A first Grand Championship
3
tracked contests to get there
This was HIGH DESERT HOLY SMOKE BBQ's first Grand Championship in the data — it arrived at their 3rd tracked contest.
Bliss Brews & Que
2013-10-11 – 2013-10-12 · Fort Bliss, TX · 📍 Fort Bliss, TX
Grand Champion: HIGH DESERT HOLY SMOKE BBQ (667.3372) · 26 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 BBQ MAGIC
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.
440.00
median 627.34
667.34 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 170.86
- Pork Ribs 173.18
- Pork 173.15
- Brisket 170.26
112.88
173.18
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2013 to 2016 — this edition picked out.
Entries
26
4 judged meats · 5 ancillary
Top score
667.3372
Winning margin
3.4864
GC over RC
Field average
620.99
440.00667.34
median 627.34 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
1.1544 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
642.7312
440.00667.34
10th place overall
Field spread
227.3372
winner to last place
Double threats
7
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 97%
beats 3% of 4707 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Weak
ρ = -0.27 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1504
avg power rating going in · stronger than 3% 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
2×
wins at this contest
2 of 4 tracked editions
THE AMERICAN DREAM BBQ has won this contest 2 times across its 4 tracked editions.
- 2015
- 2016
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 10 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 4–5: SUNDANCER BBQ and SWEET PEPPERS tied on 169.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 6–7: KARNIVOROUS edged HERE PIGGY PIGGY BBQ by 0.0112. Pork places 6–7: Roger's II BBQ edged Black Betty Blackout by 0.0116.
- Chicken 4–5 · tie
- Brisket 6–7 · 0.0112
- Pork 6–7 · 0.0116
- Chicken 6–7 · 0.0116
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
HIGH DESERT HOLY SMOKE BBQ won Pork, Brisket — a double, and took the Grand Championship on top of it.
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 1st
How the title was won
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
HIGH DESERT HOLY SMOKE BBQ took the title on 3 calls from 4 meats, with 2 outright wins — their weakest board was pork ribs at 15th.
- Chicken 10th
- Pork Ribs 15th
- Pork 1st
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-10-11 ← this one | Fort Bliss, TX | Fort Bliss, TX | 26 | 667.3372 | HIGH DESERT HOLY SMOKE BBQ | BBQ MAGIC |
| 2014-10-10 | Fort Bliss, TX | Fort Bliss, TX 79906 | 26 | 685.6456 | BAD BOYZ BBQ | SMOKIN TRIGGERS |
| 2015-10-09 | Fort Bliss, TX | Fort Bliss, TX 79906 | 40 | 686.7884 | THE AMERICAN DREAM BBQ | LONESTAR SMOKE RANGERS |
| 2016-10-07 | Ft. Bliss, TX | Ft. Bliss, TX | 32 | 690.2168 | THE AMERICAN DREAM BBQ | BAD BOYZ BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 170.8572 | 169.7028 | 165.1200 |
| Pork Ribs | 173.1772 | 166.2628 | 162.8456 |
| Pork | 173.1544 | 164.5600 | 160.0000 |
| Brisket | 170.2628 | 162.2856 | 154.2400 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
26 entries · top 667.3372 · median 627.3428
Chicken
25 entries · top 170.8572 · median 163.4056
Pork Ribs
26 entries · top 173.1772 · median 161.3884
Pork
26 entries · top 173.1544 · median 157.1142
Brisket
26 entries · top 170.2628 · median 153.0684
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 — Backyard Chicken
12 entries · top 165.2116 · median 151.7200
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jolly Roger Bar B Crew | |
| 2 | Freesyle BBQ | |
| 3 | Rudolph | |
| 4 | Paul | |
| 5 | MIKE'S BBQ | |
| 6 | Weekend Pit Masters | |
| 7 | Sophiias | |
| 8 | SMOKIN D'S | |
| 9 | Big Bend Smokers | |
| 10 | Bachmann & Luthi Real Estate | |
| 11 | Romes Smokestack BBQ | |
| 12 | After Hours BBQ |
Master Series — Backyard Ribs
12 entries · top 164.6628 · median 146.0400
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jolly Roger Bar B Crew | |
| 2 | Bachmann & Luthi Real Estate | |
| 3 | Big Bend Smokers | |
| 4 | Weekend Pit Masters | |
| 5 | Paul | |
| 6 | MIKE'S BBQ | |
| 7 | Romes Smokestack BBQ | |
| 8 | Freesyle BBQ | |
| 9 | Sophiias | |
| 10 | SMOKIN D'S | |
| 11 | After Hours BBQ | |
| 12 | Rudolph |
Master Series — Dessert
18 entries · top 178.2972 · median 162.3030
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BAD LAMA BBQ | |
| 2 | After Hours BBQ | |
| 3 | DOUBLE BARREL SMOKERS | |
| 4 | Sophiias | |
| 5 | REDD'S WEST TEXAS BBQ | |
| 6 | Roger's II BBQ | |
| 7 | TEXAS RIB RANGERS | |
| 8 | Fire N' Smoke | |
| 9 | DJS SMOKIN' BBQ | |
| 10 | Three Brothers Smokehouse | |
| 11 | BLACK BETTY BBQ | |
| 12 | Jolly Roger Bar B Crew | |
| 13 | BBQ MAGIC | |
| 14 | TexAZ BBQ Boys | |
| 15 | LITTLE TEXAS BBQ | |
| 16 | Paul | |
| 17 | Sarges Smokewagon | |
| 18 | TWO TONS OF FUN BBQ |
Master Series — Margaritas
12 entries · top 163.3712 · median 146.2628
Master Series — Potato Salad
25 entries · top 169.1884 · median 154.7884