A statement win
9.7716
points clear of the field
Wider than 87% of the 4,713 championships in the data
The champion won by 9.7716 points — a wider margin than 87% of championships in the data.
California Honey Harvest Festival and BBQ Championship
Jun 12–13, 2015 · Fillmore, CA
SIMPLY MARVELOUS BBQ won Grand Champion at the California Honey Harvest Festival and BBQ Championship on June 12, 2015 in Fillmore, CA, scoring 705.1200 in a field of 26 teams. PORKCHOP & BUBBAS took Reserve Grand Champion with 695.3484. Category winners: Chicken — NUTIN2IT BUT2QIT (179.4400); Pork Ribs — SIMPLY MARVELOUS BBQ (178.8572); Pork — THE PIT CREW BBQ OF AZ (180.0000); Brisket — PART TIME BBQ (180.0000).
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.
582.77
median 673.94
705.12 🏆
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 178.86
- Pork 180 🔥
- Brisket 180 🔥
131.41
180
Entries
26
4 judged meats
Top score
705.1200
Winning margin
9.7716
GC over RC
Field average
667.43
582.77705.12
median 673.94 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Brisket
3.4056 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
677.0860
582.77705.12
10th place overall
Field spread
122.3544
winner to last place
Double threats
3
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 14%
beats 86% of 4714 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.64 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,551
avg power rating going in · stronger than 38% 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 6 calls decided inside half a point
Brisket places 4–5: BIGMISTA'S BARBECUE and THE PIT CREW BBQ OF AZ tied on 176.5944 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 7–8: ZZYZX BAR.B.Q and FUNTIME BBQ tied on 174.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 8–9: MAR-B-QUE'S BBQ edged MAD DAWGZ BBQ by 0.0116.
- Brisket 4–5 · tie
- Brisket 7–8 · tie
- Pork Ribs 8–9 · 0.0116
- Chicken 9–10 · 0.0116
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
SIMPLY MARVELOUS BBQ took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was brisket at 6th.
- Chicken 4th
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 3rd
- Brisket 6th
A perfect score on the table
2
perfect 180s
2 perfect 180s were scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- PART TIME BBQ · Brisket
- THE PIT CREW BBQ OF AZ · Pork
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)
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 179.4400 | 176.0228 | 170.2628 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.8572 | 172 | 170.2628 |
| Pork | 180 | 172.5600 | 168.5256 |
| Brisket | 180 | 176.5944 | 170.2972 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
26 entries · top 705.1200 · median 673.9370
Chicken
26 entries · top 179.4400 · median 168.8400
Pork Ribs
26 entries · top 178.8572 · median 167.9714
Pork
26 entries · top 180 · median 166.8458 · 🔥 perfect 180
Brisket
26 entries · top 180 · median 164.8228 · 🔥 perfect 180