A dynasty in the making
2×
wins at this contest
2 of 25 tracked editions
RHYTHM 'N QUE has won this contest 2 times across its 25 tracked editions.
- 2014
- 2015
Sam's Club National BBQ Tour (Regional)
2015-09-25 – 2015-09-26 · Midwest City, OK · 📍 Midwest City, OK
Grand Champion: CLARK CREW BBQ (694.2632) · 30 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 SMOKEAHOLICS
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.
650.07
median 670.48
694.26 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 178.86
- Pork Ribs 177.70
- Pork 177.74
- Brisket 178.86
144.54
178.86
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2013 to 2017 — this edition picked out.
Entries
30
4 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
694.2632
Winning margin
2.8920
GC over RC
Field average
671.17
650.07694.26
median 670.48 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
2.8572 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
679.8972
650.07694.26
10th place overall
Field spread
44.1948
winner to last place
Double threats
6
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 56%
beats 44% of 4707 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
0%
0 of 30 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.52 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1698
avg power rating going in · stronger than 99% of contests
Storylines (6 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 stacked field
1698
average power rating going in
Stronger than 99% of every rated contest
The field averaged a 1698 power rating going in — stronger than 99% of every contest tracked.
- top seed CLARK CREW BBQ (1895)
- 30 rated teams
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 12 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 8–9: TRUEBUD BBQ and TATTOO BOB'S BAR-B-Q tied on 172.5716 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 6–7: EL REY SMOKERS COMPETITION TEAM and TRUEBUD BBQ tied on 170.8344 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 7–8: TRUEBUD BBQ and KOSMO'S Q tied on 170.8344 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 8–9 · tie
- Pork Ribs 6–7 · tie
- Pork Ribs 7–8 · tie
- Pork 8–9 · tie
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
SMOKEAHOLICS won Pork Ribs, Pork — a double.
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 1st
How the title was won
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
CLARK CREW BBQ took the title on 3 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was chicken at 17th.
- Chicken 17th
- Pork Ribs 2nd
- Pork 9th
- Brisket 1st
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: CLARK CREW BBQ (won 2014).
- CLARK CREW 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-04-19 | Las Vegas, NV | Las Vegas, NV | 30 | 667.4280 | TOMBSTONE BBQ | GQUE |
| 2013-08-02 | Rockford, IL | Rockford, IL | 30 | 683.9544 | TheBBQSuperStore.com | GRILLS GONE WILD IOWA |
| 2013-09-06 | Chesapeake, VA | Chesapeake, VA | 30 | 673.6796 | Rhode Hog BBQ | SMOKE THIS |
| 2013-09-13 | Hendersonville, TN | Hendersonville, TN | 30 | 697.0972 | MOONSWINERS | Swamp Boys |
| 2013-10-11 | Midwest City, OK | Midwest City, OK | 30 | 697.6684 | CAVEMAN CUISINE | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ |
| 2014-04-25 | Las Vegas, NV | Las Vegas, NV | 30 | 685.7140 | RHYTHM 'N QUE | SLAP YO' DADDY BBQ |
| 2014-08-01 | Madison, WI | Madison, WI | 30 | 689.1316 | BIG BROTHERS BBQ | iBQ'n |
| 2014-08-29 | Richmond, VA | Richmond, VA | 30 | 673.0740 | CHECKERED FLAG 500 BBQ | THE BBQ GURU |
| 2014-09-05 | Southaven, MS | Southaven, MS | 30 | 701.7144 | PIG WHISPERERS | LANG BBQ SMOKERS |
| 2014-09-19 | Midwest City, OK | Midwest City, OK | 29 | 694.2288 | CLARK CREW BBQ | CAVEMAN CUISINE |
| 2015-04-24 | Las Vegas, NV | Las Vegas, NV | 30 | 702.8576 | RHYTHM 'N QUE | BIG POPPA SMOKERS |
| 2015-08-07 | Madison, WI | Madison, WI | 30 | 694.8344 | THE SMOKIN' C'S BBQ | BIG T'Z Q CRU |
| 2015-09-04 | Richmond, VA | Richmond, VA | 30 | 688.5488 | ROCKY TOP BARBEQUE | INSANE SWINE BBQ |
| 2015-09-18 | Southaven, MS | Southaven, MS | 30 | 701.1200 | CAJUN BLAZE | EAT MOR BUTT BBQ |
| 2015-09-25 ← this one | Midwest City, OK | Midwest City, OK | 30 | 694.2632 | CLARK CREW BBQ | SMOKEAHOLICS |
| 2016-04-22 | Las Vegas, NV | Las Vegas, NV | 30 | 695.4172 | BIG POPPA SMOKERS | SMOKIN MO'S BBQ |
| 2016-07-01 | Marietta, GA | Marietta, GA | 30 | 697.6572 | CONTAGIOUS Q | Organizer Portal |
| 2016-08-26 | N. Charleston, SC | N. Charleston, SC | 30 | 695.3484 | WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ | SAUCED! BBQ TEAM |
| 2016-09-16 | Madison, WI | Madison, WI | 30 | 705.7144 | LUCKY'S Q | TOTALLY SAUCED |
| 2016-09-23 | Midwest City, OK | Midwest City, OK | 30 | 698.8572 | JAESTAR BBQ | SHAKE 'N BAKE BBQ |
| 2017-04-21 | Las Vegas, NV | Las Vegas, NV | 30 | 706.8572 | BURNIN AND LOOTIN | LOOT N' BOOTY BBQ |
| 2017-06-30 | Bartlett, TN | Bartlett, TN | 30 | 704.5488 | SMOKIN BUTT CREW | RAZORRACKS |
| 2017-08-25 | Richmond, VA | Richmond, VA | 29 | 698.8228 | SMOKING BUTT HEADS | WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ |
| 2017-09-15 | Madison, WI | Madison, WI | 30 | 685.1432 | LUCKY 19 SAUCE COMPANY | iBQ'n |
| 2017-09-22 | Edmond, OK | Edmond, OK | 30 | 709.7260 | SHAKE 'N BAKE BBQ | JAESTAR BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 178.8572 | 174.2628 | 172.5600 |
| Pork Ribs | 177.7028 | 174.8456 | 170.2744 |
| Pork | 177.7372 | 172.5600 | 171.4172 |
| Brisket | 178.8572 | 174.2628 | 169.6684 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
30 entries · top 694.2632 · median 670.4798
Chicken
30 entries · top 178.8572 · median 169.4058
Pork Ribs
30 entries · top 177.7028 · median 168.8400
Pork
30 entries · top 177.7372 · median 167.4228
Brisket
30 entries · top 178.8572 · median 165.3942
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 — Tyson Chicken
9 entries · top 170.8344 · median 166.8344