A dynasty in the making
4×
wins at this contest
4 of 125 tracked editions
LOOT N' BOOTY BBQ has won this contest 4 times across its 125 tracked editions.
- 2014
- 2015
- 2017
- 2017
Sam's Club National BBQ Tour 2015
Jul 10–11, 2015 · Indianapolis, IN
HUG HOGS won Grand Champion at the Sam's Club National BBQ Tour on July 10, 2015 in Indianapolis, IN, scoring 687.9772 in a field of 28 teams. THE SMOKE HUNTERS took Reserve Grand Champion with 683.4060. Category winners: Chicken — HUG HOGS (174.2972); Pork Ribs — THUNDER HOG BBQ (173.1428); Pork — GREY STREET BBQ (178.8800); Brisket — ABLE ACRES BBQ (175.4172). This is the 68th of 125 editions of this contest on record; the 2015 edition was won by iBQ'n@TheBBQSuperStore.com; the next was held in 2015.
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.
498.85
median 654.23
687.98 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 174.30
- Pork Ribs 173.14
- Pork 178.88
- Brisket 175.42
20
178.88
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2013 to 2017 — this edition picked out.
Entries
28
4 judged meats
Top score
687.9772
Winning margin
4.5712
GC over RC
Field average
641.67
498.85687.98
median 654.23 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
1.7144 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
665.0628
498.85687.98
10th place overall
Field spread
189.1312
winner to last place
Double threats
5
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 76%
beats 24% of 4723 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
7%
2 of 30 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.63 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,559
avg power rating going in · stronger than 46% 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 7 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 1–2: HUG HOGS and GREY STREET BBQ tied on 174.2972 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 9–10: ALL IN QUE and RUB'N WOOD tied on 165.1428 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 9–10: MIND IF I SMOKE? BAR-B-CUE and FARMER'S RETREAT SMOKIN BARBEQUE tied on 169.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 1–2 · tie
- Pork Ribs 9–10 · tie
- Pork 9–10 · tie
- Pork 2–3 · 0.0112
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
HUG HOGS took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was brisket at 9th.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 2nd
- Pork 2nd
- Brisket 9th
Back to defend
2
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: THE SMOKE HUNTERS (won 2013), ABLE ACRES BBQ (won 2014).
- THE SMOKE HUNTERS · 2013
- ABLE ACRES BBQ · 2014
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 →
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 174.2972 | 172.5828 | 169.1428 |
| Pork Ribs | 173.1428 | 168 | 165.1428 |
| Pork | 178.8800 | 171.9888 | 169.7028 |
| Brisket | 175.4172 | 172.5828 | 166.2628 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
28 entries · top 687.9772 · median 654.2344
Chicken
28 entries · top 174.2972 · median 164.8286
Pork Ribs
27 entries · top 173.1428 · median 164.5716
Pork
28 entries · top 178.8800 · median 166.2628
Brisket
28 entries · top 175.4172 · median 160.5486