A new contest record
694.2856
highest overall ever cooked here
694.2856 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 685.6800 3 GUYS WITH WOOD set in 2013.
- old record 685.6800
- set 2013 by 3 GUYS WITH WOOD
Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship 2014
Sep 26–27, 2014 · Shawnee, KS · State championship
KC Q won Grand Champion at the Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship on September 26, 2014 in Shawnee, KS, scoring 694.2856 in a field of 112 teams. MIDNIGHT STOKERS took Reserve Grand Champion with 690.8572. Category winners: Chicken — MIDNIGHT STOKERS (180.0000); Pork Ribs — SLABS OF APPROVAL (180.0000); Pork — SKUNK RIVER BBQ (180.0000); Brisket — DEAD LAST BBQ (176.0000). This is the 2nd of 7 editions of this contest on record; the 2013 edition was won by 3 GUYS WITH WOOD; 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.
508.54
median 642.81
694.29 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 180 🔥
- Pork Ribs 180 🔥
- Pork 180 🔥
- Brisket 176
130.23
180
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2013 to 2022 — this edition picked out.
Entries
112
4 judged meats · 2 ancillary
Top score
694.2856
Winning margin
3.4284
GC over RC
Field average
639.53
508.54694.29
median 642.81 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Pork
3.9772 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
679.4292
508.54694.29
10th place overall
Field spread
185.7484
winner to last place
Double threats
5
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 56%
beats 44% of 4714 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
68%
78 of 114 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.43 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,506
avg power rating going in · stronger than 5% of contests
Storylines (10 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
14-in-100
shot on pre-contest ratings
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 86 times in 100
KCQ came in rated below the field's top team, TRUEBUD BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 14-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
- champion 1524
- top seed 1843
Won without a category win
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
KC Q won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 3 calls from 4 boards, best of them 4th. Consistency beat fireworks.
- Chicken 5th
- Pork Ribs 15th
- Pork 4th
- Brisket 7th
A first Grand Championship
8
tracked contests to get there
This was KC Q's first Grand Championship in the data — it arrived at their 8th tracked contest.
A day of perfect scores
3
perfect 180s
3 perfect 180s were scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- MIDNIGHT STOKERS · Chicken
- SKUNK RIVER BBQ · Pork
- SLABS OF APPROVAL · Pork Ribs
A dynasty in the making
2×
wins at this contest
2 of 7 tracked editions
BREW 'N' BAR-B-QUE has won this contest 2 times across its 7 tracked editions.
- 2015
- 2016
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 11 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 7–8: BBQWEISER and YARDHOGS BBQ tied on 174.2856 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 5–6: QUISINE and G & S Smoke n Spice tied on 176.0228 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 7–8: TRUEBUD BBQ and PIG NEWTON tied on 176.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 7–8 · tie
- Pork 5–6 · tie
- Pork 7–8 · tie
- Brisket 8–9 · tie
A contest record in pork ribs
180.0000
best pork ribs ever cooked here
SLABS OF APPROVAL turned in 180.0000 in pork ribs — past the 176.5600 that had stood across 1 earlier editions.
- old best 176.5600
- across 1 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: 3 GUYS WITH WOOD (won 2013).
- 3 GUYS WITH WOOD · 2013
One of the big ones
112
teams on the grounds
Bigger than 99% of the 5,468 contests in the data
112 teams — bigger than 99% of the 5,468 contests in the data.
This contest's own records (1 in the KCBS record book)
Records held by every edition of this contest put together, not just this one afternoon.
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 27, 2013 | Shawnee, KS | Shawnee, KS | 114 | 685.6800 | 3 GUYS WITH WOOD | HOGGY STYLE |
| Sep 26, 2014 ← this one | Shawnee, KS | Shawnee, KS 66203 | 112 | 694.2856 | KC Q | MIDNIGHT STOKERS |
| Sep 25, 2015 | Shawnee, KS | Shawnee, KS 66216 | 112 | 709.1200 | BREW 'N' BAR-B-QUE | FUNNY FARM BBQ |
| Sep 23, 2016 | Shawnee, KS | Shawnee, KS | 111 | 686.2284 | BREW 'N' BAR-B-QUE | SKUNK RIVER BBQ |
| Sep 27, 2019 | Shawnee, KS | Shawnee Town 1929 | 102 | 714.8572 | Fat & Dumb BBQ | 913 BBQ |
| Sep 24, 2021 | Shawnee, KS | Shawnee Town | 86 | 709.1316 | Mad Mutt's BBQ | 913 BBQ |
| Sep 23, 2022 | Shawnee, KS | 11600 Johnson Drive | 87 | 709.7256 | 913 BBQ | KC SMOKE DAWGS |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180 | 174.8800 | 173.7028 |
| Pork Ribs | 180 | 175.4400 | 171.4744 |
| Pork | 180 | 176.0228 | 174.8572 |
| Brisket | 176 | 172 | 169.7256 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
112 entries · top 694.2856 · median 642.8058
Chicken
112 entries · top 180 · median 163.3942 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork Ribs
111 entries · top 180 · median 159.9656 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork
112 entries · top 180 · median 163.4228 · 🔥 perfect 180
Brisket
112 entries · top 176 · median 160.5714
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 — Sausage
71 entries · top 180 · median 166.2512 · 🔥 perfect 180
Master Series — Side Dish
30 entries · top 180 · median 167.4056 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | KC Q | |
| 2 | BIG D & THE BRIQUETTES | |
| 3 | Lazy G | |
| 4 | SMF | |
| 5 | Big Fork BBQ | |
| 6 | TWO AND A HALF PIGS | |
| 7 | True-B-Que | |
| 8 | BUTT-LIQUOR-BBQ | |
| 9 | Beverly Grillbilly's | |
| 10 | Smokin' Bulls | |
| 11 | MOST WANTED BBQ | |
| 12 | FUNNY FARM BBQ | |
| 13 | BBQWEISER | |
| 14 | F.O.M.S.B. | |
| 15 | RED EYED SMOKERS | |
| 16 | Joint Effort | |
| 17 | Meat-A-Swing'n | |
| 18 | Shawnee-Que-Crew | |
| 19 | SMOKIN IN THE BUSHES | |
| 20 | Overland Pig Committee | |
| 21 | OMB Cooking Team | |
| 22 | Hawg Heaven | |
| 23 | LAST YEAR'S LEFTOVERS | |
| 24 | SWEET ASH BBQ | |
| 25 | OVERLAND PORK BBQ | |
| 26 | BLOWIN' SMOKE | |
| 27 | YARDHOGS BBQ | |
| 28 | High I Que | |
| 29 | GRILL CRAZY | |
| 30 | ROADKILL BBQ |