A first Grand Championship
1
title in the data
This was Grilldroids's first Grand Championship in the data.
BBQ Fest Costa Rica
2017-03-04 – 2017-03-05 · Costa Rica, · COSTA RICA · 📍 Centro De Events Pedregal
Grand Champion: Grilldroids (665.0512) · 18 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 BBQ COSTA RICA
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.
578.10
median 626.82
665.05 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 173.15
- Pork Ribs 173.12
- Pork 175.44
- Brisket 174.26
131.38
175.44
Entries
18
4 judged meats · 2 ancillary
Top score
665.0512
Winning margin
10.1484
GC over RC
Field average
626.50
578.10665.05
median 626.82 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
10.2516 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
626.3196
578.10665.05
10th place overall
Field spread
86.9488
winner to last place
Double threats
7
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 98%
beats 2% of 4707 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Weak
ρ = -0.01 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1497
avg power rating going in · stronger than 0% 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 statement win
10.1484
points clear of the field
Wider than 87% of the 4,742 championships in the data
The champion won by 10.1484 points — a wider margin than 87% of championships in the data.
A rookie on the podium
1st
at their first tracked contest
GRILLDROIDS finished 1st overall in the first contest the data has them cooking at all.
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 4 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 7–8: Parrilla Boys and Parrilleros de Ujarras tied on 161.7372 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 3–4: Master Brasa edged BBQ COSTA RICA by 0.0228. Pork places 5–6: HOLY SMOKERS edged BUTCHER AT HOME by 0.0572.
- Chicken 7–8 · tie
- Chicken 3–4 · 0.0228
- Pork 5–6 · 0.0572
- Pork Ribs 7–8 · 0.1032
How the title was won
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
Grilldroids took the title on 3 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was pork at 14th.
- Chicken 2nd
- Pork Ribs 3rd
- Pork 14th
- Brisket 1st
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-03-04 ← this one | Costa Rica, | Centro De Events Pedregal | 18 | 665.0512 | Grilldroids | BBQ COSTA RICA |
| 2026-02-21 | Alajuela, 10903 | Campo Lago | 18 | 682.8232 | Smoke 44 | Justice BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 173.1544 | 162.9028 | 159.9656 |
| Pork Ribs | 173.1200 | 162.8112 | 158.8456 |
| Pork | 175.4400 | 164.0572 | 157.7028 |
| Brisket | 174.2628 | 157.1084 | 150.2744 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
18 entries · top 665.0512 · median 626.8226
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grilldroids | |
| 2 | BBQ COSTA RICA | |
| 3 | Ahumo | |
| 4 | Tiquicia Food Company | |
| 5 | BROs | |
| 6 | Jow's BBQ Team | |
| 7 | BBQ HOLICS | |
| 8 | Parrilla Boys | |
| 9 | Humo Tropical | |
| 10 | Master Brasa | |
| 11 | BUTCHER AT HOME | |
| 12 | HOLY SMOKERS | |
| 13 | GO PIG....OR GO HOME | |
| 14 | Parrilleros de Ujarras | |
| 15 | TEC BBQ | |
| 16 | Alquimia del Fuego | |
| 17 | Rock Eating by IQ | |
| 18 | Krado |
Chicken
18 entries · top 173.1544 · median 160.5486
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ahumo | |
| 2 | Grilldroids | |
| 3 | Master Brasa | |
| 4 | BBQ COSTA RICA | |
| 5 | BBQ HOLICS | |
| 6 | HOLY SMOKERS | |
| 7 | Parrilla Boys | |
| 8 | Parrilleros de Ujarras | |
| 9 | Tiquicia Food Company | |
| 10 | Alquimia del Fuego | |
| 11 | Humo Tropical | |
| 12 | Rock Eating by IQ | |
| 13 | TEC BBQ | |
| 14 | BROs | |
| 15 | GO PIG....OR GO HOME | |
| 16 | Jow's BBQ Team | |
| 17 | BUTCHER AT HOME | |
| 18 | Krado |
Pork Ribs
18 entries · top 173.1200 · median 159.4400
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jow's BBQ Team | |
| 2 | Parrilla Boys | |
| 3 | Grilldroids | |
| 4 | HOLY SMOKERS | |
| 5 | BBQ COSTA RICA | |
| 6 | Humo Tropical | |
| 7 | Master Brasa | |
| 8 | BUTCHER AT HOME | |
| 9 | TEC BBQ | |
| 10 | BBQ HOLICS | |
| 11 | Tiquicia Food Company | |
| 12 | BROs | |
| 13 | Parrilleros de Ujarras | |
| 14 | GO PIG....OR GO HOME | |
| 15 | Ahumo | |
| 16 | Krado | |
| 17 | Alquimia del Fuego | |
| 18 | Rock Eating by IQ |
Pork
18 entries · top 175.4400 · median 159.1200
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tiquicia Food Company | |
| 2 | BBQ HOLICS | |
| 3 | BROs | |
| 4 | Jow's BBQ Team | |
| 5 | HOLY SMOKERS | |
| 6 | BUTCHER AT HOME | |
| 7 | Ahumo | |
| 8 | BBQ COSTA RICA | |
| 9 | Humo Tropical | |
| 10 | GO PIG....OR GO HOME | |
| 11 | TEC BBQ | |
| 12 | Alquimia del Fuego | |
| 13 | Rock Eating by IQ | |
| 14 | Grilldroids | |
| 15 | Master Brasa | |
| 16 | Parrilla Boys | |
| 17 | Parrilleros de Ujarras | |
| 18 | Krado |
Brisket
18 entries · top 174.2628 · median 150.8688
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grilldroids | |
| 2 | BROs | |
| 3 | BBQ COSTA RICA | |
| 4 | Ahumo | |
| 5 | Parrilleros de Ujarras | |
| 6 | GO PIG....OR GO HOME | |
| 7 | Parrilla Boys | |
| 8 | Tiquicia Food Company | |
| 9 | Alquimia del Fuego | |
| 10 | BUTCHER AT HOME | |
| 11 | Jow's BBQ Team | |
| 12 | Master Brasa | |
| 13 | Humo Tropical | |
| 14 | BBQ HOLICS | |
| 15 | Rock Eating by IQ | |
| 16 | Krado | |
| 17 | HOLY SMOKERS | |
| 18 | TEC BBQ |
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 — Dessert
18 entries · top 180.0000 · median 164.0230 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BBQ COSTA RICA | |
| 2 | Krado | |
| 3 | Ahumo | |
| 4 | GO PIG....OR GO HOME | |
| 5 | BUTCHER AT HOME | |
| 6 | Grilldroids | |
| 7 | Parrilla Boys | |
| 8 | Humo Tropical | |
| 9 | Jow's BBQ Team | |
| 10 | Rock Eating by IQ | |
| 11 | Tiquicia Food Company | |
| 12 | BROs | |
| 13 | HOLY SMOKERS | |
| 14 | Master Brasa | |
| 15 | Alquimia del Fuego | |
| 16 | Parrilleros de Ujarras | |
| 17 | BBQ HOLICS | |
| 18 | TEC BBQ |
Master Series — Surprise
18 entries · top 173.7256 · median 159.1202
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rock Eating by IQ | |
| 2 | TEC BBQ | |
| 3 | BUTCHER AT HOME | |
| 4 | BBQ HOLICS | |
| 5 | HOLY SMOKERS | |
| 6 | Humo Tropical | |
| 7 | Tiquicia Food Company | |
| 8 | Alquimia del Fuego | |
| 9 | BROs | |
| 10 | Parrilleros de Ujarras | |
| 11 | Master Brasa | |
| 12 | Grilldroids | |
| 13 | Jow's BBQ Team | |
| 14 | BBQ COSTA RICA | |
| 15 | GO PIG....OR GO HOME | |
| 16 | Parrilla Boys | |
| 17 | Ahumo | |
| 18 | Krado |