Won without a category win
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
SPITFIRE won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 4 calls from 4 boards, best of them 3rd. Consistency beat fireworks.
- Chicken 3rd
- Pork Ribs 3rd
- Pork 4th
- Brisket 5th
Taste of Autumn BBQ Championships 2014
Sep 19–20, 2014 · Sprearfish, SD
SPITFIRE won Grand Champion at the Taste of Autumn BBQ Championships on September 19, 2014 in Sprearfish, SD, scoring 690.8228 in a field of 29 teams. LONESTAR SMOKE RANGERS took Reserve Grand Champion with 685.0972. Category winners: Chicken — MAUS-Q-TEERS (178.8572); Pork Ribs — ROLLIN' SMOKE BBQ SD (174.2744); Pork — LONESTAR SMOKE RANGERS (180.0000); Brisket — LONESTAR SMOKE RANGERS (179.4400). This is the 1st of 2 editions of this contest on record; 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.
601.58
median 654.21
690.82 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 178.86
- Pork Ribs 174.27
- Pork 180 🔥
- Brisket 179.44
134.23
180
Entries
29
4 judged meats
Top score
690.8228
Winning margin
5.7256
GC over RC
Field average
647.81
601.58690.82
median 654.21 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
4.0116 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
659.3484
601.58690.82
10th place overall
Field spread
89.2456
winner to last place
Double threats
4
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 68%
beats 32% of 4723 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.66 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,552
avg power rating going in · stronger than 40% 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 6 calls decided inside half a point
Pork Ribs places 7–8: GRILLS GONE WILD IOWA and PARROTHEAD SMOKERS tied on 169.1200 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 3–4: LAST CALL HEROES BBQ and SPITFIRE tied on 173.1200 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 7–8: ROLLIN' SMOKE BBQ SD edged HIGH PLAINS SMOKERS by 0.0112.
- Pork Ribs 7–8 · tie
- Pork 3–4 · tie
- Brisket 7–8 · 0.0112
- Pork 7–8 · 0.0116
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
LONESTAR SMOKE RANGERS won Pork, Brisket — a double.
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 1st
A perfect score on the table
1
perfect 180s
1 perfect 180 was scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- LONESTAR SMOKE RANGERS · Pork
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 19, 2014 ← this one | Sprearfish, SD | Sprearfish, SD 57783 | 29 | 690.8228 | SPITFIRE | LONESTAR SMOKE RANGERS |
| Sep 18, 2015 | Spearfish, SD | Spearfish, SD 57783 | 30 | 701.7144 | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS | SPITFIRE |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 178.8572 | 173.7256 | 169.1544 |
| Pork Ribs | 174.2744 | 170.2628 | 166.8456 |
| Pork | 180 | 171.9656 | 165.7144 |
| Brisket | 179.4400 | 169.1428 | 165.7600 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
29 entries · top 690.8228 · median 654.2056
Chicken
29 entries · top 178.8572 · median 165.6800
Pork Ribs
29 entries · top 174.2744 · median 163.4056
Pork
29 entries · top 180 · median 162.8572 · 🔥 perfect 180
Brisket
29 entries · top 179.4400 · median 158.2628