A dynasty in the making
4×
wins at this contest
4 of 125 tracked editions
LOOT N' BOOTY BBQ has won this contest 4 times across its 125 tracked editions.
- 2014
- 2015
- 2017
- 2017
Sam's Club National BBQ Tour 2015
Apr 3–4, 2015 · Renton, WA
MOVIN' THE CHAINS won Grand Champion at the Sam's Club National BBQ Tour on April 3, 2015 in Renton, WA, scoring 680.6292 in a field of 28 teams. WINE COUNTRY Q took Reserve Grand Champion with 673.0288. Category winners: Chicken — MOVIN' THE CHAINS (175.4516); Pork Ribs — BOOTIES BBQ (170.8456); Pork — MADDDOG'S BBQ (171.4056); Brisket — WINE COUNTRY Q (171.9772). This is the 57th of 125 editions of this contest on record; the 2015 edition was won by TEAM AMERICA; the next was held in 2015.
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.
596.99
median 645.85
680.63 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 175.45
- Pork Ribs 170.85
- Pork 171.41
- Brisket 171.98
134.19
175.45
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2013 to 2017 — this edition picked out.
Entries
28
4 judged meats
Top score
680.6292
Winning margin
7.6004
GC over RC
Field average
640.00
596.99680.63
median 645.85 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Brisket
2.8344 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
648.5372
596.99680.63
10th place overall
Field spread
83.6348
winner to last place
Double threats
5
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 88%
beats 12% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
10%
3 of 30 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.73 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,513
avg power rating going in · stronger than 9% of contests
Storylines (4 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 8 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 5–6: SLOW PORKIN and WINE COUNTRY Q tied on 169.1200 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 1–2: WINE COUNTRY Q and HOOK&LADDER BBQ tied on 171.9772 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 7–8: DA FAT BOYZ BBQ edged SMOKE IT IF YA GOT IT by 0.0112.
- Chicken 5–6 · tie
- Brisket 1–2 · tie
- Pork Ribs 7–8 · 0.0112
- Pork 3–4 · 0.0116
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
MOVIN' THE CHAINS took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was pork ribs at 5th.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 5th
- Pork 3rd
- Brisket 4th
Back to defend
2
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: MOVIN' THE CHAINS (won 2013), BAD BONES BBQ (won 2014).
- MOVIN' THE CHAINS · 2013
- BAD BONES BBQ · 2014
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 →
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 175.4516 | 169.1200 | 165.1200 |
| Pork Ribs | 170.8456 | 166.3088 | 162.8456 |
| Pork | 171.4056 | 168 | 164.5600 |
| Brisket | 171.9772 | 169.1428 | 165.1200 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
28 entries · top 680.6292 · median 645.8512
Chicken
28 entries · top 175.4516 · median 159.6800
Pork Ribs
28 entries · top 170.8456 · median 160.8400
Pork
28 entries · top 171.4056 · median 159.9714
Brisket
28 entries · top 171.9772 · median 159.9600