A new contest record
662.7772
highest overall ever cooked here
662.7772 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 661.1428 BLAZIN' BUTTZ BBQ set in 2013.
- old record 661.1428
- set 2013 by BLAZIN' BUTTZ BBQ
New York City BBQ Cookoff 2015
Apr 10–11, 2015 · Staten Island, NY
Q HAVEN BBQ won Grand Champion at the New York City BBQ Cookoff on April 10, 2015 in Staten Island, NY, scoring 662.7772 in a field of 33 teams. SMOKOPOLIS BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 651.3144. Category winners: Chicken — Richmond County Pit Bros (168.0344); Pork Ribs — SMOKOPOLIS BBQ (172.5944); Pork — SMOKOPOLIS BBQ (178.2972); Brisket — STUBBORN BULL BBQ (172.0000). This is the 3rd of 3 editions of this contest on record; the 2014 edition was won by STUBBORN BULL 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.
430.18
median 596.90
662.78 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 168.03
- Pork Ribs 172.59
- Pork 178.30
- Brisket 172
100.26
178.30
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2013 to 2015 — this edition picked out.
Entries
33
4 judged meats
Top score
662.7772
Winning margin
11.4628
GC over RC
Field average
592.46
430.18662.78
median 596.90 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
3.4972 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
625.1084
430.18662.78
10th place overall
Field spread
232.5948
winner to last place
Double threats
7
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 99%
beats 1% of 4714 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
38%
14 of 37 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.67 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,520
avg power rating going in · stronger than 14% 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.
Won without a category win
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
Q HAVEN BBQ won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 4 calls from 4 boards, best of them 2nd. Consistency beat fireworks.
- Chicken 8th
- Pork Ribs 2nd
- Pork 2nd
- Brisket 6th
A statement win
11.4628
points clear of the field
Wider than 91% of the 4,713 championships in the data
The champion won by 11.4628 points — a wider margin than 91% of championships in the data.
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 7 calls decided inside half a point
Pork Ribs places 8–9: Shake N" Bake BBQ Team NY and THE BASIC BBQ TEAM tied on 160.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 9–10: THE BASIC BBQ TEAM edged TOP GUN BARBECUE by 0.0112. Brisket places 6–7: Q HAVEN BBQ edged BBQ MAFIA by 0.0116.
- Pork Ribs 8–9 · tie
- Pork 9–10 · 0.0112
- Brisket 6–7 · 0.0116
- Chicken 3–4 · 0.0228
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
SMOKOPOLIS BBQ won Pork Ribs, Pork — a double.
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 1st
A contest record in pork
178.2972
best pork ever cooked here
SMOKOPOLIS BBQ turned in 178.2972 in pork — past the 169.1428 that had stood across 2 earlier editions.
- old best 169.1428
- across 2 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: STUBBORN BULL BBQ (won 2014).
- STUBBORN BULL 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 →
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 19, 2013 | Staten Island, NY | Staten Island, NY | 33 | 661.1428 | BLAZIN' BUTTZ BBQ | LATE NIGHT HOGGERS |
| Apr 11, 2014 | Staten Island, NY | Staten Island, NY 10306 | 37 | 657.6684 | STUBBORN BULL BBQ | RIBS WITHIN |
| Apr 10, 2015 ← this one | Staten Island, NY | Staten Island, NY 10306 | 33 | 662.7772 | Q HAVEN BBQ | SMOKOPOLIS BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 168.0344 | 164.5372 | 156.5256 |
| Pork Ribs | 172.5944 | 163.4744 | 160.0460 |
| Pork | 178.2972 | 163.4056 | 158.2400 |
| Brisket | 172 | 160.5600 | 155.9656 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
33 entries · top 662.7772 · median 596.9024
Chicken
33 entries · top 168.0344 · median 153.7144
Pork Ribs
32 entries · top 172.5944 · median 151.3886
Pork
33 entries · top 178.2972 · median 150.8800
Brisket
33 entries · top 172 · median 145.1772