A first Grand Championship
24
tracked contests to get there
This was RIDGE ROUTE BOYS BBQ's first Grand Championship in the data — it arrived at their 24th tracked contest.
3rd Annual Santa Anita Winners' Circle BBQ Championship
Mar 21–22, 2014 · Arcadia, CA
RIDGE ROUTE BOYS BBQ won Grand Champion at the 3rd Annual Santa Anita Winners' Circle BBQ Championship on March 21, 2014 in Arcadia, CA, scoring 686.8456 in a field of 69 teams. ALL SAUCED UP took Reserve Grand Champion with 684.0228. Category winners: Chicken — SMOKIN' HART'S (178.2972); Pork Ribs — BIG AL'S BIG TIME BBQ (174.3200); Pork — RIDGE ROUTE BOYS BBQ (173.7028); Brisket — ZZYZX BAR.B.Q (175.4400).
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.
278.82
median 640.39
686.85 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 178.30
- Pork Ribs 174.32
- Pork 173.70
- Brisket 175.44
121.61
178.30
Entries
69
4 judged meats
Top score
686.8456
Winning margin
2.8228
GC over RC
Field average
627.23
278.82686.85
median 640.39 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
2.9028 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
662.7196
278.82686.85
10th place overall
Field spread
408.0224
winner to last place
Double threats
3
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 78%
beats 22% of 4714 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.59 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,527
avg power rating going in · stronger than 19% 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 8 calls decided inside half a point
Pork places 1–2: RIDGE ROUTE BOYS BBQ and ALL SAUCED UP tied on 173.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 9–10: VICIOUS SMOKE edged GRILL OF HIS DREAMS by 0.0116. Chicken places 6–7: LEFT COAST Q edged SIMPLY MARVELOUS BBQ by 0.0228.
- Pork 1–2 · tie
- Pork 9–10 · 0.0116
- Chicken 6–7 · 0.0228
- Pork Ribs 6–7 · 0.0228
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
RIDGE ROUTE BOYS BBQ took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was pork ribs at 7th.
- Chicken 5th
- Pork Ribs 7th
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 5th
One of the big ones
69
teams on the grounds
Bigger than 95% of the 5,468 contests in the data
69 teams — bigger than 95% of the 5,468 contests in the data.
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)
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 178.2972 | 173.1772 | 171.4172 |
| Pork Ribs | 174.3200 | 171.4172 | 168.0116 |
| Pork | 173.7028 | 169.1428 | 165.6684 |
| Brisket | 175.4400 | 170.8456 | 166.2744 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
69 entries · top 686.8456 · median 640.3884
Chicken
68 entries · top 178.2972 · median 163.1256
Pork Ribs
68 entries · top 174.3200 · median 159.1314
Pork
69 entries · top 173.7028 · median 157.7028
Brisket
69 entries · top 175.4400 · median 157.6800