A new contest record
694.2400
highest overall ever cooked here
694.2400 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 680.5710 LEFT COAST Q set in 2013.
- old record 680.5710
- set 2013 by LEFT COAST Q
Smoke on the Water NEVADA BBQ Championship 2014
May 1–3, 2014 · Laughlin, NV
RHYTHM 'N QUE won Grand Champion at the Smoke on the Water NEVADA BBQ Championship on May 1, 2014 in Laughlin, NV, scoring 694.2400 in a field of 18 teams. ROYAL SMOKIN' HOT took Reserve Grand Champion with 681.6916. Category winners: Chicken — ROOFTOP BBQ (178.2972); Pork Ribs — RHYTHM 'N QUE (178.8572); Pork — LEFT COAST Q (174.2628); Brisket — BBQ Saviors (176.5944). This is the 2nd of 2 editions of this contest on record; the 2013 edition was won by LEFT COAST Q.
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.
601.52
median 661.90
694.24 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 178.30
- Pork Ribs 178.86
- Pork 174.26
- Brisket 176.59
143.35
178.86
Entries
18
4 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
694.2400
Winning margin
12.5484
GC over RC
Field average
657.93
601.52694.24
median 661.90 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Brisket
5.1544 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
657.0172
601.52694.24
10th place overall
Field spread
92.7200
winner to last place
Double threats
7
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 57%
beats 43% of 4715 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
20%
5 of 25 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.67 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,547
avg power rating going in · stronger than 35% of contests
Storylines (6 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.
A statement win
12.5484
points clear of the field
Wider than 93% of the 4,714 championships in the data
The champion won by 12.5484 points — a wider margin than 93% of championships in the data.
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 6 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 2–3: SWEET PEPPERS and LEFT COAST Q tied on 173.1200 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 5–6: RHYTHM 'N QUE and PIGGY D'S BBQ tied on 167.4172 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 9–10: SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE SMOKER edged BBQ Saviors by 0.0116.
- Chicken 2–3 · tie
- Pork 5–6 · tie
- Pork Ribs 9–10 · 0.0116
- Pork Ribs 3–4 · 0.0228
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
RHYTHM 'N QUE took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was pork at 5th.
- Chicken 4th
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 5th
- Brisket 2nd
A contest record in pork ribs
178.8572
best pork ribs ever cooked here
RHYTHM 'N QUE turned in 178.8572 in pork ribs — past the 170.8572 that had stood across 1 earlier editions.
- old best 170.8572
- across 1 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: LEFT COAST Q (won 2013).
- LEFT COAST Q · 2013
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2, 2013 | Laughlin, NV | Laughlin, NV | 25 | 680.5710 | LEFT COAST Q | RHYTHM 'N QUE |
| May 1, 2014 ← this one | Laughlin, NV | Laughlin, NV 89029 | 18 | 694.2400 | RHYTHM 'N QUE | ROYAL SMOKIN' HOT |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 178.2972 | 170.8572 | 166.8228 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.8572 | 170.8572 | 165.6684 |
| Pork | 174.2628 | 167.4172 | 163.9772 |
| Brisket | 176.5944 | 171.4400 | 161.6340 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
18 entries · top 694.2400 · median 661.8972
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | RHYTHM 'N QUE | |
| 2 | ROYAL SMOKIN' HOT | |
| 3 | THE PIT CREW BBQ OF AZ | |
| 4 | SWEET PEPPERS | |
| 5 | ROOFTOP BBQ | |
| 6 | BBQ Saviors | |
| 7 | LEFT COAST Q | |
| 8 | ZZYZX BAR.B.Q | |
| 9 | KNIFE PORK AND SPOON | |
| 10 | PIGGY D'S BBQ | |
| 11 | VOODOO ZOMBQUE | |
| 12 | BIG JOHNSON'S BBQ | |
| 13 | SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE SMOKER | |
| 14 | FIRE AND DESIRE | |
| 15 | LICK DA BONE BBQ | |
| 16 | SKIN AND BONES BBQ | |
| 17 | WILD HOGS BBQ | |
| 18 | Smokingqbbq |
Chicken
18 entries · top 178.2972 · median 167.3942
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ROOFTOP BBQ | |
| 2 | SWEET PEPPERS | |
| 3 | LEFT COAST Q | |
| 4 | RHYTHM 'N QUE | |
| 5 | BBQ Saviors | |
| 6 | ZZYZX BAR.B.Q | |
| 7 | THE PIT CREW BBQ OF AZ | |
| 8 | VOODOO ZOMBQUE | |
| 9 | KNIFE PORK AND SPOON | |
| 10 | BIG JOHNSON'S BBQ | |
| 11 | ROYAL SMOKIN' HOT | |
| 12 | SKIN AND BONES BBQ | |
| 13 | PIGGY D'S BBQ | |
| 14 | FIRE AND DESIRE | |
| 15 | SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE SMOKER | |
| 16 | LICK DA BONE BBQ | |
| 17 | WILD HOGS BBQ | |
| 18 | Smokingqbbq |
Pork Ribs
18 entries · top 178.8572 · median 165.6742
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | RHYTHM 'N QUE | |
| 2 | KNIFE PORK AND SPOON | |
| 3 | THE PIT CREW BBQ OF AZ | |
| 4 | WILD HOGS BBQ | |
| 5 | ROYAL SMOKIN' HOT | |
| 6 | BIG JOHNSON'S BBQ | |
| 7 | SWEET PEPPERS | |
| 8 | FIRE AND DESIRE | |
| 9 | SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE SMOKER | |
| 10 | BBQ Saviors | |
| 11 | LEFT COAST Q | |
| 12 | LICK DA BONE BBQ | |
| 13 | ZZYZX BAR.B.Q | |
| 14 | VOODOO ZOMBQUE | |
| 15 | PIGGY D'S BBQ | |
| 16 | SKIN AND BONES BBQ | |
| 17 | ROOFTOP BBQ | |
| 18 | Smokingqbbq |
Pork
18 entries · top 174.2628 · median 163.9888
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | LEFT COAST Q | |
| 2 | ROOFTOP BBQ | |
| 3 | ROYAL SMOKIN' HOT | |
| 4 | BIG JOHNSON'S BBQ | |
| 5 | RHYTHM 'N QUE | |
| 6 | PIGGY D'S BBQ | |
| 7 | VOODOO ZOMBQUE | |
| 8 | THE PIT CREW BBQ OF AZ | |
| 9 | SWEET PEPPERS | |
| 10 | SKIN AND BONES BBQ | |
| 11 | ZZYZX BAR.B.Q | |
| 12 | KNIFE PORK AND SPOON | |
| 13 | SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE SMOKER | |
| 14 | LICK DA BONE BBQ | |
| 15 | BBQ Saviors | |
| 16 | FIRE AND DESIRE | |
| 17 | Smokingqbbq | |
| 18 | WILD HOGS BBQ |
Brisket
18 entries · top 176.5944 · median 162.2342
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BBQ Saviors | |
| 2 | RHYTHM 'N QUE | |
| 3 | ROYAL SMOKIN' HOT | |
| 4 | THE PIT CREW BBQ OF AZ | |
| 5 | SWEET PEPPERS | |
| 6 | ZZYZX BAR.B.Q | |
| 7 | ROOFTOP BBQ | |
| 8 | PIGGY D'S BBQ | |
| 9 | KNIFE PORK AND SPOON | |
| 10 | LEFT COAST Q | |
| 11 | SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE SMOKER | |
| 12 | VOODOO ZOMBQUE | |
| 13 | FIRE AND DESIRE | |
| 14 | LICK DA BONE BBQ | |
| 15 | WILD HOGS BBQ | |
| 16 | Smokingqbbq | |
| 17 | SKIN AND BONES BBQ | |
| 18 | BIG JOHNSON'S BBQ |
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 — Sauce
5 entries · top 169.1084 · median 166.8228
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BBQ Saviors | |
| 2 | VOODOO ZOMBQUE | |
| 3 | FIRE AND DESIRE | |
| 4 | Smokingqbbq | |
| 5 | SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE SMOKER |