A clean sweep
4
category wins in a day
VALLEY OAKS STEAK COMPANY won Chicken, Pork Ribs, Pork, Brisket — a clean sweep of the meats, and took the Grand Championship on top of it.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 1st
Smoking in the Golden Valley 2016
Sep 23–24, 2016 · Clinton, MO
VALLEY OAKS STEAK COMPANY won Grand Champion at the Smoking in the Golden Valley on September 23, 2016 in Clinton, MO, scoring 712.5944 in a field of 22 teams. UP SAUCE CREEK took Reserve Grand Champion with 693.6572. Category winners: Chicken — VALLEY OAKS STEAK COMPANY (176.0000); Pork Ribs — VALLEY OAKS STEAK COMPANY (177.1544); Pork — VALLEY OAKS STEAK COMPANY (179.4400); Brisket — VALLEY OAKS STEAK COMPANY (180.0000). This is the 1st of 3 editions of this contest on record; 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.
483.93
median 657.93
712.59 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 176
- Pork Ribs 177.15
- Pork 179.44
- Brisket 180 🔥
20
180
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2016 to 2018 — this edition picked out.
Entries
22
4 judged meats
Top score
712.5944
Winning margin
18.9372
GC over RC
Field average
649.18
483.93712.59
median 657.93 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Chicken
3.4056 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
664.4684
483.93712.59
10th place overall
Field spread
228.6632
winner to last place
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
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.72 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,548
avg power rating going in · stronger than 36% of contests
Storylines (6 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
18.9372
points clear of the field
Wider than 99% of the 4,710 championships in the data
The champion won by 18.9372 points — a wider margin than 99% of championships in the data.
A dynasty in the making
2×
wins at this contest
2 of 3 tracked editions
VALLEY OAKS STEAK COMPANY has won this contest 2 times across its 3 tracked editions.
- 2016
- 2017
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 7 calls decided inside half a point
Brisket places 5–6: SEDALIA MASTERBASTERS and SMOKIN' R'S tied on 169.1200 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 2–3: CRYSTAL BBQ edged MY 3 SONS BARBEQUE MO by 0.0116. Chicken places 9–10: US Bank's Money Meat edged BACKFIRIN' BBQ by 0.0228.
- Brisket 5–6 · tie
- Chicken 2–3 · 0.0116
- Chicken 9–10 · 0.0228
- Pork Ribs 9–10 · 0.0228
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
VALLEY OAKS STEAK COMPANY took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 4 outright wins — their weakest board was chicken at 1st.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 1st
A perfect score on the table
1
perfect 180s
1 perfect 180 was scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- VALLEY OAKS STEAK COMPANY · Brisket
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 23, 2016 ← this one | Clinton, MO | Clinton Downtown Sq | 22 | 712.5944 | VALLEY OAKS STEAK COMPANY | UP SAUCE CREEK |
| Sep 29, 2017 | Clinton, MO | 100 West Franklin | 29 | 693.0856 | VALLEY OAKS STEAK COMPANY | HUNKA HUNKA BURNIN' RUB |
| Sep 28, 2018 | Clinton, MO | 100 West Franklin | 25 | 683.3372 | SONS OF A BRISKET | AMERICAN FIRE BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 176 | 172.5944 | 168.5600 |
| Pork Ribs | 177.1544 | 171.9772 | 166.2628 |
| Pork | 179.4400 | 175.4056 | 166.8228 |
| Brisket | 180 | 169.1200 | 162.2400 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
22 entries · top 712.5944 · median 657.9316
Chicken
22 entries · top 176 · median 166.5428
Pork Ribs
22 entries · top 177.1544 · median 165.9830
Pork
22 entries · top 179.4400 · median 165.9886
Brisket
22 entries · top 180 · median 160.2456 · 🔥 perfect 180