A new contest record
688.5256
highest overall ever cooked here
688.5256 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 678.2856 BLAZIN' BLUES BBQ set in 2013.
- old record 678.2856
- set 2013 by BLAZIN' BLUES BBQ
Main Street BBQ & Bluesfest 2016
Apr 15–16, 2016 · Washington, MO
MOKAN MEATHEADS won Grand Champion at the Main Street BBQ & Bluesfest on April 15, 2016 in Washington, MO, scoring 688.5256 in a field of 53 teams. BRICKHEAD BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 684.5484. Category winners: Chicken — SHOOTIN SMOKE (177.7372); Pork Ribs — OUTLAW HAWGS BBQ (178.3200); Pork — MOKAN MEATHEADS (176.0000); Brisket — BRICKHEAD BBQ (179.4400). This is the 2nd of 2 editions of this contest on record; the 2013 edition was won by BLAZIN' BLUES BBQ.
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.
564.87
median 653.55
688.53 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 177.74
- Pork Ribs 178.32
- Pork 176
- Brisket 179.44
128.54
179.44
Entries
53
4 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
688.5256
Winning margin
3.9772
GC over RC
Field average
649.24
564.87688.53
median 653.55 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
2.3200 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
673.1428
564.87688.53
10th place overall
Field spread
123.6568
winner to last place
Double threats
3
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 75%
beats 25% of 4715 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
28%
14 of 50 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.66 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,586
avg power rating going in · stronger than 68% of contests
Storylines (7 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
15-in-100
shot on pre-contest ratings
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 85 times in 100
MOKAN MEATHEADS came in rated below the field's top team, SHAKE 'N BAKE BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 15-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
- champion 1619
- top seed 1916
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 11 calls decided inside half a point
Pork places 8–9: THE SMOKING HILLS and BLAZIN' BLUES BBQ tied on 171.4056 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 3–4: ST. LOUIS BLACK IRON BBQ and YELLOW RIVER BBQ tied on 175.4056 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 7–8: SHOOTIN SMOKE and RIPPEL-QUE tied on 174.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Pork 8–9 · tie
- Brisket 3–4 · tie
- Brisket 7–8 · tie
- Pork Ribs 4–5 · 0.0116
How the title was won
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
MOKAN MEATHEADS took the title on 3 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was brisket at 31st.
- Chicken 3rd
- Pork Ribs 3rd
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 31st
A contest record in pork ribs
178.3200
best pork ribs ever cooked here
OUTLAW HAWGS BBQ turned in 178.3200 in pork ribs — past the 172.5714 that had stood across 1 earlier editions.
- old best 172.5714
- across 1 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: BLAZIN' BLUES BBQ (won 2013).
- BLAZIN' BLUES BBQ · 2013
The contest returns
3 yrs
since the last edition
This contest was away for 3 years — the previous tracked edition ran on 2013-04-19.
- previous edition 2013-04-19
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 19, 2013 | Washington, MO | Washington, MO | 50 | 678.2856 | BLAZIN' BLUES BBQ | THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SMOKE |
| Apr 15, 2016 ← this one | Washington, MO | Washington, MO 63090 | 53 | 688.5256 | MOKAN MEATHEADS | BRICKHEAD BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 177.7372 | 175.4172 | 171.4172 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.3200 | 174.2972 | 170.8228 |
| Pork | 176 | 173.1428 | 169.7256 |
| Brisket | 179.4400 | 174.8800 | 172 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
53 entries · top 688.5256 · median 653.5544
Chicken
53 entries · top 177.7372 · median 166.3200
Pork Ribs
53 entries · top 178.3200 · median 160.6172
Pork
53 entries · top 176 · median 163.9656
Brisket
53 entries · top 179.4400 · median 160.5600
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 — Anything Butt Pizza
21 entries · top 166.8344 · median 143.9772