A new contest record
697.6916
highest overall ever cooked here
697.6916 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 692.5488 PARROTHEAD SMOKERS set in 2014.
- old record 692.5488
- set 2014 by PARROTHEAD SMOKERS
Hill City Wine Brew & BBQ 2016
Aug 26–27, 2016 · Hill City, SD
PARROTHEAD SMOKERS won Grand Champion at the Hill City Wine Brew & BBQ on August 26, 2016 in Hill City, SD, scoring 697.6916 in a field of 31 teams. ROLLIN' SMOKE BBQ SD took Reserve Grand Champion with 689.6572. Category winners: Chicken — ROLLIN' SMOKE BBQ SD (180.0000); Pork Ribs — SCORCH AND RESQUE (176.0000); Pork — PARROTHEAD SMOKERS (176.5600); Brisket — LONESTAR SMOKE RANGERS (177.7372). This is the 3rd of 7 editions of this contest on record; the 2015 edition was won by PARROTHEAD SMOKERS; 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.
565.02
median 671.33
697.69 🏆
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 176
- Pork 176.56
- Brisket 177.74
131.38
180
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2014 to 2024 — this edition picked out.
Entries
31
4 judged meats
Top score
697.6916
Winning margin
8.0344
GC over RC
Field average
661.32
565.02697.69
median 671.33 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Brisket
2.2744 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
678.8112
565.02697.69
10th place overall
Field spread
132.6744
winner to last place
Double threats
5
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 42%
beats 58% of 4715 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
62%
16 of 26 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.72 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,595
avg power rating going in · stronger than 75% of contests
Storylines (9 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.
They will not let it go
3 in a row
editions of this contest
PARROTHEAD SMOKERS won here last time out too — 3 straight editions of this contest.
- 2014
- 2015
- 2016
A dynasty in the making
4×
wins at this contest
4 of 7 tracked editions
PARROTHEAD SMOKERS has won this contest 4 times across its 7 tracked editions.
- 2014
- 2015
- 2016
- 2017
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 11 calls decided inside half a point
Pork Ribs places 3–4: EGGSPERT BBQ and YOU QUE'D ME ALL NIGHT LONG tied on 173.1200 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 9–10: BACKDRAFT BBQ and PARROTHEAD SMOKERS tied on 169.1200 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 7–8: LAST CALL HEROES BBQ and SCORCH AND RESQUE tied on 170.8456 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Pork Ribs 3–4 · tie
- Pork Ribs 9–10 · tie
- Pork 7–8 · tie
- Chicken 8–9 · 0.0116
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
PARROTHEAD SMOKERS took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was pork ribs at 10th.
- Chicken 6th
- Pork Ribs 10th
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 3rd
A contest record in chicken
180.0000
best chicken ever cooked here
ROLLIN' SMOKE BBQ SD turned in 180.0000 in chicken — past the 177.7144 that had stood across 2 earlier editions.
- old best 177.7144
- across 2 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: PARROTHEAD SMOKERS (won 2014, 2015).
- PARROTHEAD SMOKERS · 2014, 2015
The biggest field yet
31
teams — a contest high
This contest usually draws about 26 teams
31 teams is the deepest field this contest has drawn in the data, against a typical 26.
A perfect score on the table
1
perfect 180s
1 perfect 180 was scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- ROLLIN' SMOKE BBQ SD · Chicken
This contest's own records (2 in the KCBS record book)
Records held by every edition of this contest put together, not just this one afternoon.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 22, 2014 | Hill City, SD | Hill City, SD 57745 | 25 | 692.5488 | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS | LONESTAR SMOKE RANGERS |
| Aug 21, 2015 | Hill City, SD | Hill City, SD 57745 | 26 | 689.6456 | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS | SPITFIRE |
| Aug 26, 2016 ← this one | Hill City, SD | Hill City, SD 57745 | 31 | 697.6916 | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS | ROLLIN' SMOKE BBQ SD |
| Aug 25, 2017 | Hill City, SD | Elm St | 26 | 691.3712 | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS | BIG DADDY'S BACKYARD BBQ |
| Aug 24, 2018 | Hill City, SD | Sea Terrace Park | 27 | 704.5256 | B-S BBQ OUTLAWS | BACKDRAFT BBQ |
| Aug 23, 2019 | Hill City, SD | Sea Terrace Park | 31 | 699.9544 | B-S BBQ OUTLAWS | LAST CALL HEROES BBQ |
| Aug 23, 2024 | Hill City, SD | Main Street | 29 | 689.0512 | Q Cartel | LaTa-Que |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180 | 175.4172 | 170.8800 |
| Pork Ribs | 176 | 171.9772 | 169.1200 |
| Pork | 176.5600 | 171.4172 | 169.6800 |
| Brisket | 177.7372 | 175.4628 | 172 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
31 entries · top 697.6916 · median 671.3256
Chicken
31 entries · top 180 · median 167.9772 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork Ribs
31 entries · top 176 · median 165.7028
Pork
31 entries · top 176.5600 · median 165.1200
Brisket
31 entries · top 177.7372 · median 166.2400