A new contest record
698.8684
highest overall ever cooked here
698.8684 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 694.8000 GILLY'S BBQ set in 2014.
- old record 694.8000
- set 2014 by GILLY'S BBQ
Columbia Elks Lodge #594 BBQ Contest 2015
May 1–2, 2015 · Columbia, MO
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SMOKE won Grand Champion at the Columbia Elks Lodge #594 BBQ Contest on May 1, 2015 in Columbia, MO, scoring 698.8684 in a field of 37 teams. ST. LOUIS BLACK IRON BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 692.5604. Category winners: Chicken — LION 'BOUT THE Q (179.4400); Pork Ribs — THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SMOKE (179.4400); Pork — ST. LOUIS BLACK IRON BBQ (177.1544); Brisket — OUTLAW HAWGS BBQ (180.0000). This is the 3rd of 4 editions of this contest on record; the 2014 edition was won by GILLY'S BBQ; the next was held in 2016.
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.
306.79
median 663.34
698.87 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 179.44
- Pork Ribs 179.44
- Pork 177.15
- Brisket 180 🔥
141.07
180
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2013 to 2016 — this edition picked out.
Entries
37
4 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
698.8684
Winning margin
6.3080
GC over RC
Field average
648.03
306.79698.87
median 663.34 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Pork
3.4400 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
672.9596
306.79698.87
10th place overall
Field spread
392.0796
winner to last place
Double threats
6
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 37%
beats 63% of 4715 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
54%
19 of 35 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.7 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,558
avg power rating going in · stronger than 44% of contests
Storylines (8 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
26-in-100
shot on pre-contest ratings
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 74 times in 100
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SMOKE came in rated below the field's top team, SHAKE 'N BAKE BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 26-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
- champion 1641
- top seed 1824
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 5 calls decided inside half a point
Pork Ribs places 6–7: SWEET & SASSY and BELLY BROTHERS BBQ TEAM tied on 170.2744 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 6–7: Hickory Hills BBQ and ST. LOUIS BLACK IRON BBQ tied on 171.4172 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 8–9: MY 3 SONS BARBEQUE MO edged ST. LOUIS BLACK IRON BBQ by 0.0116.
- Pork Ribs 6–7 · tie
- Brisket 6–7 · tie
- Chicken 8–9 · 0.0116
- Brisket 8–9 · 0.0116
How the title was won
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SMOKE took the title on 3 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was chicken at 11th.
- Chicken 11th
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 9th
- Brisket 2nd
A contest record in chicken
179.4400
best chicken ever cooked here
LION 'BOUT THE Q turned in 179.4400 in chicken — past the 177.1544 that had stood across 2 earlier editions.
- old best 177.1544
- across 2 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: SHOOTIN SMOKE (won 2013).
- SHOOTIN SMOKE · 2013
The biggest field yet
37
teams — a contest high
This contest usually draws about 30 teams
37 teams is the deepest field this contest has drawn in the data, against a typical 30.
A perfect score on the table
1
perfect 180s
1 perfect 180 was scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- OUTLAW HAWGS BBQ · Brisket
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 3, 2013 | Columbia, MO | Columbia, MO | 25 | 682.8572 | SHOOTIN SMOKE | SHAKE 'N BAKE BBQ |
| May 2, 2014 | Columbia, MO | Columbia, MO 65202 | 35 | 694.8000 | GILLY'S BBQ | SHAKE 'N BAKE BBQ |
| May 1, 2015 ← this one | Columbia, MO | Columbia, MO 65202 | 37 | 698.8684 | THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SMOKE | ST. LOUIS BLACK IRON BBQ |
| May 6, 2016 | Columbia, MO | Elks Park Dr. | 32 | 690.8228 | BACKFIRIN' BBQ | THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SMOKE |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 179.4400 | 174.2628 | 170.8572 |
| Pork Ribs | 179.4400 | 171.9772 | 167.9888 |
| Pork | 177.1544 | 173.7144 | 170.8456 |
| Brisket | 180 | 171.4400 | 169.7488 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
37 entries · top 698.8684 · median 663.3372
Chicken
36 entries · top 179.4400 · median 167.9714
Pork Ribs
36 entries · top 179.4400 · median 161.7030
Pork
37 entries · top 177.1544 · median 165.7144
Brisket
37 entries · top 180 · median 165.0856 · 🔥 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 — Kids 5-10
3 entries · top 177.1428 · median 177.1428
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Molly Leighninger | |
| 2 | Ben Hendricks | |
| 3 | Talia Hayes |