A dynasty in the making
4×
wins at this contest
4 of 6 tracked editions
UNDER THE RADAR has won this contest 4 times across its 6 tracked editions.
- 2014
- 2016
- 2017
- 2018
Smoke in the Valley 2014
Oct 10–11, 2014 · Pikeville, TN
UNDER THE RADAR won Grand Champion at the Smoke in the Valley on October 10, 2014 in Pikeville, TN, scoring 693.6456 in a field of 11 teams. SMOKE ON THIS took Reserve Grand Champion with 689.0512. Category winners: Chicken — BIG G BBQ (176.5600); Pork Ribs — THE ALGOOD BAR-B-Q PIT CREW (176.0000); Pork — SMOKE ON THIS (176.5600); Brisket — UNDER THE RADAR (177.7028). This is the 1st of 6 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.
614.77
median 670.21
693.65 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 176.56
- Pork Ribs 176
- Pork 176.56
- Brisket 177.70
137.12
177.70
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2014 to 2025 — this edition picked out.
Entries
11
4 judged meats · 2 ancillary
Top score
693.6456
Winning margin
4.5944
GC over RC
Field average
666.89
614.77693.65
median 670.21 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
4.0344 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
626.6628
614.77693.65
10th place overall
Field spread
78.8796
winner to last place
Double threats
7
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 59%
beats 41% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.48 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,542
avg power rating going in · stronger than 31% of contests
Storylines (3 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 8 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 6–7: SMOKE ON THIS and T-N-T BBQ tied on 170.8228 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 3–4: UNDER THE RADAR and Smokey J's BBQ tied on 173.1084 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 1–2: SMOKE ON THIS and DIRTY OL' BUTT SLAPPERS tied on 176.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 6–7 · tie
- Pork Ribs 3–4 · tie
- Pork 1–2 · tie
- Pork 6–7 · tie
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
UNDER THE RADAR took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was pork at 5th.
- Chicken 2nd
- Pork Ribs 3rd
- Pork 5th
- Brisket 1st
This contest's own records (2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 10, 2014 ← this one | Pikeville, TN | Pikeville, TN 37367 | 11 | 693.6456 | UNDER THE RADAR | SMOKE ON THIS |
| Aug 28, 2015 | Pikeville, TN | Pikeville, TN 37367 | 26 | 702.2744 | SMOKE ON THIS | ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN |
| Aug 26, 2016 | Pikeville, TN | Alan P Deakins Rd | 12 | 689.0856 | UNDER THE RADAR | RIVER ROAD GRILLBILLIES |
| Sep 22, 2017 | Pikeville, TN | Alan P Deakins Rd | 19 | 706.2400 | UNDER THE RADAR | SMOKE ON THIS |
| Sep 21, 2018 | Pikeville, TN | Alan P Deakins Rd | 12 | 698.8456 | UNDER THE RADAR | HIGH ON THE HAWG |
| Sep 27, 2025 | Edmonton, AB | 13204 Rainbow Valley Road | 23 | 694.8916 | Phantom Smoke & BBQ | SMELLAQUE |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 176.5600 | 172 | 153.6456 |
| Pork Ribs | 176 | 171.9656 | 161.6572 |
| Pork | 176.5600 | 167.4172 | 162.7884 |
| Brisket | 177.7028 | 168.5372 | 154.8228 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
11 entries · top 693.6456 · median 670.2056
Chicken
11 entries · top 176.5600 · median 170.8228
Pork Ribs
11 entries · top 176 · median 168.0344
Pork
11 entries · top 176.5600 · median 167.3828
Brisket
11 entries · top 177.7028 · median 167.9656
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 — Backyard Chicken
3 entries · top 169.6800 · median 169.6800
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | OLE SMOKEY BARBECUE CREW | |
| 2 | JIMMY QUE | |
| 3 | QUE'N CREW |
Master Series — Backyard Ribs
3 entries · top 174.2628 · median 172.5600
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | JIMMY QUE | |
| 2 | OLE SMOKEY BARBECUE CREW | |
| 3 | QUE'N CREW |