A new contest record
706.2400
highest overall ever cooked here
706.2400 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 702.2856 UNDER THE RADAR set in 2014.
- old record 702.2856
- set 2014 by UNDER THE RADAR
Blount County BBQ Bash 2015
Jun 26–27, 2015 · Maryville, TN
SMOKE ON THIS won Grand Champion at the Blount County BBQ Bash on June 26, 2015 in Maryville, TN, scoring 706.2400 in a field of 38 teams. UNDER THE RADAR took Reserve Grand Champion with 697.7144. Category winners: Chicken — KNOXVEGAS BBQ (178.2972); Pork Ribs — SWINE AND SHINE BBQ (177.7144); Pork — SMOKE ON THIS (180.0000); Brisket — UNDER THE RADAR (180.0000). This is the 2nd of 6 editions of this contest on record; the 2014 edition was won by UNDER THE RADAR; the next was held in 2017.
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.
422
median 663.90
706.24 🏆
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 177.71
- Pork 180 🔥
- Brisket 180 🔥
131.22
180
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2014 to 2021 — this edition picked out.
Entries
38
4 judged meats · 2 ancillary
Top score
706.2400
Winning margin
8.5256
GC over RC
Field average
652.10
422706.24
median 663.90 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Chicken
1.7372 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
682.7428
422706.24
10th place overall
Field spread
284.2400
winner to last place
Double threats
3
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 11%
beats 89% of 4723 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
44%
17 of 39 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.74 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,549
avg power rating going in · stronger than 37% of contests
Storylines (8 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.
An upset on the books
34-in-100
shot on pre-contest ratings
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 66 times in 100
SMOKE ON THIS came in rated below the field's top team, WARREN COUNTY PORK CHOPPERS, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 34-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
- champion 1758
- top seed 1870
A dynasty in the making
2×
wins at this contest
2 of 6 tracked editions
SMOKE ON THIS has won this contest 2 times across its 6 tracked editions.
- 2015
- 2019
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 14 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 1–2: KNOXVEGAS BBQ and UNDER THE RADAR tied on 178.2972 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 7–8: ATLANTA BBQ STORE and THE COSMIC PIG tied on 174.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 9–10: OWLS NEST BBQ and Q-FACTOR tied on 173.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 1–2 · tie
- Chicken 7–8 · tie
- Chicken 9–10 · tie
- Pork Ribs 2–3 · tie
How the title was won
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
SMOKE ON THIS took the title on 3 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was chicken at 12th.
- Chicken 12th
- Pork Ribs 2nd
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 5th
A contest record in brisket
180.0000
best brisket ever cooked here
UNDER THE RADAR turned in 180.0000 in brisket — past the 176.5828 that had stood across 1 earlier editions.
- old best 176.5828
- across 1 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: UNDER THE RADAR (won 2014).
- UNDER THE RADAR · 2014
A perfect score on the table
2
perfect 180s
2 perfect 180s were scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- UNDER THE RADAR · Brisket
- SMOKE ON THIS · Pork
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 27, 2014 | Maryville, TN | Maryville, TN 37801 | 39 | 702.2856 | UNDER THE RADAR | SMOKE ON THIS |
| Jun 26, 2015 ← this one | Maryville, TN | Maryville, TN 37917 | 38 | 706.2400 | SMOKE ON THIS | UNDER THE RADAR |
| Jun 23, 2017 | Maryville, TN | Founders Sq, E Broadway Ave | 35 | 703.9656 | THE PIT CREW GA | UNDER THE RADAR |
| Jun 22, 2018 | Maryville, TN | Founders Sq, E Broadway Ave | 36 | 701.0740 | RIVER ROAD GRILLBILLIES | EXTRA MILE BBQ |
| Jun 21, 2019 | Maryville, TN | Founders Square E Broadway Ave. | 27 | 695.3828 | Smoke on This | CONTINENTAL BARBEQUE CO. |
| Jun 25, 2021 | Maryville, TN | Fanders Sq E Broadway Ave. | 32 | 698.2628 | Smoke Central BBQ | ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 178.2972 | 176.5600 | 173.7028 |
| Pork Ribs | 177.7144 | 174.2744 | 168.5256 |
| Pork | 180 | 174.2744 | 171.9656 |
| Brisket | 180 | 176.5600 | 171.9656 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
38 entries · top 706.2400 · median 663.8972
Chicken
37 entries · top 178.2972 · median 169.1316
Pork Ribs
38 entries · top 177.7144 · median 163.3828
Pork
38 entries · top 180 · median 165.9600 · 🔥 perfect 180
Brisket
37 entries · top 180 · median 167.3828 · 🔥 perfect 180
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 — Anything But
13 entries · top 177.1772 · median 156.5944
Master Series — Wampler'S Sausage
36 entries · top 176.6172 · median 150.3200