A new contest record
687.8972
highest overall ever cooked here
687.8972 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 686.2628 MISS PIGGY'S U.K. set in 2015.
- old record 686.2628
- set 2015 by MISS PIGGY'S U.K.
Vuur en Vlees 2025
Aug 29–31, 2025 · Deurne, Netherlands · NETHERLANDS · 📍 Leegueld 8
Reps: Marianne Van Galen, Mayco Van Galen
Barbecoa BBQ Team won Grand Champion at the Vuur en Vlees on August 29, 2025 in Deurne, 5753 SG at Leegueld 8, scoring 687.8972 in a field of 13 teams. The Antwerp Smokers took Reserve Grand Champion with 685.6000. Category winners: Chicken — Barbecoa BBQ Team (175.4056); Pork Ribs — The BBQ Ranch (172.5716); Pork — The Antwerp Smokers (176.5600); Brisket — It's spice that meats you (173.7028). This is the 3rd of 4 editions of this contest on record; the 2024 edition was won by The Antwerp Smokers; the next was held in 2026.
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.
617.52
median 667.87
687.90 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 175.41
- Pork Ribs 172.57
- Pork 176.56
- Brisket 173.70
136.48
176.56
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2015 to 2026 — this edition picked out.
Entries
13
4 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
687.8972
Winning margin
2.2972
GC over RC
Field average
662.01
617.52687.90
median 667.87 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Brisket
3.4172 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
652.9488
617.52687.90
10th place overall
Field spread
70.3764
winner to last place
Double threats
7
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 77%
beats 23% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
70%
7 of 10 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.79 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,560
avg power rating going in · stronger than 47% of contests
Storylines (9 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.
An upset on the books
29-in-100
shot on pre-contest ratings
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 71 times in 100
Barbecoa BBQ Team came in rated below the field's top team, BBQ+, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 29-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
- champion 1669
- top seed 1822
A first Grand Championship
37
tracked contests to get there
This was Barbecoa BBQ Team's first Grand Championship in the data — it arrived at their 37th tracked contest.
Photo finishes
0.0116
closest of 8 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 4–5: Antwerps BBQ Team edged Five Q by 0.0116. Brisket places 8–9: Osdorp Grillers (NL) edged Grate Expectations by 0.0116. Chicken places 9–10: It's spice that meats you edged Just wing it BBQ team by 0.0116.
- Chicken 4–5 · 0.0116
- Brisket 8–9 · 0.0116
- Chicken 9–10 · 0.0116
- Pork Ribs 7–8 · 0.0116
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
Barbecoa BBQ Team took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was pork ribs at 6th.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 6th
- Pork 3rd
- Brisket 2nd
A contest record in brisket
173.7028
best brisket ever cooked here
It's spice that meats you turned in 173.7028 in brisket — past the 169.7028 that had stood across 2 earlier editions.
- old best 169.7028
- across 2 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: The Antwerp Smokers (won 2024).
- The Antwerp Smokers · 2024
The biggest field yet
13
teams — a contest high
This contest usually draws about 11 teams
13 teams is the deepest field this contest has drawn in the data, against a typical 11.
They keep coming back
70%
of last edition’s field returned
7 of 10 teams from 2024-09-21 came back
7 of the 10 teams that cooked the previous edition came back for this one — a contest people put on the calendar.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 6, 2015 | Deurne, The Netherlands, NL | Deurne, The Netherlands, NL 5753 PN | 12 | 686.2628 | MISS PIGGY'S U.K. | BBQ TEAM EXTREME |
| Sep 21, 2024 | Deurne | Bruggenseweg 11 | 10 | 672.4228 | The Antwerp Smokers | It's spice that meats you |
| Aug 29, 2025 ← this one | Deurne | Leegueld 8 | 13 | 687.8972 | Barbecoa BBQ Team | The Antwerp Smokers |
| Aug 29, 2026 | Deurne | Leegueld 8 | 8 | 702.2516 | BBQ Hot Yard | It's Spice that Meats You |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 175.4056 | 170.8228 | 166.2284 |
| Pork Ribs | 172.5716 | 166.2516 | 155.9432 |
| Pork | 176.5600 | 169.6800 | 166.2284 |
| Brisket | 173.7028 | 170.2856 | 158.8344 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
13 entries · top 687.8972 · median 667.8744
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barbecoa BBQ Team | |
| 2 | The Antwerp Smokers | |
| 3 | The BBQ Ranch | |
| 4 | Five Q | |
| 5 | It's spice that meats you | |
| 6 | Grate Expectations | |
| 7 | BBQ+ | |
| 8 | Osdorp Grillers (NL) | |
| 9 | Just wing it BBQ team | |
| 10 | Click & Q | |
| 11 | Onkel Felix BBQ | |
| 12 | LOWLAND SMOKERS | |
| 13 | Antwerps BBQ Team |
Chicken
13 entries · top 175.4056 · median 169.6684
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barbecoa BBQ Team | |
| 2 | BBQ+ | |
| 3 | The Antwerp Smokers | |
| 4 | Antwerps BBQ Team | |
| 5 | Five Q | |
| 6 | Osdorp Grillers (NL) | |
| 7 | Click & Q | |
| 8 | Onkel Felix BBQ | |
| 9 | It's spice that meats you | |
| 10 | Just wing it BBQ team | |
| 11 | Grate Expectations | |
| 12 | LOWLAND SMOKERS | |
| 13 | The BBQ Ranch |
Pork Ribs
13 entries · top 172.5716 · median 163.4060
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The BBQ Ranch | |
| 2 | Grate Expectations | |
| 3 | The Antwerp Smokers | |
| 4 | It's spice that meats you | |
| 5 | LOWLAND SMOKERS | |
| 6 | Barbecoa BBQ Team | |
| 7 | Just wing it BBQ team | |
| 8 | Five Q | |
| 9 | Click & Q | |
| 10 | BBQ+ | |
| 11 | Osdorp Grillers (NL) | |
| 12 | Onkel Felix BBQ | |
| 13 | Antwerps BBQ Team |
Pork
13 entries · top 176.5600 · median 168.5256
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Antwerp Smokers | |
| 2 | The BBQ Ranch | |
| 3 | Barbecoa BBQ Team | |
| 4 | Five Q | |
| 5 | Grate Expectations | |
| 6 | Osdorp Grillers (NL) | |
| 7 | BBQ+ | |
| 8 | Just wing it BBQ team | |
| 9 | Click & Q | |
| 10 | It's spice that meats you | |
| 11 | Antwerps BBQ Team | |
| 12 | Onkel Felix BBQ | |
| 13 | LOWLAND SMOKERS |
Brisket
13 entries · top 173.7028 · median 167.9772
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | It's spice that meats you | |
| 2 | Barbecoa BBQ Team | |
| 3 | Five Q | |
| 4 | Onkel Felix BBQ | |
| 5 | BBQ+ | |
| 6 | The Antwerp Smokers | |
| 7 | The BBQ Ranch | |
| 8 | Osdorp Grillers (NL) | |
| 9 | Grate Expectations | |
| 10 | LOWLAND SMOKERS | |
| 11 | Just wing it BBQ team | |
| 12 | Click & Q | |
| 13 | Antwerps BBQ Team |
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.
Ancillary — Cc Blackbox Dessert
3 entries · top 180 · median 167.3828 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BBQ+ | |
| 2 | Five Q | |
| 3 | LOWLAND SMOKERS |