A new contest record
686.7884
highest overall ever cooked here
686.7884 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 685.6456 BAD BOYZ BBQ set in 2014.
- old record 685.6456
- set 2014 by BAD BOYZ BBQ
Bliss, Brews & Que 2015
Oct 9–10, 2015 · Fort Bliss, TX
THE AMERICAN DREAM BBQ won Grand Champion at the Bliss, Brews & Que on October 9, 2015 in Fort Bliss, TX, scoring 686.7884 in a field of 40 teams. LONESTAR SMOKE RANGERS took Reserve Grand Champion with 683.9428. Category winners: Chicken — HERE PIGGY PIGGY BBQ (172.6172); Pork Ribs — SCOTTS BBQ SHACK (175.4400); Pork — LONESTAR SMOKE RANGERS (177.7028); Brisket — LONESTAR SMOKE RANGERS (171.9772). This is the 3rd of 4 editions of this contest on record; the 2014 edition was won by BAD BOYZ 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.
505.13
median 620.20
686.79 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 172.62
- Pork Ribs 175.44
- Pork 177.70
- Brisket 171.98
116.02
177.70
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2013 to 2016 — this edition picked out.
Entries
40
4 judged meats · 4 ancillary
Top score
686.7884
Winning margin
2.8456
GC over RC
Field average
616.58
505.13686.79
median 620.20 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
2.3544 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
638.7884
505.13686.79
10th place overall
Field spread
181.6572
winner to last place
Double threats
6
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 79%
beats 21% of 4715 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
50%
13 of 26 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.52 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,531
avg power rating going in · stronger than 22% 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.
Won without a category win
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
THE AMERICAN DREAM BBQ won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 4 calls from 4 boards, best of them 2nd. Consistency beat fireworks.
- Chicken 3rd
- Pork Ribs 4th
- Pork 2nd
- Brisket 3rd
A dynasty in the making
2×
wins at this contest
2 of 4 tracked editions
THE AMERICAN DREAM BBQ has won this contest 2 times across its 4 tracked editions.
- 2015
- 2016
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 8 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 4–5: KARNIVOROUS and POPPA PIG AND PORKCHOP tied on 170.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 2–3: Rio Grande BBQ edged THE AMERICAN DREAM BBQ by 0.0112. Pork places 8–9: Big Bears Bar-B-Que edged HIGH DESERT HOLY SMOKE BBQ by 0.0116.
- Chicken 4–5 · tie
- Brisket 2–3 · 0.0112
- Pork 8–9 · 0.0116
- Chicken 1–2 · 0.0228
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
LONESTAR SMOKE RANGERS won Pork, Brisket — a double.
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 1st
A contest record in pork
177.7028
best pork ever cooked here
LONESTAR SMOKE RANGERS turned in 177.7028 in pork — past the 175.4172 that had stood across 2 earlier editions.
- old best 175.4172
- across 2 past editions
Back to defend
2
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: HIGH DESERT HOLY SMOKE BBQ (won 2013), BAD BOYZ BBQ (won 2014).
- HIGH DESERT HOLY SMOKE BBQ · 2013
- BAD BOYZ BBQ · 2014
The biggest field yet
40
teams — a contest high
This contest usually draws about 26 teams
40 teams is the deepest field this contest has drawn in the data, against a typical 26.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 11, 2013 | Fort Bliss, TX | Fort Bliss, TX | 26 | 667.3372 | HIGH DESERT HOLY SMOKE BBQ | BBQ MAGIC |
| Oct 10, 2014 | Fort Bliss, TX | Fort Bliss, TX 79906 | 26 | 685.6456 | BAD BOYZ BBQ | SMOKIN TRIGGERS |
| Oct 9, 2015 ← this one | Fort Bliss, TX | Fort Bliss, TX 79906 | 40 | 686.7884 | THE AMERICAN DREAM BBQ | LONESTAR SMOKE RANGERS |
| Oct 7, 2016 | Ft. Bliss, TX | Ft. Bliss, TX | 32 | 690.2168 | THE AMERICAN DREAM BBQ | BAD BOYZ BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 172.6172 | 170.2628 | 166.2628 |
| Pork Ribs | 175.4400 | 170.8800 | 164.5372 |
| Pork | 177.7028 | 167.9656 | 162.8228 |
| Brisket | 171.9772 | 167.4056 | 159.3940 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
40 entries · top 686.7884 · median 620.2000
Chicken
40 entries · top 172.6172 · median 158.2514
Pork Ribs
40 entries · top 175.4400 · median 155.4058
Pork
40 entries · top 177.7028 · median 156.3028
Brisket
40 entries · top 171.9772 · median 150.8114
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
14 entries · top 158.2056 · median 143.1200
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | JOBU BBQ | |
| 2 | MEX A QUE | |
| 3 | Docs BBQ | |
| 4 | Chief Hess' Smokin' BBQ | |
| 5 | SOUTHERN SMOKE | |
| 6 | Daddy Green | |
| 7 | ANDREWS BBQ | |
| 8 | Smokin Bowlers | |
| 9 | Tip of Texas BBQ | |
| 10 | Ronnie Uribe | |
| 11 | Shamrock Team | |
| 12 | Romes BBQ | |
| 13 | BEER NESS BBQ | |
| 14 | Marky Mark BBQ |
Master Series — Backyard Ribs
14 entries · top 160.0344 · median 141.9772
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ANDREWS BBQ | |
| 2 | Chief Hess' Smokin' BBQ | |
| 3 | JOBU BBQ | |
| 4 | MEX A QUE | |
| 5 | Ronnie Uribe | |
| 6 | SOUTHERN SMOKE | |
| 7 | Smokin Bowlers | |
| 8 | Tip of Texas BBQ | |
| 9 | Docs BBQ | |
| 10 | Daddy Green | |
| 11 | Romes BBQ | |
| 12 | Shamrock Team | |
| 13 | Marky Mark BBQ | |
| 14 | BEER NESS BBQ |
Master Series — Dessert
20 entries · top 167.9656 · median 163.1314
Master Series — Margarita
16 entries · top 169.7600 · median 141.6742