A new contest record
670.8460
highest overall ever cooked here
670.8460 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 661.1660 Priorville set in 2015.
- old record 661.1660
- set 2015 by Priorville
Salt City BBQ Festival 2016
May 20–21, 2016 · Syracuse, NY · 📍 Clinton Sq
THE BASIC BBQ TEAM won Grand Champion at the Salt City BBQ Festival on May 20, 2016 in Syracuse, NY at Clinton Sq, scoring 670.8460 in a field of 32 teams. GOOD SMOKE BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 662.8004. Category winners: Chicken — PULLIN' MY MONEY MUSCLE (171.4284); Pork Ribs — HOLY SMOKES NY (177.1772); Pork — Priorville (170.2972); Brisket — SMOKIN BOYS AND HOT GRILLS (172.0116). This is the 2nd of 4 editions of this contest on record; the 2015 edition was won by Priorville; 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.
560.87
median 611.05
670.85 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 171.43
- Pork Ribs 177.18
- Pork 170.30
- Brisket 172.01
126.29
177.18
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2015 to 2018 — this edition picked out.
Entries
32
4 judged meats
Top score
670.8460
Winning margin
8.0456
GC over RC
Field average
612.67
560.87670.85
median 611.05 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
1.1656 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
618.7544
560.87670.85
10th place overall
Field spread
109.9776
winner to last place
Double threats
5
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 96%
beats 4% of 4715 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
62%
13 of 21 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.4 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,529
avg power rating going in · stronger than 21% 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.
Won without a category win
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
THE BASIC BBQ TEAM won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 4 calls from 4 boards, best of them 2nd. Consistency beat fireworks.
- Chicken 5th
- Pork Ribs 7th
- Pork 2nd
- Brisket 4th
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 7 calls decided inside half a point
Pork places 1–2: Priorville and THE BASIC BBQ TEAM tied on 170.2972 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 5–6: REED BOYZ BBQ and TEAM EATAPEDIA tied on 165.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 1–2: PULLIN' MY MONEY MUSCLE edged Priorville by 0.0228.
- Pork 1–2 · tie
- Brisket 5–6 · tie
- Chicken 1–2 · 0.0228
- Pork 6–7 · 0.0344
A contest record in pork ribs
177.1772
best pork ribs ever cooked here
HOLY SMOKES NY turned in 177.1772 in pork ribs — past the 170.2744 that had stood across 1 earlier editions.
- old best 170.2744
- across 1 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: Priorville (won 2015).
- Priorville · 2015
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 15, 2015 | Syracuse, NY | Syracuse, NY 13210 | 21 | 661.1660 | Priorville | GOOD SMOKE BBQ |
| May 20, 2016 ← this one | Syracuse, NY | Clinton Sq | 32 | 670.8460 | THE BASIC BBQ TEAM | GOOD SMOKE BBQ |
| May 19, 2017 | Syracuse, NY | NY State Fair Grounds | 41 | 667.9544 | GOOD SMOKE BBQ | THE BASIC BBQ TEAM |
| May 18, 2018 | Syracuse, NY | NY State Fair Grounds | 34 | 682.3088 | PRIORVILLE BBQ | BIG RAZ BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 171.4284 | 170.2628 | 161.7256 |
| Pork Ribs | 177.1772 | 166.2856 | 159.4172 |
| Pork | 170.2972 | 164.5828 | 158.8456 |
| Brisket | 172.0116 | 165.7028 | 162.2972 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
32 entries · top 670.8460 · median 611.0514
Chicken
32 entries · top 171.4284 · median 154.5428
Pork Ribs
32 entries · top 177.1772 · median 153.0972
Pork
32 entries · top 170.2972 · median 151.9658
Brisket
32 entries · top 172.0116 · median 149.7028