A new contest record
700.5600
highest overall ever cooked here
700.5600 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 697.6800 JO-BAWB'S BBQ set in 2016.
- old record 697.6800
- set 2016 by JO-BAWB'S BBQ
National Western BBQ Throwdown 2017
Jan 6–7, 2017 · Denver, CO · 📍 1515 E 47th Av
CLARK CREW BBQ won Grand Champion at the National Western BBQ Throwdown on January 6, 2017 in Denver, CO at 1515 E 47th Av, scoring 700.5600 in a field of 38 teams. YOU QUE'D ME ALL NIGHT LONG took Reserve Grand Champion with 690.7540. Category winners: Chicken — GETTIN' BASTED (179.4400); Pork Ribs — BURNIN BOBS BUTTS N BONES (177.7372); Pork — Smokin Hot J's (177.7144); Brisket — KEEP CALM AND BLAZE ON (178.2972). This is the 3rd of 5 editions of this contest on record; the 2016 edition was won by JO-BAWB'S BBQ; the next was held in 2018.
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.
581.66
median 651.33
700.56 🏆
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 177.74
- Pork 177.71
- Brisket 178.30
126.21
179.44
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2015 to 2019 — this edition picked out.
Entries
38
4 judged meats
Top score
700.5600
Winning margin
9.8060
GC over RC
Field average
651.54
581.66700.56
median 651.33 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
3.4400 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
665.5884
581.66700.56
10th place overall
Field spread
118.9028
winner to last place
Double threats
7
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 30%
beats 70% of 4723 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
53%
19 of 36 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.63 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,602
avg power rating going in · stronger than 79% 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.
Won without a category win
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
CLARK CREW BBQ won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 4 calls from 4 boards, best of them 2nd. Consistency beat fireworks.
- Chicken 3rd
- Pork Ribs 3rd
- Pork 4th
- Brisket 2nd
A statement win
9.8060
points clear of the field
Wider than 88% of the 4,722 championships in the data
The champion won by 9.8060 points — a wider margin than 88% of championships in the data.
A dynasty in the making
2×
wins at this contest
2 of 5 tracked editions
JO-BAWB'S BBQ has won this contest 2 times across its 5 tracked editions.
- 2015
- 2016
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 9 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 1–2: GETTIN' BASTED and SWINESTONE COWBOYS tied on 179.4400 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 5–6: SWINESTONE COWBOYS and KEV'S CHEW CHEW BBQ tied on 172.5484 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 7–8: 913 BBQ edged WE'RE BURNIN DAYLIGHT BBQ by 0.0116.
- Chicken 1–2 · tie
- Pork 5–6 · tie
- Chicken 7–8 · 0.0116
- Brisket 5–6 · 0.0116
A contest record in chicken
179.4400
best chicken ever cooked here
GETTIN' BASTED turned in 179.4400 in chicken — past the 178.8572 that had stood across 2 earlier editions.
- old best 178.8572
- across 2 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: JO-BAWB'S BBQ (won 2015, 2016).
- JO-BAWB'S BBQ · 2015, 2016
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 9, 2015 | Denver, CO | Denver, CO 80216 | 40 | 695.3716 | JO-BAWB'S BBQ | BACKDRAFT BBQ |
| Jan 8, 2016 | Denver, CO | Denver, CO 80216 | 36 | 697.6800 | JO-BAWB'S BBQ | BUTCHER BBQ |
| Jan 6, 2017 ← this one | Denver, CO | 1515 E 47th Av | 38 | 700.5600 | CLARK CREW BBQ | YOU QUE'D ME ALL NIGHT LONG |
| Jan 5, 2018 | Denver, CO | 1515 E 47th Ave | 39 | 691.3712 | GETTIN' BASTED | BIG POPPA SMOKERS |
| Jan 11, 2019 | Denver, CO | 1515 E 47th Av | 38 | 691.9084 | Gettin' Basted | SMELL OUR BUTTS BAR-B-Q |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 179.4400 | 176 | 169.7028 |
| Pork Ribs | 177.7372 | 172.5600 | 170.2628 |
| Pork | 177.7144 | 172.5484 | 169.6684 |
| Brisket | 178.2972 | 170.8344 | 167.9656 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
38 entries · top 700.5600 · median 651.3258
Chicken
38 entries · top 179.4400 · median 164.5428
Pork Ribs
38 entries · top 177.7372 · median 163.9428
Pork
38 entries · top 177.7144 · median 165.4058
Brisket
38 entries · top 178.2972 · median 160.2686