A new contest record
701.6684
highest overall ever cooked here
701.6684 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 690.8000 LEFT COAST Q set in 2013.
- old record 690.8000
- set 2013 by LEFT COAST Q
Ribs, Pigs & Watermelons 2015
Aug 7–8, 2015 · Huntington Beach, CA
PIGSKIN BBQ won Grand Champion at the Ribs, Pigs & Watermelons on August 7, 2015 in Huntington Beach, CA, scoring 701.6684 in a field of 58 teams. HICKORY AND SPICE BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 695.9084. Category winners: Chicken — HICKORY AND SPICE BBQ (178.8572); Pork Ribs — DG FIREHOUSE BBQ (177.7372); Pork — PIGSKIN BBQ (177.7028); Brisket — Sharpe's Woodshed (177.7372). This is the 2nd of 3 editions of this contest on record; the 2013 edition was won by LEFT COAST Q; 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.
578.22
median 665.63
701.67 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 178.86
- Pork Ribs 177.74
- Pork 177.70
- Brisket 177.74
133.63
178.86
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2013 to 2016 — this edition picked out.
Entries
58
4 judged meats · 2 ancillary
Top score
701.6684
Winning margin
5.7600
GC over RC
Field average
659.83
578.22701.67
median 665.63 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
2.2972 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
687.3712
578.22701.67
10th place overall
Field spread
123.4512
winner to last place
Double threats
4
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 27%
beats 73% of 4715 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
25%
16 of 63 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.69 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,549
avg power rating going in · stronger than 37% of contests
Storylines (5 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 13 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 1–2: HICKORY AND SPICE BBQ and PIGSKIN BBQ tied on 178.8572 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 5–6: JET COATINGS - MONKEY STYLE and SMOKIN MO'S BBQ tied on 176.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 3–4: ZZYZX BAR.B.Q and MY SMOKIN GRILLFRIEND tied on 176.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 1–2 · tie
- Chicken 5–6 · tie
- Pork Ribs 3–4 · tie
- Pork Ribs 6–7 · tie
How the title was won
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
PIGSKIN BBQ took the title on 3 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was pork ribs at 22nd.
- Chicken 2nd
- Pork Ribs 22nd
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 4th
A contest record in pork ribs
177.7372
best pork ribs ever cooked here
DG FIREHOUSE BBQ turned in 177.7372 in pork ribs — past the 174.8916 that had stood across 1 earlier editions.
- old best 174.8916
- across 1 past editions
One of the big ones
58
teams on the grounds
Bigger than 91% of the 5,469 contests in the data
58 teams — bigger than 91% of the 5,469 contests in the data.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 16, 2013 | Huntington State Beach, CA | Huntington State Beach, CA | 63 | 690.8000 | LEFT COAST Q | SIMPLY MARVELOUS BBQ |
| Aug 7, 2015 ← this one | Huntington Beach, CA | Huntington Beach, CA 92655 | 58 | 701.6684 | PIGSKIN BBQ | HICKORY AND SPICE BBQ |
| Aug 5, 2016 | Huntington Beach, CA | Huntington Beach, CA 92655 | 36 | 695.9428 | LOOT N' BOOTY BBQ | LADY OF Q |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 178.8572 | 176.5600 | 174.8456 |
| Pork Ribs | 177.7372 | 175.4400 | 173.7600 |
| Pork | 177.7028 | 175.4056 | 171.9772 |
| Brisket | 177.7372 | 174.2972 | 173.7028 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
58 entries · top 701.6684 · median 665.6286
Chicken
58 entries · top 178.8572 · median 166.5600
Pork Ribs
58 entries · top 177.7372 · median 165.6972
Pork
58 entries · top 177.7028 · median 164.2628
Brisket
58 entries · top 177.7372 · median 166.2514
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 — Kid'S Que Ages 6 To 10 Years
6 entries · top 179.4400 · median 169.4228
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | .Brenden's Smokin Hart | |
| 2 | .Hot Boy BBQ | |
| 3 | .Cooper Que | |
| 4 | Porkchop & Bubbas | |
| 5 | .Sweet O" Barbeque | |
| 6 | .Saucey & Sassy BBQ |
Master Series — Kids Que Ages 11 To 15 Years
5 entries · top 168.0344 · median 163.9772
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ..Jayden's Smokin Hart | |
| 2 | ..Ferbieque | |
| 3 | ..Daughter of BBQ | |
| 4 | ..Haylee Toms | |
| 5 | ..Yard Shrimp BBQ |