A new contest record
693.0744
highest overall ever cooked here
693.0744 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 691.3716 PIGSKIN BBQ set in 2014.
- old record 691.3716
- set 2014 by PIGSKIN BBQ
Conifer Mountain BBQ Challenge 2015
Aug 14–15, 2015 · Conifer, CO
3 LIL' MACS BBQ won Grand Champion at the Conifer Mountain BBQ Challenge on August 14, 2015 in Conifer, CO, scoring 693.0744 in a field of 31 teams. SWINESTONE COWBOYS took Reserve Grand Champion with 683.3368. Category winners: Chicken — Mad Eddie's BBQ (176.5944); Pork Ribs — BACKDRAFT BBQ (177.7028); Pork — GRILLIN' BEAVERS (175.4288); Brisket — DOUBLE DBQ (176.5828). This is the 3rd of 3 editions of this contest on record; the 2014 edition was won by PIGSKIN 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.
586.81
median 647.89
693.07 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 176.59
- Pork Ribs 177.70
- Pork 175.43
- Brisket 176.58
130.86
177.70
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2013 to 2015 — this edition picked out.
Entries
31
4 judged meats
Top score
693.0744
Winning margin
9.7376
GC over RC
Field average
645.10
586.81693.07
median 647.89 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
4.5940 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
661.7372
586.81693.07
10th place overall
Field spread
106.2624
winner to last place
Double threats
6
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 61%
beats 39% of 4715 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
33%
14 of 43 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.64 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,533
avg power rating going in · stronger than 24% of contests
Storylines (7 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
30-in-100
shot on pre-contest ratings
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 70 times in 100
3 LIL' MACS BBQ came in rated below the field's top team, Smoke-A-Holics, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 30-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
- champion 1611
- top seed 1762
Won without a category win
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
3 LIL' MACS BBQ won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 4 calls from 4 boards, best of them 2nd. Consistency beat fireworks.
- Chicken 6th
- Pork Ribs 6th
- Pork 2nd
- Brisket 2nd
A first Grand Championship
19
tracked contests to get there
This was 3 LIL' MACS BBQ's first Grand Championship in the data — it arrived at their 19th tracked contest.
A statement win
9.7376
points clear of the field
Wider than 87% of the 4,714 championships in the data
The champion won by 9.7376 points — a wider margin than 87% of championships in the data.
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 9 calls decided inside half a point
Pork places 8–9: SMOKIN TIMBERS BBQ and BRACKEN RACKS BBQ tied on 167.3828 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 6–7: SMOKIN TIMBERS BBQ and THE CELTIC PIG tied on 168.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 4–5: BELLY RUB'N BBQ edged BACKDRAFT BBQ by 0.0112.
- Pork 8–9 · tie
- Brisket 6–7 · tie
- Chicken 4–5 · 0.0112
- Brisket 1–2 · 0.0112
A contest record in pork ribs
177.7028
best pork ribs ever cooked here
BACKDRAFT BBQ turned in 177.7028 in pork ribs — past the 174.2744 that had stood across 2 earlier editions.
- old best 174.2744
- across 2 past editions
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 | Conifer, CO | Conifer, CO | 33 | 682.2400 | GQUE | SWINESTONE COWBOYS |
| Aug 15, 2014 | Conifer, CO | Conifer, CO 80433 | 43 | 691.3716 | PIGSKIN BBQ | GQUE |
| Aug 14, 2015 ← this one | Conifer, CO | Conifer, CO 80433 | 31 | 693.0744 | 3 LIL' MACS BBQ | SWINESTONE COWBOYS |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 176.5944 | 172.0004 | 168.0228 |
| Pork Ribs | 177.7028 | 170.8800 | 163.9888 |
| Pork | 175.4288 | 167.9884 | 166.8456 |
| Brisket | 176.5828 | 170.2628 | 165.1200 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
31 entries · top 693.0744 · median 647.8856
Chicken
31 entries · top 176.5944 · median 164.5828
Pork Ribs
31 entries · top 177.7028 · median 160.5484
Pork
31 entries · top 175.4288 · median 162.2516
Brisket
31 entries · top 176.5828 · median 161.6800