Won without a category win
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
3 EYZ BBQ won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 3 calls from 4 boards, best of them 2nd. Consistency beat fireworks.
- Chicken 3rd
- Pork Ribs 12th
- Pork 2nd
- Brisket 4th
Smoke in the Park 2015
Sep 25–26, 2015 · Lemoyne, PA
3 EYZ BBQ won Grand Champion at the Smoke in the Park on September 25, 2015 in Lemoyne, PA, scoring 674.8000 in a field of 34 teams. UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT took Reserve Grand Champion with 671.3712. Category winners: Chicken — LIFE IS GOOD BUT BBQ IS BETTER (176.0116); Pork Ribs — BIG BLOCK BBQ (171.9656); Pork — LITTLE LUKE'S BBQ (172.5944); Brisket — UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT (173.7144). This is the 1st of 6 editions of this contest on record; 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.
548.93
median 645.35
674.80 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 176.01
- Pork Ribs 171.97
- Pork 172.59
- Brisket 173.71
127.78
176.01
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2015 to 2021 — this edition picked out.
Entries
34
4 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
674.8000
Winning margin
3.4288
GC over RC
Field average
635.73
548.93674.80
median 645.35 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork
3.4744 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
656.5144
548.93674.80
10th place overall
Field spread
125.8744
winner to last place
Double threats
5
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 94%
beats 6% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.71 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,574
avg power rating going in · stronger than 59% of contests
Storylines (3 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.
A dynasty in the making
2×
wins at this contest
2 of 6 tracked editions
OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE has won this contest 2 times across its 6 tracked editions.
- 2017
- 2019
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 9 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 7–8: ROCKIN ROBYNS BBQ and BAR-B-QUE MAYHAM tied on 167.4056 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 2–3: 3 EYZ BBQ and Sauce This BBQ tied on 171.9656 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 4–5: 3 EYZ BBQ edged BEERBEQUE by 0.0116.
- Chicken 7–8 · tie
- Pork 2–3 · tie
- Brisket 4–5 · 0.0116
- Chicken 8–9 · 0.0228
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 25, 2015 ← this one | Lemoyne, PA | Lemoyne, PA | 34 | 674.8000 | 3 EYZ BBQ | UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT |
| Sep 23, 2016 | Lemoyne, PA | Memorial Park | 38 | 686.2744 | CHECKERED FLAG 500 BBQ | 3 EYZ BBQ |
| Sep 22, 2017 | Lemoyne, PA | 60 Hummel Av, Memorial Park | 44 | 682.7656 | OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE | 4:20 Q |
| Sep 28, 2018 | Lemoyne, PA | 60 Hummel Av, Memorial Park | 31 | 686.8000 | LO' -N- SLO' BBQ | 3 EYZ BBQ |
| Sep 27, 2019 | Lemoyne, PA | Hummel Ave | 40 | 680.4796 | Old Virginia Smoke | SMOKIN' TEX BBQ |
| Sep 24, 2021 | Lemoyne, PA | Memorial Park | 31 | 690.2744 | Good Googly Goo BBQ | Checkered Flag 500 |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 176.0116 | 168.5484 | 166.3088 |
| Pork Ribs | 171.9656 | 167.9656 | 164.5372 |
| Pork | 172.5944 | 169.1200 | 165.1544 |
| Brisket | 173.7144 | 167.4056 | 163.4172 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
34 entries · top 674.8000 · median 645.3484
Chicken
34 entries · top 176.0116 · median 161.4172
Pork Ribs
34 entries · top 171.9656 · median 161.9886
Pork
34 entries · top 172.5944 · median 161.1028
Brisket
34 entries · top 173.7144 · median 157.6858
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 — Dessert
12 entries · top 164.5600 · median 150.2686