A first Grand Championship
5
tracked contests to get there
This was HICKORY PRIME's first Grand Championship in the data — it arrived at their 5th tracked contest.
Battle of Brandon BBQ Challenge 2013
May 3–4, 2013 · Brandon, MS
HICKORY PRIME won Grand Champion at the Battle of Brandon BBQ Challenge on May 3, 2013 in Brandon, MS, scoring 687.9998 in a field of 31 teams. THE BLUE BLOODS took Reserve Grand Champion with 686.2854. Category winners: Chicken — KILLER HOGS (177.7142); Pork Ribs — THE BLUE BLOODS (177.1430); Pork — HICKORY PRIME (176.5714); Brisket — KILLER HOGS (177.7144). This is the 1st of 2 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.
597.14
median 662.29
688.00 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 177.71
- Pork Ribs 177.14
- Pork 176.57
- Brisket 177.71
130.29
177.71
Entries
31
4 judged meats
Top score
687.9998
Winning margin
1.7144
GC over RC
Field average
658.25
597.14688.00
median 662.29 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
4 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
666.8572
597.14688.00
10th place overall
Field spread
90.8572
winner to last place
Double threats
5
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 76%
beats 24% of 4715 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.59 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,508
avg power rating going in · stronger than 6% 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 10 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 7–8: HOTTY TOTTY BBQ CREW and CUZ'S CUSTOM COOKING tied on 171.4286 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 9–10: DUSTY BOOT'S BBQ and HAULIN' BUTT BBQ tied on 169.7142 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 3–4: HICKORY PRIME and BAYOU BOOGIE BBQ tied on 174.8572 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 7–8 · tie
- Chicken 9–10 · tie
- Pork Ribs 3–4 · tie
- Pork 1–2 · tie
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
KILLER HOGS won Chicken, Brisket — a double.
- Chicken 1st
- Brisket 1st
How the title was won
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
HICKORY PRIME took the title on 3 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was brisket at 19th.
- Chicken 5th
- Pork Ribs 3rd
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 19th
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 3, 2013 ← this one | Brandon, MS | Brandon, MS | 31 | 687.9998 | HICKORY PRIME | THE BLUE BLOODS |
| May 2, 2014 | Brandon, MS | Brandon, MS 39042 | 40 | 696.4912 | THE BLUE BLOODS | QUE'N STEW'N & BREW'N |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 177.7142 | 173.7142 | 169.7142 |
| Pork Ribs | 177.1430 | 173.1430 | 168.5714 |
| Pork | 176.5714 | 172 | 169.7142 |
| Brisket | 177.7144 | 169.7142 | 166.8570 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
31 entries · top 687.9998 · median 662.2856
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | HICKORY PRIME | |
| 2 | THE BLUE BLOODS | |
| 3 | KILLER HOGS | |
| 4 | BAYOU BOOGIE BBQ | |
| 5 | NUCOR BAR-MILL-Q | |
| 6 | HAULIN' BUTT BBQ | |
| 7 | HOTTY TOTTY BBQ CREW | |
| 8 | RED EYED SMOKERS | |
| 9 | SMOKE DAWGS | |
| 10 | FLYIN' SWINE | |
| 11 | CUZ'S CUSTOM COOKING | |
| 12 | DUSTY BOOT'S BBQ | |
| 13 | HIGH ON THE HOG MS | |
| 14 | GIVE IT TO GOD | |
| 15 | SWEET DREAMS BBQ | |
| 16 | BIG WHIT AND THE BOYS | |
| 17 | HOLY MOHLER'S BBQ | |
| 18 | INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH | |
| 19 | ETs BBQ | |
| 20 | BOB ROBERTS BBQ | |
| 21 | PINE BELT PORKERS | |
| 22 | Last Place Pork | |
| 23 | BULLMOOSE SMOKERS | |
| 24 | Budro's BBQ | |
| 25 | JUDGE'S Q | |
| 26 | MAGNIFICENT REDEYED SMOKERS | |
| 27 | BRANDON KNIGHTS | |
| 28 | MISS LOU BBQ | |
| 29 | TEAM SMOKE E Z | |
| 30 | ROAD HAWG | |
| 31 | OFF THE CHAIN BBQ |
Chicken
31 entries · top 177.7142 · median 165.1426
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | KILLER HOGS | |
| 2 | GIVE IT TO GOD | |
| 3 | ETs BBQ | |
| 4 | FLYIN' SWINE | |
| 5 | HICKORY PRIME | |
| 6 | BAYOU BOOGIE BBQ | |
| 7 | HOTTY TOTTY BBQ CREW | |
| 8 | CUZ'S CUSTOM COOKING | |
| 9 | DUSTY BOOT'S BBQ | |
| 10 | HAULIN' BUTT BBQ | |
| 11 | Last Place Pork | |
| 12 | SMOKE DAWGS | |
| 13 | HOLY MOHLER'S BBQ | |
| 14 | NUCOR BAR-MILL-Q | |
| 15 | RED EYED SMOKERS | |
| 16 | THE BLUE BLOODS | |
| 17 | INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH | |
| 18 | MAGNIFICENT REDEYED SMOKERS | |
| 19 | HIGH ON THE HOG MS | |
| 20 | BOB ROBERTS BBQ | |
| 21 | TEAM SMOKE E Z | |
| 22 | BIG WHIT AND THE BOYS | |
| 23 | SWEET DREAMS BBQ | |
| 24 | BULLMOOSE SMOKERS | |
| 25 | JUDGE'S Q | |
| 26 | PINE BELT PORKERS | |
| 27 | BRANDON KNIGHTS | |
| 28 | OFF THE CHAIN BBQ | |
| 29 | ROAD HAWG | |
| 30 | Budro's BBQ | |
| 31 | MISS LOU BBQ |
Pork Ribs
31 entries · top 177.1430 · median 165.7144
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | THE BLUE BLOODS | |
| 2 | NUCOR BAR-MILL-Q | |
| 3 | HICKORY PRIME | |
| 4 | BAYOU BOOGIE BBQ | |
| 5 | RED EYED SMOKERS | |
| 6 | FLYIN' SWINE | |
| 7 | JUDGE'S Q | |
| 8 | SWEET DREAMS BBQ | |
| 9 | HAULIN' BUTT BBQ | |
| 10 | Budro's BBQ | |
| 11 | HOTTY TOTTY BBQ CREW | |
| 12 | SMOKE DAWGS | |
| 13 | ROAD HAWG | |
| 14 | CUZ'S CUSTOM COOKING | |
| 15 | DUSTY BOOT'S BBQ | |
| 16 | BULLMOOSE SMOKERS | |
| 17 | INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH | |
| 18 | Last Place Pork | |
| 19 | PINE BELT PORKERS | |
| 20 | BIG WHIT AND THE BOYS | |
| 21 | HOLY MOHLER'S BBQ | |
| 22 | KILLER HOGS | |
| 23 | BOB ROBERTS BBQ | |
| 24 | HIGH ON THE HOG MS | |
| 25 | MAGNIFICENT REDEYED SMOKERS | |
| 26 | BRANDON KNIGHTS | |
| 27 | GIVE IT TO GOD | |
| 28 | TEAM SMOKE E Z | |
| 29 | ETs BBQ | |
| 30 | MISS LOU BBQ | |
| 31 | OFF THE CHAIN BBQ |
Pork
31 entries · top 176.5714 · median 166.8570
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | HICKORY PRIME | |
| 2 | HIGH ON THE HOG MS | |
| 3 | BIG WHIT AND THE BOYS | |
| 4 | PINE BELT PORKERS | |
| 5 | RED EYED SMOKERS | |
| 6 | THE BLUE BLOODS | |
| 7 | DUSTY BOOT'S BBQ | |
| 8 | GIVE IT TO GOD | |
| 9 | CUZ'S CUSTOM COOKING | |
| 10 | HAULIN' BUTT BBQ | |
| 11 | SWEET DREAMS BBQ | |
| 12 | ROAD HAWG | |
| 13 | BOB ROBERTS BBQ | |
| 14 | HOTTY TOTTY BBQ CREW | |
| 15 | Budro's BBQ | |
| 16 | NUCOR BAR-MILL-Q | |
| 17 | BULLMOOSE SMOKERS | |
| 18 | KILLER HOGS | |
| 19 | HOLY MOHLER'S BBQ | |
| 20 | SMOKE DAWGS | |
| 21 | ETs BBQ | |
| 22 | MISS LOU BBQ | |
| 23 | FLYIN' SWINE | |
| 24 | Last Place Pork | |
| 25 | BAYOU BOOGIE BBQ | |
| 26 | INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH | |
| 27 | JUDGE'S Q | |
| 28 | MAGNIFICENT REDEYED SMOKERS | |
| 29 | BRANDON KNIGHTS | |
| 30 | TEAM SMOKE E Z | |
| 31 | OFF THE CHAIN BBQ |
Brisket
31 entries · top 177.7144 · median 165.1428
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | KILLER HOGS | |
| 2 | BAYOU BOOGIE BBQ | |
| 3 | SMOKE DAWGS | |
| 4 | THE BLUE BLOODS | |
| 5 | HAULIN' BUTT BBQ | |
| 6 | INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH | |
| 7 | NUCOR BAR-MILL-Q | |
| 8 | BRANDON KNIGHTS | |
| 9 | HOLY MOHLER'S BBQ | |
| 10 | HIGH ON THE HOG MS | |
| 11 | HOTTY TOTTY BBQ CREW | |
| 12 | BIG WHIT AND THE BOYS | |
| 13 | ETs BBQ | |
| 14 | MAGNIFICENT REDEYED SMOKERS | |
| 15 | BOB ROBERTS BBQ | |
| 16 | MISS LOU BBQ | |
| 17 | SWEET DREAMS BBQ | |
| 18 | RED EYED SMOKERS | |
| 19 | HICKORY PRIME | |
| 20 | PINE BELT PORKERS | |
| 21 | GIVE IT TO GOD | |
| 22 | JUDGE'S Q | |
| 23 | BULLMOOSE SMOKERS | |
| 24 | Budro's BBQ | |
| 25 | FLYIN' SWINE | |
| 26 | CUZ'S CUSTOM COOKING | |
| 27 | DUSTY BOOT'S BBQ | |
| 28 | TEAM SMOKE E Z | |
| 29 | Last Place Pork | |
| 30 | OFF THE CHAIN BBQ | |
| 31 | ROAD HAWG |