A statement win
12.0348
points clear of the field
Wider than 92% of the 4,742 championships in the data
The champion won by 12.0348 points — a wider margin than 92% of championships in the data.
Smoke on the Water New Jersey State Barbecue Championship
2017-09-15 – 2017-09-17 · Atlantic City, NJ · 📍 1 Castle Rd
Grand Champion: GOOD SMOKE BBQ (692.5832) · 42 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 ROCKIN ROBYNS BBQ
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.
500.34
median 646.13
692.58 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 174.26
- Pork Ribs 174.31
- Pork 177.71
- Brisket 177.70
107.34
177.71
Entries
42
4 judged meats · 2 ancillary
Top score
692.5832
Winning margin
12.0348
GC over RC
Field average
640.57
500.34692.58
median 646.13 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
1.7144 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
671.3712
500.34692.58
10th place overall
Field spread
192.2408
winner to last place
Double threats
5
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 61%
beats 39% of 4707 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.77 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1577
avg power rating going in · stronger than 61% of contests
Storylines (3 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.
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 13 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 1–2: BEERBEQUE and ROCKIN ROBYNS BBQ tied on 174.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 2–3: ROCKIN ROBYNS BBQ and UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT tied on 174.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 5–6: Sauce This BBQ and GOOD SMOKE BBQ tied on 171.4172 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 1–2 · tie
- Chicken 2–3 · tie
- Chicken 5–6 · tie
- Chicken 9–10 · tie
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
GOOD SMOKE BBQ took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was chicken at 6th.
- Chicken 6th
- Pork Ribs 5th
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 4th
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 | 174.2628 | 171.4172 | 170.2972 |
| Pork Ribs | 174.3088 | 172.5944 | 167.9772 |
| Pork | 177.7144 | 170.8228 | 168.0000 |
| Brisket | 177.7028 | 170.8344 | 167.9656 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
42 entries · top 692.5832 · median 646.1258
Chicken
42 entries · top 174.2628 · median 163.7144
Pork Ribs
42 entries · top 174.3088 · median 162.2858
Pork
42 entries · top 177.7144 · median 163.3942
Brisket
42 entries · top 177.7028 · median 160.2400
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 — Sauce
19 entries · top 172.5600 · median 161.7028
Master Series — Steak
20 entries · top 174.2856 · median 167.1084
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | QUEGASM | |
| 2 | BLAZIN' BUTTZ BBQ | |
| 3 | POPPA Q-BBQ | |
| 4 | SMOKIN' HOT PIGGIES | |
| 5 | BURNT SIDE DOWN | |
| 6 | NICE RACKS | |
| 7 | Sauce This BBQ | |
| 8 | MITCH'S BBQ | |
| 9 | UP IN SMOKERS | |
| 10 | CHICKEN CHOKERS | |
| 11 | SMOKIN' TEX BBQ | |
| 12 | MOON RIVER BARBEQUE | |
| 13 | THE NOTORIOUS P.I.G. (AKA PIGGY SMALLZ BBQ) | |
| 14 | ROCKIN ROBYNS BBQ | |
| 15 | BEERBEQUE | |
| 16 | SMOKIN' ADDICTION | |
| 17 | LOCAL SMOKE BBQ | |
| 18 | JQSFINEBBQ | |
| 19 | BACKDRAFT BAR-B-Q CT | |
| 20 | BBQ PIT KING |