A new contest record
691.9888
highest overall ever cooked here
691.9888 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 684.5484 T-MAC SMOKIN set in 2014.
- old record 684.5484
- set 2014 by T-MAC SMOKIN
Gold Ribbin' BBQ Fest of Greater Green Bay 2015
Jul 10–11, 2015 · Green Bay, WI
FREEMAN BROTHERS BBQ won Grand Champion at the Gold Ribbin' BBQ Fest of Greater Green Bay on July 10, 2015 in Green Bay, WI, scoring 691.9888 in a field of 80 teams. TIM'S FULL BELLI DELI took Reserve Grand Champion with 688.0460. Category winners: Chicken — FAT ANDY'S BBQ (177.7372); Pork Ribs — T-MAC SMOKIN (178.8572); Pork — RACK 'N BUTT BBQ (175.4172); Brisket — FREEMAN BROTHERS BBQ (180.0000). This is the 2nd of 2 editions of this contest on record; the 2014 edition was won by T-MAC SMOKIN.
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.
424.48
median 647.28
691.99 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 177.74
- Pork Ribs 178.86
- Pork 175.42
- Brisket 180 🔥
20
180
Entries
80
4 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
691.9888
Winning margin
3.9428
GC over RC
Field average
634.40
424.48691.99
median 647.28 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Chicken
1.1656 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
675.4060
424.48691.99
10th place overall
Field spread
267.5088
winner to last place
Double threats
2
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 64%
beats 36% of 4715 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
64%
27 of 42 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.69 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,545
avg power rating going in · stronger than 33% of contests
Storylines (9 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
10-in-100
shot on pre-contest ratings
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 90 times in 100
Freeman Brothers BBQ came in rated below the field's top team, IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 10-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
- champion 1571
- top seed 1950
A first Grand Championship
22
tracked contests to get there
This was FREEMAN BROTHERS BBQ's first Grand Championship in the data — it arrived at their 22nd tracked contest.
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 11 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 3–4: MAC ATTACK BBQ and BIG "E" BBQ tied on 176.5828 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 8–9: BUCKAROO BBQ and BAZINGA BBQ tied on 173.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 4–5: BIG "E" BBQ edged A BOY NAMED QUE by 0.0112.
- Chicken 3–4 · tie
- Chicken 8–9 · tie
- Chicken 4–5 · 0.0112
- Pork Ribs 5–6 · 0.0116
How the title was won
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
FREEMAN BROTHERS BBQ took the title on 3 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was chicken at 23rd.
- Chicken 23rd
- Pork Ribs 5th
- Pork 9th
- Brisket 1st
A contest record in pork ribs
178.8572
best pork ribs ever cooked here
T-MAC SMOKIN turned in 178.8572 in pork ribs — past the 175.4172 that had stood across 1 earlier editions.
- old best 175.4172
- across 1 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: T-MAC SMOKIN (won 2014).
- T-MAC SMOKIN · 2014
One of the big ones
80
teams on the grounds
Bigger than 97% of the 5,469 contests in the data
80 teams — bigger than 97% of the 5,469 contests in the data.
A perfect score on the table
1
perfect 180s
1 perfect 180 was scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- FREEMAN BROTHERS BBQ · Brisket
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 11, 2014 | Green Bay, WI | Green Bay, WI 54301 | 42 | 684.5484 | T-MAC SMOKIN | BREWMASTERS BAR-B-QUE |
| Jul 10, 2015 ← this one | Green Bay, WI | Green Bay, WI 54301 | 80 | 691.9888 | FREEMAN BROTHERS BBQ | TIM'S FULL BELLI DELI |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 177.7372 | 176.5716 | 172.5600 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.8572 | 173.1316 | 170.2744 |
| Pork | 175.4172 | 173.7144 | 170.8456 |
| Brisket | 180 | 175.4056 | 172.0228 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
80 entries · top 691.9888 · median 647.2798
Chicken
79 entries · top 177.7372 · median 162.8228
Pork Ribs
80 entries · top 178.8572 · median 160.5716
Pork
80 entries · top 175.4172 · median 161.1142
Brisket
80 entries · top 180 · median 161.6914 · 🔥 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 — Dessert
20 entries · top 179.4400 · median 169.1028