A new contest record
678.9144
highest overall ever cooked here
678.9144 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 674.8576 FLYING PORKERS set in 2013.
- old record 674.8576
- set 2013 by FLYING PORKERS
Keystone Classic Barbeque 2014
Oct 3–4, 2014 · Harrisburg, PA
PIG PEN BBQ won Grand Champion at the Keystone Classic Barbeque on October 3, 2014 in Harrisburg, PA, scoring 678.9144 in a field of 53 teams. BIG UGLY'S BBQ - MD took Reserve Grand Champion with 674.8228. Category winners: Chicken — SLOWER LOWER BBQ (180.0000); Pork Ribs — CRUZEN 2 Q (173.7256); Pork — BIG UGLY'S BBQ - MD (175.4172); Brisket — Smokin Dudes BBQ (176.5828). This is the 2nd of 3 editions of this contest on record; the 2013 edition was won by FLYING PORKERS; 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.
560.31
median 634.67
678.91 🏆
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 173.73
- Pork 175.42
- Brisket 176.58
129.04
180
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2013 to 2015 — this edition picked out.
Entries
53
4 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
678.9144
Winning margin
4.0916
GC over RC
Field average
632.40
560.31678.91
median 634.67 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Pork
4.0116 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
659.4744
560.31678.91
10th place overall
Field spread
118.6064
winner to last place
Double threats
6
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 90%
beats 10% of 4723 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
51%
28 of 55 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.6 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,520
avg power rating going in · stronger than 13% of contests
Storylines (9 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
27-in-100
shot on pre-contest ratings
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 73 times in 100
PIG PEN BBQ came in rated below the field's top team, LO' -N- SLO' BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 27-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
- champion 1526
- top seed 1695
Won without a category win
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
PIG PEN BBQ won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 3 calls from 4 boards, best of them 3rd. Consistency beat fireworks.
- Chicken 11th
- Pork Ribs 3rd
- Pork 3rd
- Brisket 9th
A first Grand Championship
14
tracked contests to get there
This was PIG PEN BBQ's first Grand Championship in the data — it arrived at their 14th tracked contest.
A rookie on the podium
3rd
at their first tracked contest
Smokin Dudes BBQ finished 3rd overall in the first contest the data has them cooking at all.
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 10 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 3–4: BIG D'S BBQ and HAWG NATION BBQ tied on 172.0228 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 8–9: HOG STREET BULLIES and THREE DOGS BBQ tied on 170.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 2–3: Smokin Dudes BBQ and PIG PEN BBQ tied on 172.5944 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 3–4 · tie
- Chicken 8–9 · tie
- Pork 2–3 · tie
- Pork 7–8 · tie
A contest record in chicken
180.0000
best chicken ever cooked here
SLOWER LOWER BBQ turned in 180.0000 in chicken — past the 173.1428 that had stood across 1 earlier editions.
- old best 173.1428
- across 1 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: FLYING PORKERS (won 2013).
- FLYING PORKERS · 2013
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.
- SLOWER LOWER BBQ · Chicken
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 4, 2013 | Harrisburg, PA | Harrisburg, PA | 55 | 674.8576 | FLYING PORKERS | HAWG NATION BBQ |
| Oct 3, 2014 ← this one | Harrisburg, PA | Harrisburg, PA 17110 | 53 | 678.9144 | PIG PEN BBQ | BIG UGLY'S BBQ - MD |
| Oct 2, 2015 | Harrisburg, PA | Harrisburg, PA 17110 | 57 | 675.3368 | CHECKERED FLAG 500 BBQ | MEATWAGON BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180 | 172 | 169.1544 |
| Pork Ribs | 173.7256 | 169.1316 | 166.8572 |
| Pork | 175.4172 | 171.4056 | 169.1084 |
| Brisket | 176.5828 | 169.6800 | 165.6684 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
53 entries · top 678.9144 · median 634.6740
Chicken
53 entries · top 180 · median 160.5256 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork Ribs
53 entries · top 173.7256 · median 159.9656
Pork
53 entries · top 175.4172 · median 158.8000
Brisket
53 entries · top 176.5828 · median 158.2172
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 — Delectable Dessert
24 entries · top 178.8572 · median 172.6000