A new contest record
711.9884
highest overall ever cooked here
711.9884 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 708.5828 PORTERHOUSE BBQ set in 2015.
- old record 708.5828
- set 2015 by PORTERHOUSE BBQ
Horse Town Brew n Que Festival (Day 1) 2025
May 30–31, 2025 · Norco, CA · 📍 3737 Crestview · State championship
Reps: Kathleen McIntosh, Kelly McIntosh · Prize money: $8,000
LOOT N' BOOTY BBQ won Grand Champion at the Horse Town Brew n Que Festival (Day 1) on May 30, 2025 in Norco, CA at 3737 Crestview, scoring 711.9884 in a field of 27 teams. Meat Candy Q took Reserve Grand Champion with 695.9428. Category winners: Chicken — RACK CITY BBQ (176.5600); Pork Ribs — LOOT N' BOOTY BBQ (180.0000); Pork — The Pitfather BBQ (180.0000); Brisket — LOOT N' BOOTY BBQ (179.4400). This is the 6th of 7 editions of this contest on record; the 2023 edition was won by Big Red BBQ; the next was held in 2025.
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.
321.67
median 678.75
711.99 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 176.56
- Pork Ribs 180 🔥
- Pork 180 🔥
- Brisket 179.44
20
180
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2015 to 2025 — this edition picked out.
Entries
27
4 judged meats · 3 ancillary
Top score
711.9884
Winning margin
16.0456
GC over RC
Field average
646.00
321.67711.99
median 678.75 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Pork
2.8572 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
686.1828
321.67711.99
10th place overall
Field spread
390.3196
winner to last place
Prize money
$8,000
on the line
Double threats
5
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 1%
beats 99% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
17%
8 of 46 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.72 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,562
avg power rating going in · stronger than 48% 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.
A statement win
16.0456
points clear of the field
Wider than 97% of the 4,710 championships in the data
The champion won by 16.0456 points — a wider margin than 97% of championships in the data.
A dynasty in the making
2×
wins at this contest
2 of 7 tracked editions
Loot N' Booty BBQ has won this contest 2 times across its 7 tracked editions.
- 2025
- 2025
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 9 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 2–3: SMOKE HOUND BBQ and LOOT N' BOOTY BBQ tied on 175.4056 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 5–6: Meat Candy Q and The Pitfather BBQ tied on 173.1200 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 4–5: WILD WILLY'S SMOKIN HOT BBQ and LADY OF Q tied on 176.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 2–3 · tie
- Chicken 5–6 · tie
- Pork Ribs 4–5 · tie
- Brisket 6–7 · tie
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
LOOT N' BOOTY BBQ won Pork Ribs, Brisket — a double, and took the Grand Championship on top of it.
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Brisket 1st
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
LOOT N' BOOTY BBQ took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 2 outright wins — their weakest board was pork at 5th.
- Chicken 3rd
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 5th
- Brisket 1st
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: Burnin' and Lootin' (won 2019).
- Burnin' and Lootin' · 2019
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.
- The Pitfather BBQ · Pork
- LOOT N' BOOTY BBQ · Pork Ribs
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 29, 2015 | Norco, CA | Norco, CA 92860 | 75 | 708.5828 | PORTERHOUSE BBQ | SMOKE HOUND BBQ |
| Jun 3, 2016 | Norco, CA | 3737 Crestview Dr | 58 | 705.1544 | MAR-B-QUE'S BBQ. | LOOT N' BOOTY BBQ |
| May 31, 2019 | Norco, CA | 3737 Crestview Dr | 49 | 695.9312 | Burnin' and Lootin' | Team Woodshed |
| Jun 3, 2022 | Norco, CA | 3737 Crestview Dr | 37 | 706.2400 | Big Poppa Smokers | Meat Candy Q |
| Jun 2, 2023 | Norco, CA | 3737 Crestview Dr | 43 | 705.1316 | Big Red BBQ | Meat Candy Q |
| May 30, 2025 ← this one | Norco, CA | 3737 Crestview | 27 | 711.9884 | Loot N' Booty BBQ | Meat Candy Q |
| May 31, 2025 | Norco, CA | 3737 Crestview | 20 | 710.2744 | Loot N' Booty BBQ | Meat Candy Q |
| May 29, 2026 | Norco, CA | — | — | — | — | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 176.5600 | 173.1200 | 170.2512 |
| Pork Ribs | 180 | 176 | 171.9656 |
| Pork | 180 | 177.1428 | 170.2744 |
| Brisket | 179.4400 | 173.1428 | 171.9772 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
27 entries · top 711.9884 · median 678.7540
Chicken
27 entries · top 176.5600 · median 167.9772
Pork Ribs
27 entries · top 180 · median 169.6800 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork
26 entries · top 180 · median 168.8286 · 🔥 perfect 180
Brisket
26 entries · top 179.4400 · median 167.6856
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.
Kids-Q — Kids-Q 11+
8 entries · top 176.5600 · median 173.7086
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | S&S 1 BBQ | |
| 2 | Khloe Bug | |
| 3 | Dandy's BBQ | |
| 4 | Good Cooker | |
| 5 | S&S 2 BBQ | |
| 6 | CP BBQ Jr2 | |
| 7 | Camby Wamby | |
| 8 | Little Fat Sal's |
Kids-Q — Kids-Q 6-10
9 entries · top 178.2972 · median 167.9772
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Little Rack City | |
| 2 | G-Wood BBQ | |
| 3 | Mini Justin Jefferson | |
| 4 | Spirit | |
| 5 | Let's Go Panda | |
| 6 | Little Texas BBQ | |
| 7 | Mega Shark | |
| 8 | CP BBQ Jr | |
| 9 | Cat's BBQ |
Ancillary — Turkey Smoke
7 entries · top 180 · median 167.3944 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BURNIN AND LOOTIN | |
| 2 | LOOT N' BOOTY BBQ | |
| 3 | RACK CITY BBQ | |
| 4 | SoCal Outlaw BBQ | |
| 5 | THE BRISKET BROTHERS | |
| 6 | B Lee's BBQ | |
| 7 | BlueFly BBQ |