A new contest record
698.2740
highest overall ever cooked here
698.2740 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 691.3944 PIGGIN' OUT set in 2014.
- old record 691.3944
- set 2014 by PIGGIN' OUT
George County Firefighters Association BBQ Challenge 2015
May 1–2, 2015 · Lucedale, MS
BAYOU BOOGIE BBQ won Grand Champion at the George County Firefighters Association BBQ Challenge on May 1, 2015 in Lucedale, MS, scoring 698.2740 in a field of 27 teams. CAJUN BLAZE took Reserve Grand Champion with 693.0624. Category winners: Chicken — BAYOU BOOGIE BBQ (177.7028); Pork Ribs — BAYOU BOOGIE BBQ (178.8572); Pork — SWINE AND SHINE BBQ (177.7028); Brisket — QUE'N STEW'N & BREW'N (177.1428). This is the 2nd of 3 editions of this contest on record; the 2014 edition was won by PIGGIN' OUT; 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.
631.78
median 673.65
698.27 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 177.70
- Pork Ribs 178.86
- Pork 177.70
- Brisket 177.14
146.79
178.86
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2014 to 2016 — this edition picked out.
Entries
27
4 judged meats · 3 ancillary
Top score
698.2740
Winning margin
5.2116
GC over RC
Field average
669.97
631.78698.27
median 673.65 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Brisket
3.4172 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
679.3256
631.78698.27
10th place overall
Field spread
66.4916
winner to last place
Double threats
4
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 40%
beats 60% of 4715 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
47%
7 of 15 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.76 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,581
avg power rating going in · stronger than 64% 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
32-in-100
shot on pre-contest ratings
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 68 times in 100
BAYOU BOOGIE BBQ came in rated below the field's top team, QUE'N STEW'N & BREW'N, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 32-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
- champion 1708
- top seed 1841
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 11 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 8–9: RED EYED SMOKERS and HICKORY PRIME tied on 172.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 7–8: PIGGIN' OUT and KILLER HOGS tied on 173.1200 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 8–9: KILLER HOGS and HAULIN' BUTT BBQ tied on 173.1200 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 8–9 · tie
- Brisket 7–8 · tie
- Brisket 8–9 · tie
- Pork Ribs 4–5 · 0.0116
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
BAYOU BOOGIE BBQ won Chicken, Pork Ribs — a double, and took the Grand Championship on top of it.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 1st
How the title was won
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
BAYOU BOOGIE 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 1st
- Pork 15th
- Brisket 5th
A contest record in pork
177.7028
best pork ever cooked here
SWINE AND SHINE BBQ turned in 177.7028 in pork — past the 172.0116 that had stood across 1 earlier editions.
- old best 172.0116
- across 1 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: PIGGIN' OUT (won 2014).
- PIGGIN' OUT · 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2, 2014 | Lucedale, MS | Lucedale, MS 39452 | 15 | 691.3944 | PIGGIN' OUT | HAULIN' BUTT BBQ |
| May 1, 2015 ← this one | Lucedale, MS | Lucedale, MS 39452 | 27 | 698.2740 | BAYOU BOOGIE BBQ | CAJUN BLAZE |
| May 6, 2016 | Lucedale, MS | Lucedale, MS 39452 | 27 | 697.6688 | CHIX, SWINE & BOVINE BBQ | BOOTYQUE |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 177.7028 | 173.1772 | 171.4744 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.8572 | 173.1200 | 169.7028 |
| Pork | 177.7028 | 174.2628 | 170.8112 |
| Brisket | 177.1428 | 173.7256 | 171.9772 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
27 entries · top 698.2740 · median 673.6456
Chicken
27 entries · top 177.7028 · median 167.4056
Pork Ribs
27 entries · top 178.8572 · median 167.4172
Pork
27 entries · top 177.7028 · median 168
Brisket
27 entries · top 177.1428 · median 169.1428
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 — Backyard Chicken
10 entries · top 177.1428 · median 170.5600
Master Series — Backyard Ribs
10 entries · top 177.7028 · median 169.7258
Master Series — Kcbs Backyard
10 entries · top 350.8228 · median 339.7544