A statement win
22.9372
points clear of the field
Wider than 100% of the 4,714 championships in the data
The champion won by 22.9372 points — a wider margin than 100% of championships in the data.
Buckner Smoke Out in the Valley
Jun 21–22, 2014 · Buckner, MO
DIRT ROAD BBQ won Grand Champion at the Buckner Smoke Out in the Valley on June 21, 2014 in Buckner, MO, scoring 706.2972 in a field of 35 teams. K.C. CAN CREW took Reserve Grand Champion with 683.3600. Category winners: Chicken — Hackers n' Hogs BBQ (180.0000); Pork Ribs — VALLEY OAKS STEAK COMPANY (175.4400); Pork — DIRT ROAD BBQ (180.0000); Brisket — K.C. CAN CREW (177.7144).
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.
309.12
median 646.72
706.30 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 180 🔥
- Pork Ribs 175.44
- Pork 180 🔥
- Brisket 177.71
20
180
Entries
35
4 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
706.2972
Winning margin
22.9372
GC over RC
Field average
625.78
309.12706.30
median 646.72 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
2.8456 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
661.0972
309.12706.30
10th place overall
Field spread
397.1772
winner to last place
Double threats
5
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 10%
beats 90% of 4715 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.71 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,545
avg power rating going in · stronger than 33% 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.
A day of perfect scores
3
perfect 180s
3 perfect 180s were scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- Hackers n' Hogs BBQ · Chicken
- DIRT ROAD BBQ · Pork
- JAESTAR BBQ · Pork
A rookie on the podium
3rd
at their first tracked contest
Hackers n' Hogs BBQ finished 3rd overall in the first contest the data has them cooking at all.
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 6 calls decided inside half a point
Pork places 1–2: DIRT ROAD BBQ and JAESTAR BBQ tied on 180.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 1–2: K.C. CAN CREW and DIRT ROAD BBQ tied on 177.7144 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 2–3: K.C. CAN CREW edged PORKY MCBEEF AND THE CLUCKERS by 0.0344.
- Pork 1–2 · tie
- Brisket 1–2 · tie
- Pork Ribs 2–3 · 0.0344
- Pork Ribs 6–7 · 0.0344
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
DIRT ROAD BBQ took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was pork ribs at 4th.
- Chicken 3rd
- Pork Ribs 4th
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 2nd
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)
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180 | 170.2972 | 164 |
| Pork Ribs | 175.4400 | 172.5944 | 165.0972 |
| Pork | 180 | 172.5600 | 168.5256 |
| Brisket | 177.7144 | 167.3828 | 163.4288 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
35 entries · top 706.2972 · median 646.7200
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DIRT ROAD BBQ | |
| 2 | K.C. CAN CREW | |
| 3 | Hackers n' Hogs BBQ | |
| 4 | THUMP & STRUM BBQ | |
| 5 | JAESTAR BBQ | |
| 6 | THE BLUE BLOODS | |
| 7 | SMOKIN BAD HABIT | |
| 8 | THESLABS.COM | |
| 9 | RABBIT GULCH FARM COOKERS | |
| 10 | VALLEY OAKS STEAK COMPANY | |
| 11 | PORKY MCBEEF AND THE CLUCKERS | |
| 12 | JOHNSON'S BREW N BBQ | |
| 13 | 50 SHADES OF QUE | |
| 14 | MAD HOGS AND AN ENGLISHMAN | |
| 15 | MUDHOLE BBQ | |
| 16 | WALDO BBQ | |
| 17 | GoodFella's BBQ | |
| 18 | IN DEEP SAUCE | |
| 19 | THIS IS HOW WE QUE IT | |
| 20 | Hi-Tech Smokers | |
| 21 | SMOKE-N-BONES BBQ | |
| 22 | Centranz/WestMo Smokers | |
| 23 | DANG BBQ KANSAS CITY | |
| 24 | SMOKE ME TENDER BBQ | |
| 25 | UP IN SMOKE | |
| 26 | PIG PIT | |
| 27 | Kill'em & Grill'em | |
| 28 | KC Pit Meat | |
| 29 | TRIPLE B BBQ | |
| 30 | WATT'S SMOKIN! | |
| 31 | SMOKE DREAMS BBQ | |
| 32 | ALL PORKED UP | |
| 33 | PORKARITAVILLE | |
| 34 | PBR | |
| 35 | Jazzed BBQ |
Chicken
33 entries · top 180 · median 162.2856 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork Ribs
35 entries · top 175.4400 · median 159.9656
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | VALLEY OAKS STEAK COMPANY | |
| 2 | K.C. CAN CREW | |
| 3 | PORKY MCBEEF AND THE CLUCKERS | |
| 4 | DIRT ROAD BBQ | |
| 5 | RABBIT GULCH FARM COOKERS | |
| 6 | IN DEEP SAUCE | |
| 7 | THESLABS.COM | |
| 8 | SMOKIN BAD HABIT | |
| 9 | THE BLUE BLOODS | |
| 10 | MAD HOGS AND AN ENGLISHMAN | |
| 11 | THIS IS HOW WE QUE IT | |
| 12 | 50 SHADES OF QUE | |
| 13 | SMOKE-N-BONES BBQ | |
| 14 | THUMP & STRUM BBQ | |
| 15 | Jazzed BBQ | |
| 16 | JAESTAR BBQ | |
| 17 | MUDHOLE BBQ | |
| 18 | JOHNSON'S BREW N BBQ | |
| 19 | Hi-Tech Smokers | |
| 20 | Centranz/WestMo Smokers | |
| 21 | KC Pit Meat | |
| 22 | SMOKE ME TENDER BBQ | |
| 23 | PBR | |
| 24 | Hackers n' Hogs BBQ | |
| 25 | WALDO BBQ | |
| 26 | PIG PIT | |
| 27 | UP IN SMOKE | |
| 28 | GoodFella's BBQ | |
| 29 | SMOKE DREAMS BBQ | |
| 30 | Kill'em & Grill'em | |
| 31 | TRIPLE B BBQ | |
| 32 | DANG BBQ KANSAS CITY | |
| 33 | ALL PORKED UP | |
| 34 | WATT'S SMOKIN! | |
| 35 | PORKARITAVILLE |
Pork
34 entries · top 180 · median 163.1372 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DIRT ROAD BBQ | |
| 2 | JAESTAR BBQ | |
| 3 | RABBIT GULCH FARM COOKERS | |
| 4 | THE BLUE BLOODS | |
| 5 | JOHNSON'S BREW N BBQ | |
| 6 | PORKARITAVILLE | |
| 7 | PORKY MCBEEF AND THE CLUCKERS | |
| 8 | Hackers n' Hogs BBQ | |
| 9 | UP IN SMOKE | |
| 10 | SMOKIN BAD HABIT | |
| 11 | THUMP & STRUM BBQ | |
| 12 | K.C. CAN CREW | |
| 13 | GoodFella's BBQ | |
| 14 | DANG BBQ KANSAS CITY | |
| 15 | WALDO BBQ | |
| 16 | Hi-Tech Smokers | |
| 17 | 50 SHADES OF QUE | |
| 18 | MAD HOGS AND AN ENGLISHMAN | |
| 19 | SMOKE-N-BONES BBQ | |
| 20 | ALL PORKED UP | |
| 21 | PBR | |
| 22 | THIS IS HOW WE QUE IT | |
| 23 | SMOKE ME TENDER BBQ | |
| 24 | WATT'S SMOKIN! | |
| 25 | MUDHOLE BBQ | |
| 26 | IN DEEP SAUCE | |
| 27 | VALLEY OAKS STEAK COMPANY | |
| 28 | Kill'em & Grill'em | |
| 29 | THESLABS.COM | |
| 30 | PIG PIT | |
| 31 | TRIPLE B BBQ | |
| 32 | Centranz/WestMo Smokers | |
| 33 | KC Pit Meat | |
| 34 | SMOKE DREAMS BBQ |
Brisket
35 entries · top 177.7144 · median 157.6688
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | K.C. CAN CREW | |
| 2 | DIRT ROAD BBQ | |
| 3 | Hackers n' Hogs BBQ | |
| 4 | GoodFella's BBQ | |
| 5 | THUMP & STRUM BBQ | |
| 6 | MUDHOLE BBQ | |
| 7 | WATT'S SMOKIN! | |
| 8 | Hi-Tech Smokers | |
| 9 | WALDO BBQ | |
| 10 | SMOKIN BAD HABIT | |
| 11 | VALLEY OAKS STEAK COMPANY | |
| 12 | THESLABS.COM | |
| 13 | THE BLUE BLOODS | |
| 14 | JAESTAR BBQ | |
| 15 | RABBIT GULCH FARM COOKERS | |
| 16 | SMOKE ME TENDER BBQ | |
| 17 | 50 SHADES OF QUE | |
| 18 | PORKARITAVILLE | |
| 19 | THIS IS HOW WE QUE IT | |
| 20 | JOHNSON'S BREW N BBQ | |
| 21 | DANG BBQ KANSAS CITY | |
| 22 | PORKY MCBEEF AND THE CLUCKERS | |
| 23 | MAD HOGS AND AN ENGLISHMAN | |
| 24 | IN DEEP SAUCE | |
| 25 | SMOKE-N-BONES BBQ | |
| 26 | Kill'em & Grill'em | |
| 27 | Centranz/WestMo Smokers | |
| 28 | Jazzed BBQ | |
| 29 | SMOKE DREAMS BBQ | |
| 30 | PIG PIT | |
| 31 | KC Pit Meat | |
| 32 | PBR | |
| 33 | UP IN SMOKE | |
| 34 | TRIPLE B BBQ | |
| 35 | ALL PORKED UP |
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 — Dessert
13 entries · top 180 · median 172.5600 · 🔥 perfect 180