A new contest record
705.1200
highest overall ever cooked here
705.1200 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 692.5372 REDNECK SCIENTIFIC set in 2014.
- old record 692.5372
- set 2014 by REDNECK SCIENTIFIC
Eastern Carolina BBQ Throwdown 2025
Oct 24–25, 2025 · Rocky Mount, NC · 📍 101 Coastline Street · State championship
Reps: Alan Rothrock, Doug Reid · Prize money: $18,900
Smoke Central BBQ won Grand Champion at the Eastern Carolina BBQ Throwdown on October 24, 2025 in Rocky Mount, NC at 101 Coastline Street, scoring 705.1200 in a field of 45 teams. SMOKIN SKULLIES took Reserve Grand Champion with 701.6800. Category winners: Chicken — Smoke Central BBQ (178.2972); Pork Ribs — MCADOO HEIGHTS BBQ (177.7144); Pork — HalaQyah BBQ (178.2972); Brisket — Smoke Central BBQ (179.4400). This is the 3rd of 3 editions of this contest on record; the 2015 edition was won by REDNECK SCIENTIFIC.
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.
511.35
median 675.86
705.12 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 178.30
- Pork Ribs 177.71
- Pork 178.30
- Brisket 179.44
125.50
179.44
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2014 to 2025 — this edition picked out.
Entries
45
4 judged meats
Top score
705.1200
Winning margin
3.4400
GC over RC
Field average
658.99
511.35705.12
median 675.86 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
2.2972 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
691.9312
511.35705.12
10th place overall
Field spread
193.7716
winner to last place
Prize money
$18,900
on the line
Double threats
5
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 14%
beats 86% of 4723 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
12%
6 of 49 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.7 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,605
avg power rating going in · stronger than 81% 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
27-in-100
shot on pre-contest ratings
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 73 times in 100
Smoke Central BBQ came in rated below the field's top team, ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 27-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
- champion 1746
- top seed 1919
A dynasty in the making
2×
wins at this contest
2 of 3 tracked editions
REDNECK SCIENTIFIC has won this contest 2 times across its 3 tracked editions.
- 2014
- 2015
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 12 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 3–4: SMOKIN SKULLIES and GOOD GOOGLY GOO BBQ tied on 176.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 7–8: ALPINE SMOKE WORKS and WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ tied on 174.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 8–9: WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ and TWISTED PAIR BBQ tied on 174.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 3–4 · tie
- Chicken 7–8 · tie
- Chicken 8–9 · tie
- Pork Ribs 1–2 · tie
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
Smoke Central BBQ won Chicken, Brisket — a double, and took the Grand Championship on top of it.
- Chicken 1st
- Brisket 1st
How the title was won
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
Smoke Central BBQ took the title on 3 calls from 4 meats, with 2 outright wins — their weakest board was pork at 15th.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 6th
- Pork 15th
- Brisket 1st
A contest record in pork
178.2972
best pork ever cooked here
HalaQyah BBQ turned in 178.2972 in pork — past the 176.5716 that had stood across 2 earlier editions.
- old best 176.5716
- across 2 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: REDNECK SCIENTIFIC (won 2014, 2015).
- REDNECK SCIENTIFIC · 2014, 2015
The contest returns
10 yrs
since the last edition
This contest was away for 10 years — the previous tracked edition ran on 2015-10-09.
- previous edition 2015-10-09
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 10, 2014 | Rocky Mount, NC | Rocky Mount, NC 27804 | 53 | 692.5372 | REDNECK SCIENTIFIC | WARREN COUNTY PORK CHOPPERS |
| Oct 9, 2015 | Rocky Mount, NC | Rocky Mount, NC 27802 | 49 | 686.8688 | REDNECK SCIENTIFIC | SMOKE THIS |
| Oct 24, 2025 ← this one | Rocky Mount, NC | 101 Coastline Street | 45 | 705.1200 | Smoke Central | SMOKIN SKULLIES |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 178.2972 | 175.4400 | 173.7028 |
| Pork Ribs | 177.7144 | 175.4172 | 174.2744 |
| Pork | 178.2972 | 176 | 173.1200 |
| Brisket | 179.4400 | 175.4056 | 173.1200 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
45 entries · top 705.1200 · median 675.8628
Chicken
45 entries · top 178.2972 · median 170.8228
Pork Ribs
44 entries · top 177.7144 · median 170.2514
Pork
45 entries · top 178.2972 · median 169.6800
Brisket
45 entries · top 179.4400 · median 167.9772