A first Grand Championship
33
tracked contests to get there
This was DR. PEARL'S MEDICINAL SMOKE BBQ TEAM's first Grand Championship in the data — it arrived at their 33rd tracked contest.
The Great Catskill Mountain BBQ Fest
Aug 26–27, 2016 · Fleischmanns, NY
DR. PEARL'S MEDICINAL SMOKE BBQ TEAM won Grand Champion at The Great Catskill Mountain BBQ Fest on August 26, 2016 in Fleischmanns, NY, scoring 684.5028 in a field of 15 teams. Priorville took Reserve Grand Champion with 681.0744. Category winners: Chicken — The Smokey Legends (174.8800); Pork Ribs — GENERAL JOE'S BBQ (173.7028); Pork — JOHN'S TWISTED Q (178.2972); Brisket — DR. PEARL'S MEDICINAL SMOKE BBQ TEAM (178.8572).
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.
549.55
median 650.17
684.50 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 174.88
- Pork Ribs 173.70
- Pork 178.30
- Brisket 178.86
134.22
178.86
Entries
15
4 judged meats · 4 ancillary
Top score
684.5028
Winning margin
3.4284
GC over RC
Field average
639.13
549.55684.50
median 650.17 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork
4.0344 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
632.9948
549.55684.50
10th place overall
Field spread
134.9488
winner to last place
Double threats
6
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 83%
beats 17% of 4723 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.78 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,551
avg power rating going in · stronger than 39% of contests
Storylines (3 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
0.0116
closest of 5 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 7–8: JOHN'S TWISTED Q edged DR. PEARL'S MEDICINAL SMOKE BBQ TEAM by 0.0116. Chicken places 3–4: UP-2 BBQ edged QUE BIZ by 0.0228. Pork places 9–10: UP-2 BBQ edged BIG RAZ BBQ by 0.0228.
- Chicken 7–8 · 0.0116
- Chicken 3–4 · 0.0228
- Pork 9–10 · 0.0228
- Pork 4–5 · 0.0344
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
DR. PEARL'S MEDICINAL SMOKE BBQ TEAM took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was chicken at 8th.
- Chicken 8th
- Pork Ribs 6th
- Pork 4th
- Brisket 1st
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 | 174.8800 | 167.9656 | 162.2516 |
| Pork Ribs | 173.7028 | 167.9888 | 162.2976 |
| Pork | 178.2972 | 174.2628 | 156.5372 |
| Brisket | 178.8572 | 162.2860 | 149.6572 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
15 entries · top 684.5028 · median 650.1712
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DR. PEARL'S MEDICINAL SMOKE BBQ TEAM | |
| 2 | Priorville | |
| 3 | JOHN'S TWISTED Q | |
| 4 | Q HAVEN BBQ | |
| 5 | GOOD SMOKE BBQ | |
| 6 | GENERAL JOE'S BBQ | |
| 7 | QUE BIZ | |
| 8 | BLACK HART BBQ | |
| 9 | UP-2 BBQ | |
| 10 | BIG RAZ BBQ | |
| 11 | KISS MY BUTT BBQ | |
| 12 | The Smokey Legends | |
| 13 | Arkansas Tom's Razorback BBQ | |
| 14 | WING-A-LINGS BBQ | |
| 15 | ALL AMERICAN BBQ |
Chicken
15 entries · top 174.8800 · median 164.5256
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Smokey Legends | |
| 2 | Q HAVEN BBQ | |
| 3 | UP-2 BBQ | |
| 4 | QUE BIZ | |
| 5 | GENERAL JOE'S BBQ | |
| 6 | GOOD SMOKE BBQ | |
| 7 | JOHN'S TWISTED Q | |
| 8 | DR. PEARL'S MEDICINAL SMOKE BBQ TEAM | |
| 9 | BLACK HART BBQ | |
| 10 | BIG RAZ BBQ | |
| 11 | Priorville | |
| 12 | Arkansas Tom's Razorback BBQ | |
| 13 | KISS MY BUTT BBQ | |
| 14 | WING-A-LINGS BBQ | |
| 15 | ALL AMERICAN BBQ |
Pork Ribs
15 entries · top 173.7028 · median 164.5372
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | GENERAL JOE'S BBQ | |
| 2 | QUE BIZ | |
| 3 | JOHN'S TWISTED Q | |
| 4 | BLACK HART BBQ | |
| 5 | Priorville | |
| 6 | DR. PEARL'S MEDICINAL SMOKE BBQ TEAM | |
| 7 | GOOD SMOKE BBQ | |
| 8 | Q HAVEN BBQ | |
| 9 | The Smokey Legends | |
| 10 | UP-2 BBQ | |
| 11 | KISS MY BUTT BBQ | |
| 12 | BIG RAZ BBQ | |
| 13 | Arkansas Tom's Razorback BBQ | |
| 14 | WING-A-LINGS BBQ | |
| 15 | ALL AMERICAN BBQ |
Pork
15 entries · top 178.2972 · median 158.2172
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | JOHN'S TWISTED Q | |
| 2 | Q HAVEN BBQ | |
| 3 | Priorville | |
| 4 | DR. PEARL'S MEDICINAL SMOKE BBQ TEAM | |
| 5 | GOOD SMOKE BBQ | |
| 6 | KISS MY BUTT BBQ | |
| 7 | BLACK HART BBQ | |
| 8 | QUE BIZ | |
| 9 | UP-2 BBQ | |
| 10 | BIG RAZ BBQ | |
| 11 | GENERAL JOE'S BBQ | |
| 12 | WING-A-LINGS BBQ | |
| 13 | ALL AMERICAN BBQ | |
| 14 | Arkansas Tom's Razorback BBQ | |
| 15 | The Smokey Legends |
Brisket
15 entries · top 178.8572 · median 158.2744
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DR. PEARL'S MEDICINAL SMOKE BBQ TEAM | |
| 2 | Priorville | |
| 3 | GENERAL JOE'S BBQ | |
| 4 | JOHN'S TWISTED Q | |
| 5 | Q HAVEN BBQ | |
| 6 | GOOD SMOKE BBQ | |
| 7 | BLACK HART BBQ | |
| 8 | QUE BIZ | |
| 9 | BIG RAZ BBQ | |
| 10 | KISS MY BUTT BBQ | |
| 11 | Arkansas Tom's Razorback BBQ | |
| 12 | UP-2 BBQ | |
| 13 | The Smokey Legends | |
| 14 | WING-A-LINGS BBQ | |
| 15 | ALL AMERICAN BBQ |
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
4 entries · top 160.5600 · median 151.9658
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Smokin Dragon BBQ | |
| 2 | Spring Lake | |
| 3 | Wood's BBQ | |
| 4 | Team Bootleg |
Master Series — Backyard Overall
4 entries · top 309.1316 · median 299.4000
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Smokin Dragon BBQ | |
| 2 | Wood's BBQ | |
| 3 | Spring Lake | |
| 4 | Team Bootleg |
Master Series — Backyard Rib
4 entries · top 150.8684 · median 146.2858
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wood's BBQ | |
| 2 | Smokin Dragon BBQ | |
| 3 | Spring Lake | |
| 4 | Team Bootleg |
Master Series — Firemen Chicken
4 entries · top 143.4172 · median 142.5600
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fleischmanns Fire Dept | |
| 2 | Andes Fire Dept | |
| 3 | Margaretville Fire Dept. | |
| 4 | Arkville Fire Dept |