A new contest record
695.9312
highest overall ever cooked here
695.9312 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 689.1084 DIGGIN QUE-GA set in 2014.
- old record 689.1084
- set 2014 by DIGGIN QUE-GA
WNC BBQ Festival 2015
Jul 24–25, 2015 · Maggie Valley, NC
JIGGY PIGGY won Grand Champion at the WNC BBQ Festival on July 24, 2015 in Maggie Valley, NC, scoring 695.9312 in a field of 49 teams. SMOKE THIS took Reserve Grand Champion with 692.5028. Category winners: Chicken — REDNECK SCIENTIFIC (180.0000); Pork Ribs — SOGGY BOTTOM SMOKERS (178.8572); Pork — ROCKY TOP BARBEQUE (177.7028); Brisket — SMOKE THIS (176.5600). This is the 2nd of 4 editions of this contest on record; the 2014 edition was won by DIGGIN QUE-GA; 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.
520.53
median 665.62
695.93 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 180 🔥
- Pork Ribs 178.86
- Pork 177.70
- Brisket 176.56
142.26
180
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2014 to 2017 — this edition picked out.
Entries
49
4 judged meats · 2 ancillary
Top score
695.9312
Winning margin
3.4284
GC over RC
Field average
657.45
520.53695.93
median 665.62 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Chicken
2.2856 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
679.9424
520.53695.93
10th place overall
Field spread
175.4056
winner to last place
Double threats
5
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 51%
beats 49% of 4715 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
48%
22 of 46 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.67 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,561
avg power rating going in · stronger than 47% of contests
Storylines (6 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.
Won without a category win
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
JIGGY PIGGY won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 3 calls from 4 boards, best of them 4th. Consistency beat fireworks.
- Chicken 8th
- Pork Ribs 4th
- Pork 10th
- Brisket 11th
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 13 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 1–2: REDNECK SCIENTIFIC and K & D SMOKERS tied on 180.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 3–4: SMOKE THIS and JIGGY PIGGY tied on 176.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 1–2: ROCKY TOP BARBEQUE and SMOKE ON THIS tied on 177.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 1–2 · tie
- Pork Ribs 3–4 · tie
- Pork 1–2 · tie
- Pork 6–7 · tie
A contest record in pork ribs
178.8572
best pork ribs ever cooked here
SOGGY BOTTOM SMOKERS turned in 178.8572 in pork ribs — past the 175.4400 that had stood across 1 earlier editions.
- old best 175.4400
- across 1 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: DIGGIN QUE-GA (won 2014).
- DIGGIN QUE-GA · 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.
- REDNECK SCIENTIFIC · Chicken
- K & D SMOKERS · Chicken
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 25, 2014 | Maggie Valley, NC | Maggie Valley, NC 28751 | 46 | 689.1084 | DIGGIN QUE-GA | MONTY PIGTHON & THE HOLY GRILL |
| Jul 24, 2015 ← this one | Maggie Valley, NC | Maggie Valley, NC 28751 | 49 | 695.9312 | JIGGY PIGGY | SMOKE THIS |
| Jul 22, 2016 | Maggie Valley, NC | 3374 Soco RD | 49 | 695.9656 | SMOKE THIS | KILLER B'S BBQ |
| Jul 21, 2017 | Maggie Valley, NC | 3374 Solo RD | 47 | 700.5944 | SAUCED! BBQ TEAM | PALMETTO PITMASTERS |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180 | 177.7144 | 174.2628 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.8572 | 172.5944 | 170.8344 |
| Pork | 177.7028 | 174.8572 | 173.1084 |
| Brisket | 176.5600 | 173.1200 | 171.9656 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
49 entries · top 695.9312 · median 665.6228
Chicken
49 entries · top 180 · median 167.3828 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork Ribs
49 entries · top 178.8572 · median 165.6916
Pork
48 entries · top 177.7028 · median 166.8170
Brisket
49 entries · top 176.5600 · median 165.1200
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
7 entries · top 176.6172 · median 164.0228
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | PALMETTO PITMASTERS | |
| 2 | K & D SMOKERS | |
| 3 | OUR DOGS LIKE IT | |
| 4 | REDNECK SCIENTIFIC | |
| 5 | DOESN'T PLAY WELL WITH OTHERS | |
| 6 | CAUGHT BY THE FIRE | |
| 7 | THE GRILL LIFE |
Master Series — Dessert
13 entries · top 174.3200 · median 163.4172