A statement win
13.7024
points clear of the field
Wider than 95% of the 4,714 championships in the data
The champion won by 13.7024 points — a wider margin than 95% of championships in the data.
Ribs & Rides BBQ Festival at Dorney Park
Jun 27–28, 2015 · Allentown, PA
LO' -N- SLO' BBQ won Grand Champion at the Ribs & Rides BBQ Festival at Dorney Park on June 27, 2015 in Allentown, PA, scoring 683.3600 in a field of 17 teams. FIRE & SPICE took Reserve Grand Champion with 669.6576. Category winners: Chicken — FINN'S FINEST BBQ (174.8800); Pork Ribs — 4-8-4 BBQ (174.2744); Pork — LO' -N- SLO' BBQ (175.4172); Brisket — FINN'S FINEST BBQ (175.4172).
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.
504.58
median 653.13
683.36 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 174.88
- Pork Ribs 174.27
- Pork 175.42
- Brisket 175.42
20
175.42
Entries
17
4 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
683.3600
Winning margin
13.7024
GC over RC
Field average
635.77
504.58683.36
median 653.13 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
4.6172 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
653.0404
504.58683.36
10th place overall
Field spread
178.7768
winner to last place
Double threats
7
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 85%
beats 15% of 4715 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.54 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,574
avg power rating going in · stronger than 58% 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 3 calls decided inside half a point
Pork Ribs places 6–7: BRISKET BURNERS and LO' -N- SLO' BBQ tied on 165.1200 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 6–7: PIGHEADED BBQ edged SMOKESTACK REDEMPTION by 0.0228. Brisket places 8–9: BEERBEQUE edged 4-8-4 BBQ by 0.0572.
- Pork Ribs 6–7 · tie
- Pork 6–7 · 0.0228
- Brisket 8–9 · 0.0572
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
FINN'S FINEST BBQ won Chicken, Brisket — a double.
- Chicken 1st
- Brisket 1st
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
LO' -N- SLO' BBQ took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was pork ribs at 7th.
- Chicken 6th
- Pork Ribs 7th
- 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 | 174.8800 | 170.2628 | 163.4288 |
| Pork Ribs | 174.2744 | 167.4284 | 161.1544 |
| Pork | 175.4172 | 166.8800 | 163.9656 |
| Brisket | 175.4172 | 168.5484 | 161.1428 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
17 entries · top 683.3600 · median 653.1312
Chicken
17 entries · top 174.8800 · median 163.9428
Pork Ribs
17 entries · top 174.2744 · median 162.8000
Pork
17 entries · top 175.4172 · median 165.1428
Brisket
17 entries · top 175.4172 · median 161.6800
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 — Lemon Dessert
7 entries · top 180 · median 162.7884 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | HAWG NATION BBQ | |
| 2 | OUR BARK IS BETTER THAN YOUR BITE | |
| 3 | FIRE & SPICE | |
| 4 | THE ROOSTER CREW | |
| 5 | TOM TOM BOB A QUE | |
| 6 | BRISKET BURNERS | |
| 7 | BEERBEQUE |