A razor-thin finish
1.1424
points between champion and reserve
Closer than 82% of the 4,714 championships in the data
The Grand Championship was decided by 1.1424 points — closer than 82% of every championship in the data.
- RAZORRACKS
- SWINE LIFE
Sixth Annual Bull Moose
Apr 8–9, 2016 · Somerville, TN
RAZORRACKS won Grand Champion at the Sixth Annual Bull Moose on April 8, 2016 in Somerville, TN, scoring 694.7996 in a field of 27 teams. SWINE LIFE took Reserve Grand Champion with 693.6572. Category winners: Chicken — HICKORY PIT STOP (176.5716); Pork Ribs — NU BETA GAMMA (177.7144); Pork — RAZORRACKS (177.7372); Brisket — HIGH ON THE HAWG (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.
465.59
median 665.09
694.80 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 176.57
- Pork Ribs 177.71
- Pork 177.74
- Brisket 178.86
20
178.86
Entries
27
4 judged meats
Top score
694.7996
Winning margin
1.1424
GC over RC
Field average
657.99
465.59694.80
median 665.09 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
3.4632 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
671.3144
465.59694.80
10th place overall
Field spread
229.2108
winner to last place
Double threats
7
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 55%
beats 45% of 4715 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.78 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,558
avg power rating going in · stronger than 45% of contests
Storylines (5 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.
An upset on the books
17-in-100
shot on pre-contest ratings
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 83 times in 100
RAZORRACKS came in rated below the field's top team, Organizer Portal, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 17-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
- champion 1587
- top seed 1862
A knife fight at the top
3.3820
points across the top five
First to fifth in the overall standings covered just 3.3820 points.
- 1st RAZORRACKS
- 2nd SWINE LIFE
- 3rd HIGH ON THE HAWG
- 4th EXTRA MILE BBQ
- 5th NU BETA GAMMA
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 13 calls decided inside half a point
Pork Ribs places 7–8: EXTRA MILE BBQ and HIGH ON THE HAWG tied on 171.9772 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 9–10: 901Q and SMOKIN ALONE tied on 169.6800 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 5–6: VICTORY LANE BBQ and SMOKE ON THIS tied on 171.9656 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Pork Ribs 7–8 · tie
- Pork 9–10 · tie
- Brisket 5–6 · tie
- Chicken 1–2 · 0.0116
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
RAZORRACKS took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was brisket at 7th.
- Chicken 5th
- Pork Ribs 5th
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 7th
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 | 176.5716 | 173.1084 | 169.6800 |
| Pork Ribs | 177.7144 | 173.1084 | 169.7028 |
| Pork | 177.7372 | 173.1084 | 169.6800 |
| Brisket | 178.8572 | 171.9656 | 167.9540 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
27 entries · top 694.7996 · median 665.0860
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | RAZORRACKS | |
| 2 | SWINE LIFE | |
| 3 | HIGH ON THE HAWG | |
| 4 | EXTRA MILE BBQ | |
| 5 | NU BETA GAMMA | |
| 6 | SMOKE ON THIS | |
| 7 | HICKORY PIT STOP | |
| 8 | Organizer Portal | |
| 9 | VICTORY LANE BBQ | |
| 10 | BLIND HOG BBQ | |
| 11 | DAD'S GRILLIN CREW | |
| 12 | KINNEY'S KOUNTRY KOOKERS | |
| 13 | BUTTS A'BLAZE BATESVILLE | |
| 14 | SMOKE'M IF U GOT'M | |
| 15 | SMOKIN' WITH AN ATTITUDE | |
| 16 | SMOKIN ALONE | |
| 17 | 901Q | |
| 18 | MeatCraft BBQ | |
| 19 | PORK AVENUE | |
| 20 | What the Pork | |
| 21 | ASLEEP AT THE GRILL | |
| 22 | HOGG LEGG SMOKERS | |
| 23 | BIG TASTY BBQ | |
| 24 | HAWGAMANIA | |
| 25 | BLOWIN' SMOKE | |
| 26 | How's my Cookin | |
| 27 | YUM YUM BAR-B-Q |
Chicken
27 entries · top 176.5716 · median 165.6916
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | HICKORY PIT STOP | |
| 2 | EXTRA MILE BBQ | |
| 3 | SWINE LIFE | |
| 4 | 901Q | |
| 5 | RAZORRACKS | |
| 6 | Organizer Portal | |
| 7 | MeatCraft BBQ | |
| 8 | SMOKE ON THIS | |
| 9 | DAD'S GRILLIN CREW | |
| 10 | HIGH ON THE HAWG | |
| 11 | BIG TASTY BBQ | |
| 12 | BUTTS A'BLAZE BATESVILLE | |
| 13 | KINNEY'S KOUNTRY KOOKERS | |
| 14 | HOGG LEGG SMOKERS | |
| 15 | VICTORY LANE BBQ | |
| 16 | NU BETA GAMMA | |
| 17 | BLIND HOG BBQ | |
| 18 | PORK AVENUE | |
| 19 | ASLEEP AT THE GRILL | |
| 20 | SMOKE'M IF U GOT'M | |
| 21 | What the Pork | |
| 22 | SMOKIN' WITH AN ATTITUDE | |
| 23 | BLOWIN' SMOKE | |
| 24 | SMOKIN ALONE | |
| 25 | How's my Cookin | |
| 26 | HAWGAMANIA | |
| 27 | YUM YUM BAR-B-Q |
Pork Ribs
27 entries · top 177.7144 · median 166.8228
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | NU BETA GAMMA | |
| 2 | VICTORY LANE BBQ | |
| 3 | HICKORY PIT STOP | |
| 4 | BLIND HOG BBQ | |
| 5 | RAZORRACKS | |
| 6 | SMOKE'M IF U GOT'M | |
| 7 | EXTRA MILE BBQ | |
| 8 | HIGH ON THE HAWG | |
| 9 | DAD'S GRILLIN CREW | |
| 10 | SWINE LIFE | |
| 11 | SMOKIN' WITH AN ATTITUDE | |
| 12 | KINNEY'S KOUNTRY KOOKERS | |
| 13 | SMOKE ON THIS | |
| 14 | Organizer Portal | |
| 15 | SMOKIN ALONE | |
| 16 | BUTTS A'BLAZE BATESVILLE | |
| 17 | PORK AVENUE | |
| 18 | HAWGAMANIA | |
| 19 | HOGG LEGG SMOKERS | |
| 20 | ASLEEP AT THE GRILL | |
| 21 | BIG TASTY BBQ | |
| 22 | What the Pork | |
| 23 | MeatCraft BBQ | |
| 24 | 901Q | |
| 25 | BLOWIN' SMOKE | |
| 26 | YUM YUM BAR-B-Q | |
| 27 | How's my Cookin |
Pork
27 entries · top 177.7372 · median 168.5256
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | RAZORRACKS | |
| 2 | SWINE LIFE | |
| 3 | SMOKE ON THIS | |
| 4 | NU BETA GAMMA | |
| 5 | HIGH ON THE HAWG | |
| 6 | HICKORY PIT STOP | |
| 7 | BUTTS A'BLAZE BATESVILLE | |
| 8 | BIG TASTY BBQ | |
| 9 | 901Q | |
| 10 | SMOKIN ALONE | |
| 11 | SMOKE'M IF U GOT'M | |
| 12 | KINNEY'S KOUNTRY KOOKERS | |
| 13 | BLIND HOG BBQ | |
| 14 | Organizer Portal | |
| 15 | What the Pork | |
| 16 | EXTRA MILE BBQ | |
| 17 | MeatCraft BBQ | |
| 18 | SMOKIN' WITH AN ATTITUDE | |
| 19 | VICTORY LANE BBQ | |
| 20 | DAD'S GRILLIN CREW | |
| 21 | HOGG LEGG SMOKERS | |
| 22 | How's my Cookin | |
| 23 | HAWGAMANIA | |
| 24 | BLOWIN' SMOKE | |
| 25 | PORK AVENUE | |
| 26 | ASLEEP AT THE GRILL | |
| 27 | YUM YUM BAR-B-Q |
Brisket
27 entries · top 178.8572 · median 165.6684
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | HIGH ON THE HAWG | |
| 2 | EXTRA MILE BBQ | |
| 3 | NU BETA GAMMA | |
| 4 | Organizer Portal | |
| 5 | VICTORY LANE BBQ | |
| 6 | SMOKE ON THIS | |
| 7 | RAZORRACKS | |
| 8 | SWINE LIFE | |
| 9 | PORK AVENUE | |
| 10 | SMOKIN' WITH AN ATTITUDE | |
| 11 | DAD'S GRILLIN CREW | |
| 12 | BLIND HOG BBQ | |
| 13 | BUTTS A'BLAZE BATESVILLE | |
| 14 | ASLEEP AT THE GRILL | |
| 15 | What the Pork | |
| 16 | SMOKIN ALONE | |
| 17 | HICKORY PIT STOP | |
| 18 | KINNEY'S KOUNTRY KOOKERS | |
| 19 | HAWGAMANIA | |
| 20 | MeatCraft BBQ | |
| 21 | SMOKE'M IF U GOT'M | |
| 22 | How's my Cookin | |
| 23 | BLOWIN' SMOKE | |
| 24 | 901Q | |
| 25 | YUM YUM BAR-B-Q | |
| 26 | HOGG LEGG SMOKERS | |
| 27 | BIG TASTY BBQ |