A razor-thin finish
0.5716
points between champion and reserve
Closer than 90% of the 4,713 championships in the data
The Grand Championship was decided by 0.5716 points — closer than 90% of every championship in the data.
- CONTAGIOUS Q
- Pappy Q
Barbourville BBQ Cookoff & Festival 2016
Jun 17–18, 2016 · Barbourville, KY
CONTAGIOUS Q won Grand Champion at the Barbourville BBQ Cookoff & Festival on June 17, 2016 in Barbourville, KY, scoring 693.0856 in a field of 32 teams. Pappy Q took Reserve Grand Champion with 692.5140. Category winners: Chicken — OLD PLANTATION BBQ (177.7144); Pork Ribs — BEACHDOGS 502 BBQ (176.5600); Pork — ROAD WARRIORS BBQ (177.7144); Brisket — Pappy Q (177.7028). This is the 1st of 4 editions of this contest on record; the next was held in 2017.
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.
617.47
median 675.07
693.09 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 177.71
- Pork Ribs 176.56
- Pork 177.71
- Brisket 177.70
145.65
177.71
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2016 to 2019 — this edition picked out.
Entries
32
4 judged meats
Top score
693.0856
Winning margin
0.5716
GC over RC
Field average
670.26
617.47693.09
median 675.07 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
1.1544 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
683.3604
617.47693.09
10th place overall
Field spread
75.6116
winner to last place
Double threats
6
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 61%
beats 39% of 4714 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.73 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,581
avg power rating going in · stronger than 64% 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.
Won without a category win
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
CONTAGIOUS Q won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 3 calls from 4 boards, best of them 4th. Consistency beat fireworks.
- Chicken 5th
- Pork Ribs 8th
- Pork 4th
- Brisket 15th
A knife fight at the top
3.4284
points across the top five
First to fifth in the overall standings covered just 3.4284 points — 2 teams sat within a single point of the lead.
- 1st CONTAGIOUS Q
- 2nd Pappy Q
- 3rd SMOKE ON THIS
- 4th QUE'N STEW'N & BREW'N
- 5th OLD PLANTATION BBQ
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 12 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 2–3: WEQ4U and SCUFFLETOWN SMOKERS tied on 177.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 4–5: SMOKIN NC and CONTAGIOUS Q tied on 176.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 6–7: UNCLE TOAD'S COMPETITION BBQ and BLUE CHIP BBQ tied on 175.4172 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 2–3 · tie
- Chicken 4–5 · tie
- Chicken 6–7 · tie
- Chicken 7–8 · tie
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 17, 2016 ← this one | Barbourville, KY | Barbourville, KY | 32 | 693.0856 | CONTAGIOUS Q | Pappy Q |
| Jun 16, 2017 | Barbourville, KY | 538 South Main St Thompson RV Park | 31 | 695.3484 | UNCLE TOAD'S COMPETITION BBQ | THE ALGOOD BAR-B-Q PIT CREW |
| Jun 15, 2018 | Barbourville, KY | 538 South Main St Thompson RV Park | 34 | 696.5484 | EXTRA MILE BBQ | BRINGIN' THE HEAT |
| Jun 14, 2019 | Barbourville, KY | 538 South Main St Thompson RV Park | 30 | 699.3828 | GREY STREET BBQ | WHO CARES BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 177.7144 | 176.5600 | 174.8456 |
| Pork Ribs | 176.5600 | 174.2628 | 170.8572 |
| Pork | 177.7144 | 176.5600 | 169.7144 |
| Brisket | 177.7028 | 172.5600 | 170.2628 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
32 entries · top 693.0856 · median 675.0742
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | CONTAGIOUS Q | |
| 2 | Pappy Q | |
| 3 | SMOKE ON THIS | |
| 4 | QUE'N STEW'N & BREW'N | |
| 5 | OLD PLANTATION BBQ | |
| 6 | BLUEGRASS SOUTHERN SMOKERS | |
| 7 | SCUFFLETOWN SMOKERS | |
| 8 | SMOKIN NC | |
| 9 | WEQ4U | |
| 10 | ROAD WARRIORS BBQ | |
| 11 | FRIENDS OF OBR | |
| 12 | BLUE CHIP BBQ | |
| 13 | SMOKIN' F BBQ | |
| 14 | EXTRA MILE BBQ | |
| 15 | HICKORY PRIME | |
| 16 | EAST TENNESSE Q CREW | |
| 17 | FIREHOUSE SMOKERS TN | |
| 18 | BEACHDOGS 502 BBQ | |
| 19 | Q FACTOR | |
| 20 | UNCLE TOAD'S COMPETITION BBQ | |
| 21 | K-TOWN DADDY'S BBQ | |
| 22 | HARLAN CO. COAL BURNERS | |
| 23 | BUBBY'S BBQ | |
| 24 | G-QUE KY | |
| 25 | UNCLE BUTCH BARBEQUE | |
| 26 | PATRIOTIC RADIO NETWORK BBQ TEAM | |
| 27 | MR. PHELPS BBQ | |
| 28 | OLD SPARKY'S BBQ | |
| 29 | ELKHAWG SMOKERS | |
| 30 | TNT KICKIN' BBQ | |
| 31 | Close Butt No Cigar | |
| 32 | BULLHEADED BBQ |
Chicken
32 entries · top 177.7144 · median 171.3942
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | OLD PLANTATION BBQ | |
| 2 | WEQ4U | |
| 3 | SCUFFLETOWN SMOKERS | |
| 4 | SMOKIN NC | |
| 5 | CONTAGIOUS Q | |
| 6 | UNCLE TOAD'S COMPETITION BBQ | |
| 7 | BLUE CHIP BBQ | |
| 8 | BLUEGRASS SOUTHERN SMOKERS | |
| 9 | BUBBY'S BBQ | |
| 10 | Pappy Q | |
| 11 | SMOKE ON THIS | |
| 12 | SMOKIN' F BBQ | |
| 13 | HARLAN CO. COAL BURNERS | |
| 14 | ROAD WARRIORS BBQ | |
| 15 | QUE'N STEW'N & BREW'N | |
| 16 | FIREHOUSE SMOKERS TN | |
| 17 | EAST TENNESSE Q CREW | |
| 18 | K-TOWN DADDY'S BBQ | |
| 19 | UNCLE BUTCH BARBEQUE | |
| 20 | FRIENDS OF OBR | |
| 21 | Q FACTOR | |
| 22 | HICKORY PRIME | |
| 23 | EXTRA MILE BBQ | |
| 24 | ELKHAWG SMOKERS | |
| 25 | MR. PHELPS BBQ | |
| 26 | OLD SPARKY'S BBQ | |
| 27 | BEACHDOGS 502 BBQ | |
| 28 | G-QUE KY | |
| 29 | BULLHEADED BBQ | |
| 30 | Close Butt No Cigar | |
| 31 | PATRIOTIC RADIO NETWORK BBQ TEAM | |
| 32 | TNT KICKIN' BBQ |
Pork Ribs
32 entries · top 176.5600 · median 167.3770
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BEACHDOGS 502 BBQ | |
| 2 | SMOKIN' F BBQ | |
| 3 | QUE'N STEW'N & BREW'N | |
| 4 | SMOKE ON THIS | |
| 5 | SMOKIN NC | |
| 6 | UNCLE TOAD'S COMPETITION BBQ | |
| 7 | HICKORY PRIME | |
| 8 | CONTAGIOUS Q | |
| 9 | Pappy Q | |
| 10 | SCUFFLETOWN SMOKERS | |
| 11 | FRIENDS OF OBR | |
| 12 | BLUE CHIP BBQ | |
| 13 | EXTRA MILE BBQ | |
| 14 | ROAD WARRIORS BBQ | |
| 15 | BLUEGRASS SOUTHERN SMOKERS | |
| 16 | PATRIOTIC RADIO NETWORK BBQ TEAM | |
| 17 | WEQ4U | |
| 18 | FIREHOUSE SMOKERS TN | |
| 19 | OLD PLANTATION BBQ | |
| 20 | G-QUE KY | |
| 21 | Q FACTOR | |
| 22 | TNT KICKIN' BBQ | |
| 23 | UNCLE BUTCH BARBEQUE | |
| 24 | K-TOWN DADDY'S BBQ | |
| 25 | EAST TENNESSE Q CREW | |
| 26 | OLD SPARKY'S BBQ | |
| 27 | BUBBY'S BBQ | |
| 28 | HARLAN CO. COAL BURNERS | |
| 29 | MR. PHELPS BBQ | |
| 30 | ELKHAWG SMOKERS | |
| 31 | Close Butt No Cigar | |
| 32 | BULLHEADED BBQ |
Pork
32 entries · top 177.7144 · median 167.6800
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ROAD WARRIORS BBQ | |
| 2 | FIREHOUSE SMOKERS TN | |
| 3 | OLD PLANTATION BBQ | |
| 4 | CONTAGIOUS Q | |
| 5 | QUE'N STEW'N & BREW'N | |
| 6 | SMOKE ON THIS | |
| 7 | EAST TENNESSE Q CREW | |
| 8 | SMOKIN NC | |
| 9 | BLUEGRASS SOUTHERN SMOKERS | |
| 10 | BLUE CHIP BBQ | |
| 11 | EXTRA MILE BBQ | |
| 12 | Q FACTOR | |
| 13 | HARLAN CO. COAL BURNERS | |
| 14 | PATRIOTIC RADIO NETWORK BBQ TEAM | |
| 15 | SMOKIN' F BBQ | |
| 16 | Pappy Q | |
| 17 | K-TOWN DADDY'S BBQ | |
| 18 | G-QUE KY | |
| 19 | MR. PHELPS BBQ | |
| 20 | WEQ4U | |
| 21 | FRIENDS OF OBR | |
| 22 | OLD SPARKY'S BBQ | |
| 23 | UNCLE BUTCH BARBEQUE | |
| 24 | SCUFFLETOWN SMOKERS | |
| 25 | HICKORY PRIME | |
| 26 | BEACHDOGS 502 BBQ | |
| 27 | UNCLE TOAD'S COMPETITION BBQ | |
| 28 | ELKHAWG SMOKERS | |
| 29 | BULLHEADED BBQ | |
| 30 | BUBBY'S BBQ | |
| 31 | Close Butt No Cigar | |
| 32 | TNT KICKIN' BBQ |
Brisket
32 entries · top 177.7028 · median 166.2456
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pappy Q | |
| 2 | FRIENDS OF OBR | |
| 3 | BLUEGRASS SOUTHERN SMOKERS | |
| 4 | SCUFFLETOWN SMOKERS | |
| 5 | WEQ4U | |
| 6 | EAST TENNESSE Q CREW | |
| 7 | EXTRA MILE BBQ | |
| 8 | BUBBY'S BBQ | |
| 9 | HICKORY PRIME | |
| 10 | SMOKE ON THIS | |
| 11 | BEACHDOGS 502 BBQ | |
| 12 | Q FACTOR | |
| 13 | K-TOWN DADDY'S BBQ | |
| 14 | OLD PLANTATION BBQ | |
| 15 | CONTAGIOUS Q | |
| 16 | QUE'N STEW'N & BREW'N | |
| 17 | BLUE CHIP BBQ | |
| 18 | G-QUE KY | |
| 19 | SMOKIN NC | |
| 20 | HARLAN CO. COAL BURNERS | |
| 21 | ROAD WARRIORS BBQ | |
| 22 | MR. PHELPS BBQ | |
| 23 | SMOKIN' F BBQ | |
| 24 | Close Butt No Cigar | |
| 25 | UNCLE TOAD'S COMPETITION BBQ | |
| 26 | PATRIOTIC RADIO NETWORK BBQ TEAM | |
| 27 | FIREHOUSE SMOKERS TN | |
| 28 | UNCLE BUTCH BARBEQUE | |
| 29 | TNT KICKIN' BBQ | |
| 30 | ELKHAWG SMOKERS | |
| 31 | OLD SPARKY'S BBQ | |
| 32 | BULLHEADED BBQ |