A hat-trick of category wins
3
category wins in a day
IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ won Chicken, Pork Ribs, Brisket — a hat-trick, and took the Grand Championship on top of it.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Brisket 1st
Down Town Throw Down Barbecue Championships
Dec 9–10, 2016 · Las Vegas, NV · 📍 Freemont Street
IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ won Grand Champion at the Down Town Throw Down Barbecue Championships on December 9, 2016 in Las Vegas, NV at Freemont Street, scoring 709.1084 in a field of 28 teams. SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE took Reserve Grand Champion with 703.9888. Category winners: Chicken — IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ (179.4400); Pork Ribs — IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ (176.5600); Pork — BIG POPPA SMOKERS (178.3200); Brisket — IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ (180.0000).
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.
629.59
median 670.23
709.11 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 179.44
- Pork Ribs 176.56
- Pork 178.32
- Brisket 180 🔥
137.66
180
Entries
28
4 judged meats
Top score
709.1084
Winning margin
5.1196
GC over RC
Field average
670.14
629.59709.11
median 670.23 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Chicken
1.7372 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
681.0512
629.59709.11
10th place overall
Field spread
79.5200
winner to last place
Double threats
4
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 5%
beats 95% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.86 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,653
avg power rating going in · stronger than 96% 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.
A stacked field
1653
average power rating going in
Stronger than 96% of every rated contest
The field averaged a 1653 power rating going in — stronger than 96% of every contest tracked.
- top seed IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ (2026)
- 28 rated teams
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 12 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 3–4: ZZYZX BAR.B.Q and FUNTIME BBQ tied on 177.7144 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 9–10: RUB YOUR MEAT BBQ and SHAKE 'N BAKE BBQ tied on 171.4172 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 3–4: STEEL CITY BBQ and SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE tied on 174.8456 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 3–4 · tie
- Pork Ribs 9–10 · tie
- Pork 3–4 · tie
- Pork 8–9 · tie
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 3 outright wins — their weakest board was pork at 7th.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 7th
- 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.
- IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ · 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)
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 179.4400 | 177.7028 | 175.4056 |
| Pork Ribs | 176.5600 | 173.7144 | 171.4172 |
| Pork | 178.3200 | 174.2628 | 171.9656 |
| Brisket | 180 | 171.9656 | 167.9772 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
28 entries · top 709.1084 · median 670.2344
Chicken
28 entries · top 179.4400 · median 170.5428
Pork Ribs
28 entries · top 176.5600 · median 168.2572
Pork
28 entries · top 178.3200 · median 170.5486
Brisket
28 entries · top 180 · median 165.6972 · 🔥 perfect 180