A statement win
10.3200
points clear of the field
Wider than 89% of the 4,714 championships in the data
The champion won by 10.3200 points — a wider margin than 89% of championships in the data.
Holy Smoke BBQ Competition
Aug 12–13, 2016 · Liberty, MO · 📍 309 S Stewart RD
SLAPS BBQ won Grand Champion at the Holy Smoke BBQ Competition on August 12, 2016 in Liberty, MO at 309 S Stewart RD, scoring 706.8228 in a field of 16 teams. BURNT FINGER BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 696.5028. Category winners: Chicken — JAESTAR BBQ (180.0000); Pork Ribs — BURNT FINGER BBQ (178.8572); Pork — SLAPS BBQ (177.7028); Brisket — THUMP & STRUM BBQ (180.0000).
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.
580.99
median 676.21
706.82 🏆
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 178.86
- Pork 177.70
- Brisket 180 🔥
125.49
180
Entries
16
4 judged meats
Top score
706.8228
Winning margin
10.3200
GC over RC
Field average
659.71
580.99706.82
median 676.21 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Pork
5.7372 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
670.1368
580.99706.82
10th place overall
Field spread
125.8292
winner to last place
Double threats
7
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 10%
beats 90% of 4715 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.87 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,590
avg power rating going in · stronger than 71% 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.
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 6 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 5–6: SLAPS BBQ and SONS OF A BRISKET tied on 173.1084 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 4–5: BURNT FINGER BBQ and LOW LIFE BBQ tied on 171.9656 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 2–3: SWEET BEAVER BBQ and SLAPS BBQ tied on 178.8572 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 5–6 · tie
- Pork 4–5 · tie
- Brisket 2–3 · tie
- Brisket 5–6 · 0.0116
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
SLAPS BBQ took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was chicken at 5th.
- Chicken 5th
- Pork Ribs 2nd
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 3rd
A perfect score on the table
2
perfect 180s
2 perfect 180s were scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- THUMP & STRUM BBQ · Brisket
- JAESTAR BBQ · Chicken
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)
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180 | 173.1084 | 167.3828 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.8572 | 171.4400 | 162.2744 |
| Pork | 177.7028 | 171.9656 | 165.0856 |
| Brisket | 180 | 173.7144 | 165.0856 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
16 entries · top 706.8228 · median 676.2056
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SLAPS BBQ | |
| 2 | BURNT FINGER BBQ | |
| 3 | JAESTAR BBQ | |
| 4 | THUMP & STRUM BBQ | |
| 5 | SONS OF A BRISKET | |
| 6 | LOW LIFE BBQ | |
| 7 | GEN QUE | |
| 8 | SWEET BEAVER BBQ | |
| 9 | The Boys in the Que | |
| 10 | JOUSTING PIGS BBQ | |
| 11 | BAPTIZED IN SMOKE | |
| 12 | SOMEWHERE IN THYME | |
| 13 | THE SMOKIN BUDS | |
| 14 | BLOW N SMOKE TIL IT BURNS | |
| 15 | Total BS Smokers | |
| 16 | Unbeliezable BBQ Masters |
Chicken
16 entries · top 180 · median 170.5486 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | JAESTAR BBQ | |
| 2 | LOW LIFE BBQ | |
| 3 | SOMEWHERE IN THYME | |
| 4 | THUMP & STRUM BBQ | |
| 5 | SLAPS BBQ | |
| 6 | SONS OF A BRISKET | |
| 7 | SWEET BEAVER BBQ | |
| 8 | BURNT FINGER BBQ | |
| 9 | GEN QUE | |
| 10 | The Boys in the Que | |
| 11 | BAPTIZED IN SMOKE | |
| 12 | JOUSTING PIGS BBQ | |
| 13 | THE SMOKIN BUDS | |
| 14 | Unbeliezable BBQ Masters | |
| 15 | Total BS Smokers | |
| 16 | BLOW N SMOKE TIL IT BURNS |
Pork Ribs
16 entries · top 178.8572 · median 163.9484
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BURNT FINGER BBQ | |
| 2 | SLAPS BBQ | |
| 3 | SONS OF A BRISKET | |
| 4 | JAESTAR BBQ | |
| 5 | The Boys in the Que | |
| 6 | LOW LIFE BBQ | |
| 7 | THUMP & STRUM BBQ | |
| 8 | JOUSTING PIGS BBQ | |
| 9 | GEN QUE | |
| 10 | SWEET BEAVER BBQ | |
| 11 | BAPTIZED IN SMOKE | |
| 12 | Total BS Smokers | |
| 13 | THE SMOKIN BUDS | |
| 14 | SOMEWHERE IN THYME | |
| 15 | BLOW N SMOKE TIL IT BURNS | |
| 16 | Unbeliezable BBQ Masters |
Pork
16 entries · top 177.7028 · median 166.8400
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SLAPS BBQ | |
| 2 | JOUSTING PIGS BBQ | |
| 3 | GEN QUE | |
| 4 | BURNT FINGER BBQ | |
| 5 | LOW LIFE BBQ | |
| 6 | THUMP & STRUM BBQ | |
| 7 | SONS OF A BRISKET | |
| 8 | JAESTAR BBQ | |
| 9 | SOMEWHERE IN THYME | |
| 10 | SWEET BEAVER BBQ | |
| 11 | THE SMOKIN BUDS | |
| 12 | The Boys in the Que | |
| 13 | BAPTIZED IN SMOKE | |
| 14 | BLOW N SMOKE TIL IT BURNS | |
| 15 | Total BS Smokers | |
| 16 | Unbeliezable BBQ Masters |
Brisket
16 entries · top 180 · median 168.2570 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | THUMP & STRUM BBQ | |
| 2 | SWEET BEAVER BBQ | |
| 3 | SLAPS BBQ | |
| 4 | GEN QUE | |
| 5 | SONS OF A BRISKET | |
| 6 | BURNT FINGER BBQ | |
| 7 | The Boys in the Que | |
| 8 | JAESTAR BBQ | |
| 9 | JOUSTING PIGS BBQ | |
| 10 | BAPTIZED IN SMOKE | |
| 11 | LOW LIFE BBQ | |
| 12 | BLOW N SMOKE TIL IT BURNS | |
| 13 | Unbeliezable BBQ Masters | |
| 14 | SOMEWHERE IN THYME | |
| 15 | Total BS Smokers | |
| 16 | THE SMOKIN BUDS |