A new contest record
706.2856
highest overall ever cooked here
706.2856 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 705.1200 Gettin' Basted set in 2024.
- old record 705.1200
- set 2024 by Gettin' Basted
BBQ Jackpot 2025
Nov 21–22, 2025 · Las Vegas, NV · 📍 Bass Pro Shops · State championship
Reps: Kathleen McIntosh, Kelly McIntosh, Michael Santiago, Rhonda Santiago · Prize money: $16,400
Big Johns BBQ Company won Grand Champion at the BBQ Jackpot on November 21, 2025 in Las Vegas, NV at Bass Pro Shops, scoring 706.2856 in a field of 90 teams. BURNIN AND LOOTIN took Reserve Grand Champion with 703.9544. Category winners: Chicken — BULL MARKET BBQ (180.0000); Pork Ribs — STEVO'S BBQ TEAM (180.0000); Pork — SHAKE 'N BAKE BBQ (180.0000); Brisket — PORTERHOUSE BBQ (180.0000). This is the 2nd of 3 editions of this contest on record; the 2024 edition was won by Gettin' Basted; the next is scheduled for November 20, 2026.
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.
515.92
median 681.65
706.29 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 180 🔥
- Pork Ribs 180 🔥
- Pork 180 🔥
- Brisket 180 🔥
143.37
180
Entries
90
4 judged meats · 2 ancillary
Top score
706.2856
Winning margin
2.3312
GC over RC
Field average
676.31
515.92706.29
median 681.65 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
7 🔥
Tightest race
Chicken
1.1428 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
696.5140
515.92706.29
10th place overall
Field spread
190.3656
winner to last place
Prize money
$16,400
on the line
Double threats
1
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 10%
beats 90% of 4714 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
66%
49 of 74 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.65 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,591
avg power rating going in · stronger than 72% 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.
An upset on the books
10-in-100
shot on pre-contest ratings
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 90 times in 100
Big Johns BBQ Company came in rated below the field's top team, SHAKE 'N BAKE BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 10-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
- champion 1611
- top seed 2001
Won without a category win
2 of 4
meats called to the stage
Big Johns BBQ Company won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 2 calls from 4 boards, best of them 4th. Consistency beat fireworks.
- Chicken 19th
- Pork Ribs 6th
- Pork 13th
- Brisket 4th
A first Grand Championship
15
tracked contests to get there
This was Big Johns BBQ Company's first Grand Championship in the data — it arrived at their 15th tracked contest.
A day of perfect scores
7
perfect 180s
7 perfect 180s were scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- PORTERHOUSE BBQ · Brisket
- BULL MARKET BBQ · Chicken
- Furyous FIRE BBQ · Chicken
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 18 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 1–2: BULL MARKET BBQ and Furyous FIRE BBQ tied on 180.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 4–5: BURNIN AND LOOTIN and SIMPLY MARVELOUS BBQ tied on 178.8572 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 6–7: Small Axe BBQ and IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ tied on 177.7144 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 1–2 · tie
- Chicken 4–5 · tie
- Chicken 6–7 · tie
- Chicken 8–9 · tie
A contest record in pork ribs
180.0000
best pork ribs ever cooked here
STEVO'S BBQ TEAM turned in 180.0000 in pork ribs — past the 178.8572 that had stood across 1 earlier editions.
- old best 178.8572
- across 1 past editions
One of the big ones
90
teams on the grounds
Bigger than 98% of the 5,468 contests in the data
90 teams — bigger than 98% of the 5,468 contests in the data.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 6, 2024 | Las Vegas, NV | Bass Pro Shops | 74 | 705.1200 | Gettin' Basted | SHAKE 'N BAKE BBQ |
| Nov 21, 2025 ← this one | Las Vegas, NV | Bass Pro Shops | 90 | 706.2856 | Big Johns BBQ Company | BURNIN AND LOOTIN |
| Nov 20, 2026 | Las Vegas, NV | — | — | — | — | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180 | 178.8572 | 177.1428 |
| Pork Ribs | 180 | 177.1544 | 175.4172 |
| Pork | 180 | 178.8572 | 176.5600 |
| Brisket | 180 | 177.1544 | 176.5600 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
90 entries · top 706.2856 · median 681.6458
Chicken
90 entries · top 180 · median 171.1256 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork Ribs
90 entries · top 180 · median 169.6916 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork
90 entries · top 180 · median 170.5484 · 🔥 perfect 180
Brisket
89 entries · top 180 · median 170.2628 · 🔥 perfect 180
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.
Ancillary — Dessert
36 entries · top 180 · median 176.5658 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | OM BBQ COMPANY | |
| 2 | VRM Pit Crew | |
| 3 | 1 Bite BBQ | |
| 4 | Furyous FIRE BBQ | |
| 5 | SinBin BBQ | |
| 6 | CROOKED PIGS | |
| 7 | Bowling Bro's BBQ | |
| 8 | BAR-B-CUDA BBQ | |
| 9 | Big Johns BBQ Company | |
| 10 | Chingon BBQ | |
| 11 | All About Smokin Q | |
| 12 | LOOT N' BOOTY BBQ | |
| 13 | Wild West BBQ | |
| 14 | Beefy Boyz BBQ | |
| 15 | CYNICAL BBQ | |
| 16 | RACK CITY BBQ | |
| 17 | Troublemakers BBQ | |
| 18 | Jessie Raes BBQ | |
| 19 | Chicken Fried BBQ | |
| 20 | HIGH DESERT HOLY SMOKE BBQ | |
| 21 | BAD RABBIT BBQ | |
| 22 | Small Axe BBQ | |
| 23 | Big Juicy BBQ | |
| 24 | Wired Up Smokers | |
| 25 | POPPA PIG AND PORKCHOP | |
| 26 | Churchill Downs Smokers | |
| 27 | WILD WILLY'S SMOKIN HOT BBQ | |
| 28 | RED EYED SMOKERS | |
| 29 | STEVE'S PIG PIKINS BBQ | |
| 30 | Phil the Grill | |
| 31 | Pork Bombin BBQ | |
| 32 | Q LIVE CREW | |
| 33 | BLAZIN BARRELS BBQ | |
| 34 | Yankee Twang BBQ Co. | |
| 35 | My Style BBQ | |
| 36 | LV Bucketlist BBQ |
Ancillary — Turkey Smoke
43 entries · top 176.5600 · median 167.3944
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | All About Smokin Q | |
| 2 | LOOT N' BOOTY BBQ | |
| 3 | SHAKE 'N BAKE BBQ | |
| 4 | BURNIN AND LOOTIN | |
| 5 | STEVE'S PIG PIKINS BBQ | |
| 6 | SoCal Outlaw BBQ | |
| 7 | Can Do BBQ | |
| 8 | Brinkerhoff BBQ | |
| 9 | Chicken Fried BBQ | |
| 10 | Q LIVE CREW | |
| 11 | BONE RUBBIN BBQ | |
| 12 | All Up In My Grill | |
| 13 | Bad Bears BBQ | |
| 14 | The Smokin' B.A.R. | |
| 15 | Wired Up Smokers | |
| 16 | LADY OF Q | |
| 17 | Chingon BBQ | |
| 18 | SinBin BBQ | |
| 19 | High Voltage BBQ | |
| 20 | THE BRISKET BROTHERS | |
| 21 | MAR-B-QUE'S BBQ | |
| 22 | Wild West BBQ | |
| 23 | WILD WILLY'S SMOKIN HOT BBQ | |
| 24 | THE BIG BANG BBQ CREW | |
| 25 | Beefy Boyz BBQ | |
| 26 | Bowling Bro's BBQ | |
| 27 | Phil the Grill | |
| 28 | 1 Bite BBQ | |
| 29 | Yankee Twang BBQ Co. | |
| 30 | BLAZIN BARRELS BBQ | |
| 31 | RACK CITY BBQ | |
| 32 | EZ-D'S SMOKE SHACK | |
| 33 | Pork Bombin BBQ | |
| 34 | Big Johns BBQ Company | |
| 35 | Generation Q | |
| 36 | POPPA PIG AND PORKCHOP | |
| 37 | LV Bucketlist BBQ | |
| 38 | Troublemakers BBQ | |
| 39 | BarrelHead Cookers | |
| 40 | VRM Pit Crew | |
| 41 | Smoke on the Water BBQ | |
| 42 | Rio Good BBQ | |
| 43 | Big Juicy BBQ |