2014-08-22 – 2014-08-23 · Paola, KS · 📍 Paola, KS 66071
Grand Champion: DEAD LAST BBQ (685.7372) · 69 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 SMOKIN' R'S 2.0
Overall totals, every team on the board — tall stacks are where the pack sat.
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
What it has taken to win here, 2013 to 2022 — this edition picked out.
Everything below is read straight out of the results — the number on each card is the one that made it a story.
Closer than 95% of the 4,742 championships in the data
The Grand Championship was decided by 0.1032 points — closer than 95% of every championship in the data.
685.7372 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 681.1200 BIG WIGS BBQ set in 2013.
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 78 times in 100
Dead Last BBQ came in rated below the field's top team, BURNT FINGER BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 22-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
DEAD LAST BBQ won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 4 calls from 4 boards, best of them 5th. Consistency beat fireworks.
This was DEAD LAST BBQ's first Grand Championship in the data — it arrived at their 11th tracked contest.
2 of 8 tracked editions
BIG WIGS BBQ has won this contest 2 times across its 8 tracked editions.
Pork Ribs places 7–8: BURNT FINGER BBQ and Bewildered BBQ tied on 171.4400 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 7–8: B & C SMOKERS edged DEAD LAST BBQ by 0.0116. Chicken places 5–6: PORK FICTION edged OLD STYLE BBQ by 0.0228.
SMOKIN' R'S 2.0 turned in 179.4400 in pork ribs — past the 177.7372 that had stood across 1 earlier editions.
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: BIG WIGS BBQ (won 2013).
Bigger than 95% of the 5,410 contests in the data
69 teams made this a bigger field than 95% of every contest tracked.
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-08-23 | Paola, KS | Paola, KS | 68 | 681.1200 | BIG WIGS BBQ | SWEET PETE'S SMOKIN' HOT MEAT |
| 2014-08-22 ← this one | Paola, KS | Paola, KS 66071 | 69 | 685.7372 | DEAD LAST BBQ | SMOKIN' R'S 2.0 |
| 2015-08-28 | Paola, KS | Paola, KS 66071 | 65 | 682.2860 | BIG WIGS BBQ | SMOKIN' R'S |
| 2016-08-26 | Paola, KS | Park Square | 61 | 690.8228 | B & C SMOKERS | SMOKIN' R'S |
| 2017-08-25 | Paola, KS | Park Square | 57 | 703.3712 | SLAPS BBQ | JOUSTING PIGS BBQ 2.0 |
| 2018-08-24 | Paola, KS | Park Square | 67 | 690.7996 | DIRT ROAD BBQ | GETTIN' BASTED |
| 2019-08-23 | Paola, KS | Town Square | 66 | 696.4912 | Man Meat BBQ | SHAKE 'N BAKE BBQ |
| 2022-08-26 | Paola, KS | Town Square | 45 | 705.1428 | FERGOLICIOUS BBQ | HIGH i QUE |
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 178.2972 | 173.1428 | 171.4628 |
| Pork Ribs | 179.4400 | 173.7144 | 170.2628 |
| Pork | 176.5828 | 170.8572 | 169.6800 |
| Brisket | 173.7488 | 170.2972 | 165.1656 |
69 entries · top 685.7372 · median 637.6112
69 entries · top 178.2972 · median 161.1312
68 entries · top 179.4400 · median 160.2400
68 entries · top 176.5828 · median 160.8458
68 entries · top 173.7488 · median 155.7086
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.
45 entries · top 175.4400 · median 162.9144