A new contest record
690.2288
highest overall ever cooked here
690.2288 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 678.7656 LOTTA BULL BBQ set in 2013.
- old record 678.7656
- set 2013 by LOTTA BULL BBQ
SC Festival of Discovery 2014
Jul 10–12, 2014 · Greenwood, SC
KILLER B'S BBQ won Grand Champion at the SC Festival of Discovery on July 10, 2014 in Greenwood, SC, scoring 690.2288 in a field of 86 teams. SAUCED! BBQ TEAM took Reserve Grand Champion with 684.5368. Category winners: Chicken — WAYLON'S WICKEDLY GOOD Q (177.7144); Pork Ribs — SAUCED! BBQ TEAM (175.4056); Pork — OLD PLANTATION BBQ (175.4400); Brisket — CHECKERED PIG (177.7144). This is the 2nd of 8 editions of this contest on record; the 2013 edition was won by LOTTA BULL BBQ; the next was held in 2015.
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.
272.55
median 652.70
690.23 🏆
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 175.41
- Pork 175.44
- Brisket 177.71
20
177.71
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2013 to 2021 — this edition picked out.
Entries
86
4 judged meats · 3 ancillary
Top score
690.2288
Winning margin
5.6920
GC over RC
Field average
636.27
272.55690.23
median 652.70 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
1.7144 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
673.6228
272.55690.23
10th place overall
Field spread
417.6800
winner to last place
Double threats
3
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 70%
beats 30% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
53%
41 of 78 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.68 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,536
avg power rating going in · stronger than 26% of contests
Storylines (6 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.
Won without a category win
2 of 4
meats called to the stage
KILLER B'S BBQ won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 2 calls from 4 boards, best of them 2nd. Consistency beat fireworks.
- Chicken 2nd
- Pork Ribs 19th
- Pork 16th
- Brisket 6th
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 14 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 2–3: KILLER B'S BBQ and CHECKERED PIG tied on 177.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 5–6: DIVINE SMOKE and PALMETTO PITMASTERS tied on 176.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 7–8: ROCKIN' THE SMOKE and RIVERSIDE SMOKE tied on 174.8456 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 2–3 · tie
- Chicken 5–6 · tie
- Chicken 7–8 · tie
- Pork Ribs 7–8 · tie
A contest record in chicken
177.7144
best chicken ever cooked here
WAYLON'S WICKEDLY GOOD Q turned in 177.7144 in chicken — past the 175.4172 that had stood across 1 earlier editions.
- old best 175.4172
- across 1 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: LOTTA BULL BBQ (won 2013).
- LOTTA BULL BBQ · 2013
One of the big ones
86
teams on the grounds
Bigger than 97% of the 5,462 contests in the data
86 teams — bigger than 97% of the 5,462 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)
This contest over the years full contest page →
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 11, 2013 | Greenwood, SC | Greenwood, SC | 78 | 678.7656 | LOTTA BULL BBQ | BIG RED'S BARBECUE |
| Jul 10, 2014 ← this one | Greenwood, SC | Greenwood, SC 29646 | 86 | 690.2288 | KILLER B'S BBQ | SAUCED! BBQ TEAM |
| Jul 9, 2015 | Greenwood, SC | Greenwood, SC 29646 | 90 | 697.0856 | BUB-BA-Q | ULTIMATE TAILGATERS BBQ |
| Jul 7, 2016 | Greenwood, SC | Greenwood, SC | 82 | 686.7656 | UNCLE KENNY'S BBQ | HOT WACHULA'S |
| Jul 6, 2017 | Greenwood, SC | 120 Main Street | 89 | 700.5372 | MUTTLEY CREW BBQ | REDNECK SCIENTIFIC |
| Jul 12, 2018 | Greenwood, SC | Main Street | 89 | 694.8232 | OLD COLONY SMOKEHOUSE | HICKORY BARBEQUE COMPANY |
| Jul 12, 2019 | Greenwood, SC | Main Street | 83 | 690.8112 | SMOKIN' GRINGOS | PALMETTO PITMASTERS |
| Jul 9, 2021 | Greenwood, SC | Main Street | 81 | 706.8576 | SMOKE CENTRAL | SMOKIN' AIN'T EZ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 177.7144 | 176 | 173.7256 |
| Pork Ribs | 175.4056 | 171.9772 | 170.2744 |
| Pork | 175.4400 | 172.5600 | 170.8344 |
| Brisket | 177.7144 | 176 | 171.9772 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
86 entries · top 690.2288 · median 652.6970
Chicken
85 entries · top 177.7144 · median 163.9544
Pork Ribs
85 entries · top 175.4056 · median 161.7260
Pork
86 entries · top 175.4400 · median 160.8056
Brisket
85 entries · top 177.7144 · median 159.9428
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 — Anything Butt
34 entries · top 169.7600 · median 153.7716
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BUBBAJACK'S | |
| 2 | SKINT BACK BBQ | |
| 3 | BYRD-B-QUE | |
| 4 | MYASSIS DRAGON | |
| 5 | ELITE BBQ SMOKERS | |
| 6 | ALL SMOKED UP SC | |
| 7 | 3 Blind Hogs | |
| 8 | Hog Wild Neighbors | |
| 9 | BUTT BURNERS BBQ - NC | |
| 10 | THE SMOKEHOUSE MAFIA | |
| 11 | DIVINE SMOKE | |
| 12 | PALMETTO PITMASTERS | |
| 13 | ULTIMATE TAILGATERS BBQ | |
| 14 | BUTTS R US | |
| 15 | Merry Oaks BBQ | |
| 16 | TENACIOUS Q | |
| 17 | SAUCED! BBQ TEAM | |
| 18 | FERAL HOG BBQ | |
| 19 | PALMETTO MOONLIGHT SMOKERS | |
| 20 | Rubbing Butts BBQ | |
| 21 | NARD'S BACKYARD BBQ | |
| 22 | REC BBQ | |
| 23 | PICKIN' PORKERS | |
| 24 | Fat Daddy's BBQ | |
| 25 | BLUE SUEDE QUE | |
| 26 | SMOKE BY DAY, FIRE BY NIGHT | |
| 27 | DIRTY OL' BUTT SLAPPERS | |
| 28 | Wood-Hoss BBQ | |
| 29 | The Gigglin' Pig | |
| 30 | OFF THE GRILL BBQ | |
| 31 | CD's BBQ and More | |
| 32 | WORTHEY OF THE PIG | |
| 33 | BALD HAWG BBQ | |
| 34 | PARTY FOWL BBQ |
Master Series — Dessert
34 entries · top 171.9884 · median 153.1888
Master Series — Hash
17 entries · top 173.7144 · median 169.1428