.00 🔥
20.00
180.00
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2013 to 2015 — this edition picked out.
Entries
76
4 judged meats
Top score
699.9428
Winning margin
10.2972
GC over RC
Field average
645.61
339.97699.94
median 653.97 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Pork
2.8688 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
678.2628
339.97699.94
10th place overall
Field spread
359.9768
winner to last place
Double threats
3
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 33%
beats 67% of 4707 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.6 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1532
avg power rating going in · stronger than 24% 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.
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 15 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 6–7: A BOY & HIS BBQ and Boars Night Out tied on 173.7144 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 8–9: MIKE and TRUEBUD BBQ tied on 173.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 5–6: REDNECK GRILLERS and BUBBA JOE'S BBQ tied on 174.8456 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 6–7 · tie
- Chicken 8–9 · tie
- Pork 5–6 · tie
- Pork 9–10 · tie
How the title was won
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
TRUEBUD BBQ took the title on 3 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was pork at 16th.
- Chicken 9th
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 16th
- Brisket 3rd
One of the big ones
76
teams on the grounds
Bigger than 97% of the 5,410 contests in the data
76 teams made this a bigger field than 97% of every contest tracked.
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.
- KILLER HOGS · Brisket
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-09-19 ← this one | Murphysboro, IL | Murphysboro, IL | 76 | 699.9428 | TRUEBUD BBQ | KILLER HOGS |
| 2014-09-18 | Murphysboro, IL | Murphysboro, IL 62966 | 57 | 703.9888 | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ | ONE2BBQ |
| 2015-09-25 | Murphysboro, IL | Murphysboro, IL 62966 | 55 | 693.1204 | GILLY'S BBQ | Q-BONES BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 177.1544 | 173.7372 | 173.1428 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.8572 | 173.7600 | 170.2744 |
| Pork | 177.7144 | 174.8456 | 172.5944 |
| Brisket | 180.0000 | 176.0000 | 174.8456 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
76 entries · top 699.9428 · median 653.9658
Chicken
76 entries · top 177.1544 · median 164.5600
Pork Ribs
76 entries · top 178.8572 · median 163.4000
Pork
75 entries · top 177.7144 · median 162.8456
Brisket
75 entries · top 180.0000 · median 163.3944 · 🔥 perfect 180