A new contest record
696.4912
highest overall ever cooked here
696.4912 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 687.9998 HICKORY PRIME set in 2013.
- old record 687.9998
- set 2013 by HICKORY PRIME
Battle of Brandon BBQ Challenge 2014
May 2–3, 2014 · Brandon, MS
THE BLUE BLOODS won Grand Champion at the Battle of Brandon BBQ Challenge on May 2, 2014 in Brandon, MS, scoring 696.4912 in a field of 40 teams. QUE'N STEW'N & BREW'N took Reserve Grand Champion with 691.3828. Category winners: Chicken — THE BLUE BLOODS (178.2972); Pork Ribs — NUCOR BAR-MILL-Q (176.5600); Pork — QUE'N STEW'N & BREW'N (179.4400); Brisket — GIVE IT TO GOD (176.5600). This is the 2nd of 2 editions of this contest on record; the 2013 edition was won by HICKORY PRIME.
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.
589.01
median 667.87
696.49 🏆
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 176.56
- Pork 179.44
- Brisket 176.56
137.12
179.44
Entries
40
4 judged meats · 5 ancillary
Top score
696.4912
Winning margin
5.1084
GC over RC
Field average
662.26
589.01696.49
median 667.87 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Brisket
2.2972 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
677.0400
589.01696.49
10th place overall
Field spread
107.4852
winner to last place
Double threats
3
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 48%
beats 52% of 4715 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
42%
13 of 31 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.62 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,532
avg power rating going in · stronger than 23% of contests
Storylines (4 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 14 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 5–6: HOTTY TOTTY BBQ CREW and QUE'N STEW'N & BREW'N tied on 174.2972 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 7–8: SWINE LIFE and KILLER HOGS tied on 174.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 3–4: SWINE LIFE and TENACIOUS Q tied on 173.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 5–6 · tie
- Chicken 7–8 · tie
- Pork 3–4 · tie
- Brisket 3–4 · tie
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
THE BLUE BLOODS took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was pork ribs at 6th.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 6th
- Pork 5th
- Brisket 3rd
A contest record in pork
179.4400
best pork ever cooked here
QUE'N STEW'N & BREW'N turned in 179.4400 in pork — past the 176.5714 that had stood across 1 earlier editions.
- old best 176.5714
- across 1 past editions
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 3, 2013 | Brandon, MS | Brandon, MS | 31 | 687.9998 | HICKORY PRIME | THE BLUE BLOODS |
| May 2, 2014 ← this one | Brandon, MS | Brandon, MS 39042 | 40 | 696.4912 | THE BLUE BLOODS | QUE'N STEW'N & BREW'N |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 178.2972 | 174.2972 | 173.1200 |
| Pork Ribs | 176.5600 | 172.5600 | 168.5256 |
| Pork | 179.4400 | 171.9656 | 169.6684 |
| Brisket | 176.5600 | 174.2628 | 169.6800 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
40 entries · top 696.4912 · median 667.8684
Chicken
40 entries · top 178.2972 · median 170.2628
Pork Ribs
40 entries · top 176.5600 · median 165.1086
Pork
40 entries · top 179.4400 · median 164.2628
Brisket
40 entries · top 176.5600 · median 165.9600
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
5 entries · top 339.9428 · median 327.3944
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SPEED PRODUCTIONS | |
| 2 | BROKEN RIBS | |
| 3 | BIG DADDY'S SMOKIN' TEAM | |
| 4 | MISSISSIPPI BULLDOG BBQ | |
| 5 | HOT & NASTY |
Master Series — Backyard Chicken
5 entries · top 170.8228 · median 165.1084
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SPEED PRODUCTIONS | |
| 2 | BIG DADDY'S SMOKIN' TEAM | |
| 3 | BROKEN RIBS | |
| 4 | HOT & NASTY | |
| 5 | MISSISSIPPI BULLDOG BBQ |
Master Series — Backyard Ribs
5 entries · top 169.1200 · median 165.6916
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SPEED PRODUCTIONS | |
| 2 | BROKEN RIBS | |
| 3 | MISSISSIPPI BULLDOG BBQ | |
| 4 | BIG DADDY'S SMOKIN' TEAM | |
| 5 | HOT & NASTY |
Master Series — Blind Chef
19 entries · top 174.8572 · median 163.9884
Master Series — Pig Creative
13 entries · top 180 · median 173.7144 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2Q OR NOT 2Q | |
| 2 | HEARTS ON FIRE | |
| 3 | BURNED AT THE STEAK | |
| 4 | NUCOR BAR-MILL-Q | |
| 5 | SWEET DREAMS BBQ | |
| 6 | LIBERTY BBQ | |
| 7 | TENACIOUS Q | |
| 8 | SMOKIN' SOBER...SOMETIMES | |
| 9 | CUZ'S CUSTOM COOKING | |
| 10 | PICKIN' AND GRILLIN | |
| 11 | MISS LOU'S BBQ | |
| 12 | KILLER HOGS | |
| 13 | MISFITS OF SMOKE |