A dynasty in the making
4×
wins at this contest
4 of 125 tracked editions
LOOT N' BOOTY BBQ has won this contest 4 times across its 125 tracked editions.
- 2014
- 2015
- 2017
- 2017
Sam's Club National BBQ Tour 2014
Apr 18–19, 2014 · Denver, CO
GQUE won Grand Champion at the Sam's Club National BBQ Tour on April 18, 2014 in Denver, CO, scoring 686.7768 in a field of 30 teams. GRILLIN' BEAVERS took Reserve Grand Champion with 677.6912. Category winners: Chicken — GRILLIN' BEAVERS (177.1544); Pork Ribs — JO-BAWB'S BBQ (174.8572); Pork — GQUE (175.4400); Brisket — SMOKIN HOT BUTTS BBQ (180.0000). This is the 34th of 125 editions of this contest on record; the 2014 edition was won by R&R BBQ; the next was held in 2014.
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.
601.09
median 653.83
686.78 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 177.15
- Pork Ribs 174.86
- Pork 175.44
- Brisket 180 🔥
137.13
180
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2013 to 2017 — this edition picked out.
Entries
30
4 judged meats
Top score
686.7768
Winning margin
9.0856
GC over RC
Field average
649.89
601.09686.78
median 653.83 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Pork
3.4172 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
666.1712
601.09686.78
10th place overall
Field spread
85.6908
winner to last place
Double threats
7
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 79%
beats 21% of 4723 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
0%
0 of 29 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.79 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,539
avg power rating going in · stronger than 29% of contests
Storylines (5 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 9 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 8–9: GQUE and LONESTAR SMOKE RANGERS tied on 168.5256 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 8–9: BOSSMAN BAR-B-QUE and WE'RE BURNIN DAYLIGHT BBQ tied on 165.1544 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 5–6: HIGH DESERT HOLY SMOKE BBQ edged SWINESTONE COWBOYS by 0.0112.
- Chicken 8–9 · tie
- Pork Ribs 8–9 · tie
- Chicken 5–6 · 0.0112
- Brisket 9–10 · 0.0112
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
GQUE took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was chicken at 8th.
- Chicken 8th
- Pork Ribs 6th
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 2nd
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: SWINESTONE COWBOYS (won 2013).
- SWINESTONE COWBOYS · 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.
- SMOKIN HOT BUTTS BBQ · Brisket
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 →
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 177.1544 | 170.2856 | 168.0116 |
| Pork Ribs | 174.8572 | 166.8572 | 164.5600 |
| Pork | 175.4400 | 172.0228 | 166.8228 |
| Brisket | 180 | 169.7256 | 163.3828 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
30 entries · top 686.7768 · median 653.8284
Chicken
30 entries · top 177.1544 · median 165.3942
Pork Ribs
30 entries · top 174.8572 · median 162.5200
Pork
30 entries · top 175.4400 · median 164.5542
Brisket
30 entries · top 180 · median 159.3658 · 🔥 perfect 180