A new contest record
692.4800
highest overall ever cooked here
692.4800 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 690.7884 PALMETTO SMOKEHOUSE set in 2014.
- old record 690.7884
- set 2014 by PALMETTO SMOKEHOUSE
Boss Hog State Championship Cook-Off (GBC Qualifier) 2016
May 13–14, 2016 · Waynesboro, GA · State championship
SMOKE CENTRAL BBQ won Grand Champion at the Boss Hog State Championship Cook-Off (GBC Qualifier) on May 13, 2016 in Waynesboro, GA, scoring 692.4800 in a field of 41 teams. BALD HAWG BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 679.3600. Category winners: Chicken — TEMPLAR TEMPTATIONS (180.0000); Pork Ribs — SMOKE CENTRAL BBQ (174.2744); Pork — BALD HAWG BBQ (175.4056); Brisket — SMOKE THIS (178.8572). This is the 3rd of 9 editions of this contest on record; the 2015 edition was won by YES, DEAR BBQ; 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.
596.39
median 647.81
692.48 🏆
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 174.27
- Pork 175.41
- Brisket 178.86
134.83
180
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2014 to 2025 — this edition picked out.
Entries
41
4 judged meats · 2 ancillary
Top score
692.4800
Winning margin
13.1200
GC over RC
Field average
644.77
596.39692.48
median 647.81 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
4.5828 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
662.1028
596.39692.48
10th place overall
Field spread
96.0912
winner to last place
Double threats
3
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 64%
beats 36% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
44%
17 of 39 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.61 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,567
avg power rating going in · stronger than 52% 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.
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
Smoke Central BBQ came in rated below the field's top team, SAUCED! BBQ TEAM, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 15-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
- champion 1523
- top seed 1829
A statement win
13.1200
points clear of the field
Wider than 94% of the 4,710 championships in the data
The champion won by 13.1200 points — a wider margin than 94% of championships in the data.
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 11 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 1–2: TEMPLAR TEMPTATIONS and SMOKE THIS tied on 180.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 3–4: REAL SOUTH BBQ and UNDER THE RADAR tied on 174.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 8–9: SMOKIN' GRINGO'S BBQ and Double Deuce Smokin BBQ tied on 170.8228 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 1–2 · tie
- Chicken 3–4 · tie
- Chicken 8–9 · tie
- Chicken 9–10 · tie
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
SMOKE CENTRAL BBQ took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was chicken at 7th.
- Chicken 7th
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 3rd
- Brisket 2nd
A contest record in pork
175.4056
best pork ever cooked here
BALD HAWG BBQ turned in 175.4056 in pork — past the 173.1200 that had stood across 2 earlier editions.
- old best 173.1200
- across 2 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: YES, DEAR BBQ (won 2015).
- YES, DEAR BBQ · 2015
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.
- TEMPLAR TEMPTATIONS · Chicken
- SMOKE THIS · Chicken
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 9, 2014 | Waynesboro, GA | Waynesboro, GA 30830 | 42 | 690.7884 | PALMETTO SMOKEHOUSE | WAYLON'S WICKEDLY GOOD Q |
| May 8, 2015 | Waynesboro, GA | Waynesboro, GA 30830 | 39 | 686.1944 | YES, DEAR BBQ | MR.GOODTIME'S BBQ CLUB |
| May 13, 2016 ← this one | Waynesboro, GA | Waynesboro, GA 30830 | 41 | 692.4800 | SMOKE CENTRAL BBQ | BALD HAWG BBQ |
| May 12, 2017 | Waynesboro, GA | Schwank Way | 42 | 689.0284 | BOOG-A-LOU SMOKE CREW | KILLER B'S BBQ |
| May 11, 2018 | Waynesboro, GA | Schwank Way | 42 | 691.3372 | MAYA JANE BBQ CO. | KILLER B'S BBQ |
| May 10, 2019 | Waynesboro, GA | Schwank Way | 42 | 689.6228 | SAUCED! BBQ | BARREL FEVER BBQ |
| May 14, 2021 | Waynesboro, GA | Waynesboro, GA 30830 | 42 | 694.2288 | ELITE BBQ SMOKERS | BOOG-A-LOU SMOKE CREW |
| May 13, 2022 | Waynesboro, GA | Schwank Way | 42 | 698.8000 | SMOKE ME SILLY | Kings BBQ Team |
| May 9, 2025 | Waynesboro, GA | Schwank Way | 42 | 698.2056 | Optimus Swine | Kings BBQ Team |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180 | 173.1200 | 170.8228 |
| Pork Ribs | 174.2744 | 169.6916 | 166.8228 |
| Pork | 175.4056 | 169.6800 | 166.8228 |
| Brisket | 178.8572 | 168.5828 | 166.2400 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
41 entries · top 692.4800 · median 647.8056
Chicken
41 entries · top 180 · median 162.7884 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork Ribs
41 entries · top 174.2744 · median 161.6572
Pork
41 entries · top 175.4056 · median 160.5144
Brisket
41 entries · top 178.8572 · median 160.5256
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 — Strawberry
17 entries · top 180 · median 168.5828 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SAUCED! BBQ TEAM | |
| 2 | MUNCHEE'S SMOKEHOUSE | |
| 3 | REAL SOUTH BBQ | |
| 4 | SWINE-0-MITE | |
| 5 | FIRE IN THE HOLE BBQ | |
| 6 | PIRATES OF PORKSCENTS | |
| 7 | SMOKE CENTRAL BBQ | |
| 8 | BUTTS-N-BREW BARBEQUE | |
| 9 | SLOWLY BUTT SMOKIN | |
| 10 | LICK DA BONE | |
| 11 | Meat Slingers | |
| 12 | MIDNIGHT BURN | |
| 13 | QMEISTERS | |
| 14 | COOK OFF CASUALTIES | |
| 15 | Southern Justice BBQ | |
| 16 | PIG FELLAS | |
| 17 | SOUTHERN BREW'D BBQ |
Master Series — Wings
29 entries · top 173.1428 · median 164.5712