A new contest record
696.5828
highest overall ever cooked here
696.5828 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 694.3316 PARROTHEAD SMOKERS set in 2014.
- old record 694.3316
- set 2014 by PARROTHEAD SMOKERS
Montana BBQ Cook-Off 2015
Jul 3–5, 2015 · Absarokee, MT
LONESTAR SMOKE RANGERS won Grand Champion at the Montana BBQ Cook-Off on July 3, 2015 in Absarokee, MT, scoring 696.5828 in a field of 29 teams. JO-BAWB'S BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 677.6916. Category winners: Chicken — PARROTHEAD SMOKERS (177.7144); Pork Ribs — LONESTAR SMOKE RANGERS (173.7028); Pork — GRATE EXPECTATIONS (174.8572); Brisket — LONESTAR SMOKE RANGERS (179.4400). This is the 3rd of 9 editions of this contest on record; the 2014 edition was won by PARROTHEAD SMOKERS; the next was held in 2016.
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.
141.12
median 632.50
696.58 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 177.71
- Pork Ribs 173.70
- Pork 174.86
- Brisket 179.44
20
179.44
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2013 to 2022 — this edition picked out.
Entries
29
4 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
696.5828
Winning margin
18.8912
GC over RC
Field average
613.75
141.12696.58
median 632.50 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
7.4400 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
658.2400
141.12696.58
10th place overall
Field spread
555.4628
winner to last place
Double threats
6
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 47%
beats 53% of 4715 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
44%
11 of 25 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.6 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,529
avg power rating going in · stronger than 21% of contests
Storylines (10 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
LONESTAR SMOKE RANGERS came in rated below the field's top team, PARROTHEAD SMOKERS, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 34-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
- champion 1695
- top seed 1808
A statement win
18.8912
points clear of the field
Wider than 99% of the 4,714 championships in the data
The champion won by 18.8912 points — a wider margin than 99% of championships in the data.
A dynasty in the making
3×
wins at this contest
3 of 9 tracked editions
PARROTHEAD SMOKERS has won this contest 3 times across its 9 tracked editions.
- 2014
- 2017
- 2019
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 11 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 9–10: Checkered Flag BBQ and Half Ass BBQ tied on 166.3200 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 2–3: BIG DADDY QUE and JO-BAWB'S BBQ tied on 174.8572 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 6–7: HALF BAKED HIPPIES BBQ edged BIG DADDY QUE by 0.0116.
- Chicken 9–10 · tie
- Brisket 2–3 · tie
- Pork 6–7 · 0.0116
- Chicken 4–5 · 0.0116
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
LONESTAR SMOKE RANGERS won Pork Ribs, Brisket — a double, and took the Grand Championship on top of it.
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Brisket 1st
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
LONESTAR SMOKE RANGERS took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 2 outright wins — their weakest board was chicken at 3rd.
- Chicken 3rd
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 2nd
- Brisket 1st
A contest record in chicken
177.7144
best chicken ever cooked here
PARROTHEAD SMOKERS turned in 177.7144 in chicken — past the 175.4400 that had stood across 2 earlier editions.
- old best 175.4400
- across 2 past editions
Back to defend
2
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: LONESTAR SMOKE RANGERS (won 2013), PARROTHEAD SMOKERS (won 2014).
- LONESTAR SMOKE RANGERS · 2013
- PARROTHEAD SMOKERS · 2014
The biggest field yet
29
teams — a contest high
This contest usually draws about 24 teams
29 teams is the deepest field this contest has drawn in the data, against a typical 24.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 6, 2013 | Absarokee, MT | Absarokee, MT | 22 | 650.2858 | LONESTAR SMOKE RANGERS | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS |
| Jul 5, 2014 | Absarokee, MT | Absarokee, MT 59001 | 25 | 694.3316 | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS | SUNRISE BBQ |
| Jul 3, 2015 ← this one | Absarokee, MT | Absarokee, MT 59001 | 29 | 696.5828 | LONESTAR SMOKE RANGERS | JO-BAWB'S BBQ |
| Jun 25, 2016 | Absarokee, MT | Downtown Absarokee | 29 | 701.7144 | MONTANA OUTLAW BBQ | JO-BAWB'S BBQ |
| Jun 24, 2017 | Absarokee, MT | Hwy 78 | 35 | 701.1200 | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS | YOU QUE'D ME ALL NIGHT LONG |
| Jun 23, 2018 | Absarokee, MT | Hwy 78 | 26 | 695.9660 | HICKORY AND SPICE BBQ | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS |
| Jun 22, 2019 | Absarokee, MT | Hwy 78 | 29 | 699.9196 | Parrothead Smokers | SMOKIN HOT BUTTS BBQ |
| Jun 11, 2021 | Absarokee, MT | Woodard Ave | 27 | 708.5600 | Texas Smoke Whisperer | Bushmaster BBQ |
| Jun 10, 2022 | Absarokee, MT | Woodard Ave | 27 | 693.6112 | Stoake-D-Fire.com | OWENS BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 177.7144 | 170.2628 | 166.3200 |
| Pork Ribs | 173.7028 | 166.2628 | 163.9772 |
| Pork | 174.8572 | 166.2856 | 164.5600 |
| Brisket | 179.4400 | 169.1084 | 160.5256 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
29 entries · top 696.5828 · median 632.5032
Chicken
28 entries · top 177.7144 · median 163.9942
Pork Ribs
28 entries · top 173.7028 · median 160.2628
Pork
29 entries · top 174.8572 · median 161.1428
Brisket
28 entries · top 179.4400 · median 158.0058
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 Goes
20 entries · top 180 · median 167.6856 · 🔥 perfect 180