A new contest record
696.5028
highest overall ever cooked here
696.5028 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 694.2172 KILLER B'S BBQ set in 2014.
- old record 694.2172
- set 2014 by KILLER B'S BBQ
Classic City BBQ Fest & Tailgate Show (GBC Qualifier) 2015
Aug 14–15, 2015 · Athens, GA
ATLANTA BBQ STORE won Grand Champion at the Classic City BBQ Fest & Tailgate Show (GBC Qualifier) on August 14, 2015 in Athens, GA, scoring 696.5028 in a field of 40 teams. UNDER THE RADAR took Reserve Grand Champion with 690.1712. Category winners: Chicken — HOOTIE-Q (178.8572); Pork Ribs — WANNA B A PITMASTER (173.7144); Pork — BIG DADDY Q - FL (180.0000); Brisket — WICKED QUE (180.0000). This is the 3rd of 3 editions of this contest on record; the 2014 edition was won by KILLER B'S BBQ.
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.
610.11
median 664.96
696.50 🏆
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 173.71
- Pork 180 🔥
- Brisket 180 🔥
142.18
180
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2013 to 2015 — this edition picked out.
Entries
40
4 judged meats · 3 ancillary
Top score
696.5028
Winning margin
6.3316
GC over RC
Field average
661.73
610.11696.50
median 664.96 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
3.4400 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
678.1716
610.11696.50
10th place overall
Field spread
86.3884
winner to last place
Double threats
3
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 48%
beats 52% of 4715 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
43%
15 of 35 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.75 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,560
avg power rating going in · stronger than 46% 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
17-in-100
shot on pre-contest ratings
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 83 times in 100
ATLANTA BBQ STORE came in rated below the field's top team, WARREN COUNTY PORK CHOPPERS, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 17-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
- champion 1608
- top seed 1882
Won without a category win
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
ATLANTA BBQ STORE won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 4 calls from 4 boards, best of them 2nd. Consistency beat fireworks.
- Chicken 10th
- Pork Ribs 3rd
- Pork 2nd
- Brisket 7th
A first Grand Championship
29
tracked contests to get there
This was ATLANTA BBQ STORE's first Grand Championship in the data — it arrived at their 29th tracked contest.
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 10 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 6–7: J & B'S BBQ and SMOKE ON THIS tied on 174.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 7–8: SMOKE ON THIS and County Line Que tied on 174.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 6–7: MOYERS COMPETITION BAR-B-Q TEAM and BALD HAWG BBQ tied on 169.6800 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 6–7 · tie
- Chicken 7–8 · tie
- Pork Ribs 6–7 · tie
- Pork 5–6 · tie
A contest record in chicken
178.8572
best chicken ever cooked here
HOOTIE-Q turned in 178.8572 in chicken — past the 175.4056 that had stood across 2 earlier editions.
- old best 175.4056
- across 2 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: WICKED QUE (won 2013).
- WICKED QUE · 2013
The biggest field yet
40
teams — a contest high
This contest usually draws about 35 teams
40 teams is the deepest field this contest has drawn in the data, against a typical 35.
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.
- WICKED QUE · Brisket
- BIG DADDY Q - FL · Pork
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 | Athens, GA | Athens, GA | 34 | 689.6804 | WICKED QUE | MOYERS COMPETITION BAR-B-Q TEAM |
| Aug 14, 2014 | Athens, GA | Athens, GA 30601 | 35 | 694.2172 | KILLER B'S BBQ | TENACIOUS Q |
| Aug 14, 2015 ← this one | Athens, GA | Athens, GA 30601 | 40 | 696.5028 | ATLANTA BBQ STORE | UNDER THE RADAR |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 178.8572 | 175.4056 | 172.5600 |
| Pork Ribs | 173.7144 | 170.2744 | 168.5372 |
| Pork | 180 | 174.2628 | 171.9656 |
| Brisket | 180 | 175.4172 | 171.9772 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
40 entries · top 696.5028 · median 664.9598
Chicken
40 entries · top 178.8572 · median 167.6856
Pork Ribs
40 entries · top 173.7144 · median 166.2400
Pork
40 entries · top 180 · median 166.2572 · 🔥 perfect 180
Brisket
40 entries · top 180 · median 164.5084 · 🔥 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 — Backyard Champion
15 entries · top 345.6800 · median 321.1772
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | WE DA BES | |
| 2 | SIMPLY Q | |
| 3 | BLUE PIG CLUB | |
| 4 | ATTA BOY BBQ | |
| 5 | DAWG DAZE BBQ | |
| 6 | LAZY DAYS BBQ | |
| 7 | MILL HILL BARBEQUE COMPANY | |
| 8 | NATURE BOYS BBQ | |
| 9 | LIP SMACKIN GOOD BBQ | |
| 10 | MAXUS PORKAMUS | |
| 11 | HOUSE OF BRICKS | |
| 12 | DADDY AND SONS BBQ | |
| 13 | BUTT BUDDY BBQ | |
| 14 | GREEN MOUNTAIN GRILLS | |
| 15 | HOMER'S WHOLE HOG |
Master Series — Backyard Chicken
15 entries · top 174.8456 · median 162.8228
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BLUE PIG CLUB | |
| 2 | ATTA BOY BBQ | |
| 3 | WE DA BES | |
| 4 | HOMER'S WHOLE HOG | |
| 5 | MILL HILL BARBEQUE COMPANY | |
| 6 | SIMPLY Q | |
| 7 | LIP SMACKIN GOOD BBQ | |
| 8 | DAWG DAZE BBQ | |
| 9 | NATURE BOYS BBQ | |
| 10 | LAZY DAYS BBQ | |
| 11 | HOUSE OF BRICKS | |
| 12 | GREEN MOUNTAIN GRILLS | |
| 13 | BUTT BUDDY BBQ | |
| 14 | DADDY AND SONS BBQ | |
| 15 | MAXUS PORKAMUS |
Master Series — Backyard Ribs
15 entries · top 177.7372 · median 159.4056
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SIMPLY Q | |
| 2 | WE DA BES | |
| 3 | DAWG DAZE BBQ | |
| 4 | LAZY DAYS BBQ | |
| 5 | ATTA BOY BBQ | |
| 6 | BLUE PIG CLUB | |
| 7 | MAXUS PORKAMUS | |
| 8 | NATURE BOYS BBQ | |
| 9 | DADDY AND SONS BBQ | |
| 10 | MILL HILL BARBEQUE COMPANY | |
| 11 | LIP SMACKIN GOOD BBQ | |
| 12 | HOUSE OF BRICKS | |
| 13 | BUTT BUDDY BBQ | |
| 14 | GREEN MOUNTAIN GRILLS | |
| 15 | HOMER'S WHOLE HOG |