A statement win
10.9600
points clear of the field
Wider than 90% of the 4,714 championships in the data
The champion won by 10.9600 points — a wider margin than 90% of championships in the data.
Red, White, and BBQ 2014
May 23–24, 2014 · Westmont, IL
IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ won Grand Champion at the Red, White, and BBQ on May 23, 2014 in Westmont, IL, scoring 680.0000 in a field of 43 teams. MUD'S BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 669.0400. Category winners: Chicken — IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ (177.7372); Pork Ribs — IT'S 5 O'CLOCK SOMEWHERE (175.4400); Pork — THE SMOKE HUNTERS (172.6056); Brisket — QUAU (176.5944). This is the 1st of 4 editions of this contest on record; 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.
317.75
median 648.39
680 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 177.74
- Pork Ribs 175.44
- Pork 172.61
- Brisket 176.59
124.64
177.74
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2014 to 2015 — this edition picked out.
Entries
43
4 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
680
Winning margin
10.9600
GC over RC
Field average
632.29
317.75680
median 648.39 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
3.4400 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
662.8456
317.75680
10th place overall
Field spread
362.2512
winner to last place
Double threats
2
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 89%
beats 11% of 4715 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.75 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,555
avg power rating going in · stronger than 42% 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 12 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 6–7: GIVE IT TO GOD and THE SMOKE HUNTERS tied on 171.4400 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 3–4: THE SMOKIN' C'S BBQ and THE REAL SMOKIN ACES tied on 173.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 9–10: BIG JT'S SMOKIN BBQ edged iBQ'n by 0.0004.
- Chicken 6–7 · tie
- Brisket 3–4 · tie
- Pork Ribs 9–10 · 0.0004
- Chicken 9–10 · 0.0112
How the title was won
2 of 4
meats called to the stage
IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ took the title on 2 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was pork at 22nd.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 11th
- Pork 22nd
- Brisket 6th
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 23, 2014 ← this one | Westmont, IL | Westmont, IL 60559 | 43 | 680 | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ | MUD'S BBQ |
| May 24, 2014 | Westmont, IL | Westmont, IL 60559 | 72 | 683.4628 | TIM'S FULL BELLI DELI | A FINE SWINE |
| May 22, 2015 | Westmont, IL | Westmont, IL 60559 | 41 | 681.6800 | MUD'S BBQ | BIG JT'S SMOKIN BBQ |
| May 23, 2015 | Westmont, IL | Westmont, IL 60559 | 58 | 692.6172 | A FINE SWINE | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 177.7372 | 171.4744 | 169.6916 |
| Pork Ribs | 175.4400 | 172 | 169.1312 |
| Pork | 172.6056 | 169.1428 | 166.2972 |
| Brisket | 176.5944 | 172.5484 | 169.6684 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
43 entries · top 680 · median 648.3884
Chicken
43 entries · top 177.7372 · median 162.2628
Pork Ribs
43 entries · top 175.4400 · median 160.0232
Pork
42 entries · top 172.6056 · median 161.6914
Brisket
42 entries · top 176.5944 · median 160.2744
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 — Black Box
16 entries · top 168.5600 · median 160.2800