A first Grand Championship
35
tracked contests to get there
This was SMOKE FREAKS's first Grand Championship in the data — it arrived at their 35th tracked contest.
Harbor-Que 2017
Oct 6–7, 2017 · Winthrop Harbor, IL · 📍 38 Acre Park, 9th st
SMOKE FREAKS won Grand Champion at the Harbor-Que on October 6, 2017 in Winthrop Harbor, IL at 38 Acre Park, 9th st, scoring 688.0000 in a field of 23 teams. STRESS RELIEF BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 670.8000. Category winners: Chicken — SMOKE FREAKS (173.7144); Pork Ribs — SMOKE FREAKS (176.0000); Pork — SMOKE FREAKS (173.7600); Brisket — STRESS RELIEF BBQ (173.1544). This is the 1st of 3 editions of this contest on record; 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.
393.15
median 638.70
688 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 173.71
- Pork Ribs 176
- Pork 173.76
- Brisket 173.15
107.38
176
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2017 to 2018 — this edition picked out.
Entries
23
4 judged meats
Top score
688
Winning margin
17.2000
GC over RC
Field average
629.15
393.15688
median 638.70 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork
5.2000 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
647.9200
393.15688
10th place overall
Field spread
294.8456
winner to last place
Double threats
5
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 76%
beats 24% of 4723 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.75 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,536
avg power rating going in · stronger than 27% 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
17.2000
points clear of the field
Wider than 98% of the 4,722 championships in the data
The champion won by 17.2000 points — a wider margin than 98% of championships in the data.
A hat-trick of category wins
3
category wins in a day
SMOKE FREAKS won Chicken, Pork Ribs, Pork — a hat-trick, and took the Grand Championship on top of it.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 1st
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 8 calls decided inside half a point
Pork places 6–7: THE BBQ BUS and KANAK ATTACK tied on 167.9656 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 4–5: KAVE DWELLERS edged FLYIN' FINN BREWERY & BBQ by 0.0116. Brisket places 4–5: BIG "E" BBQ edged SMOKE FREAKS by 0.0228.
- Pork 6–7 · tie
- Chicken 4–5 · 0.0116
- Brisket 4–5 · 0.0228
- Chicken 2–3 · 0.0344
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
SMOKE FREAKS took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 3 outright wins — their weakest board was brisket at 5th.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 5th
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 6, 2017 ← this one | Winthrop Harbor, IL | 38 Acre Park, 9th st | 23 | 688 | SMOKE FREAKS | STRESS RELIEF BBQ |
| Oct 5, 2018 | Winthrop Harbor, IL | Winthrop Harbor, IL 60096 | 28 | 689.6572 | BIG "E" BBQ | QUE U |
| Oct 6, 2018 | Winthrop Harbor, IL | 38 Acre Park, 9th st | 7 | 322.7772 | SOON TO BE SAUCED | Jackpine Savage |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 173.7144 | 166.8228 | 163.4056 |
| Pork Ribs | 176 | 166.8344 | 163.4172 |
| Pork | 173.7600 | 168.5600 | 161.7028 |
| Brisket | 173.1544 | 164.5256 | 159.9772 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
23 entries · top 688 · median 638.6968
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SMOKE FREAKS | |
| 2 | STRESS RELIEF BBQ | |
| 3 | KAVE DWELLERS | |
| 4 | BLUE ISLAND BBQ CO. | |
| 5 | KANAK ATTACK | |
| 6 | BIG "E" BBQ | |
| 7 | THE BBQ BUS | |
| 8 | Littles BBQ Co | |
| 9 | CHANNABILLY BBQ | |
| 10 | FLYIN' FINN BREWERY & BBQ | |
| 11 | THE BBQ SHERPAS | |
| 12 | A BOY NAMED QUE | |
| 13 | WE WILL ROCK QUE | |
| 14 | TWO BREWS BBQ | |
| 15 | QUE U | |
| 16 | HAZY BLUE BBQ | |
| 17 | CARNIVORE'S PARADISE | |
| 18 | 2NQUE | |
| 19 | DESIGNATED SMOKIN' AREA | |
| 20 | JC'S RIB-RIPPIN GOOD BBQ | |
| 21 | SMOKE HARBOR BBQ | |
| 22 | BRASS MONKEY BBQ | |
| 23 | Honey Bay's BBQ |
Chicken
22 entries · top 173.7144 · median 161.6856
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SMOKE FREAKS | |
| 2 | BIG "E" BBQ | |
| 3 | BLUE ISLAND BBQ CO. | |
| 4 | KAVE DWELLERS | |
| 5 | FLYIN' FINN BREWERY & BBQ | |
| 6 | THE BBQ BUS | |
| 7 | CHANNABILLY BBQ | |
| 8 | KANAK ATTACK | |
| 9 | STRESS RELIEF BBQ | |
| 10 | THE BBQ SHERPAS | |
| 11 | Littles BBQ Co | |
| 12 | A BOY NAMED QUE | |
| 13 | CARNIVORE'S PARADISE | |
| 14 | 2NQUE | |
| 15 | TWO BREWS BBQ | |
| 16 | QUE U | |
| 17 | JC'S RIB-RIPPIN GOOD BBQ | |
| 18 | HAZY BLUE BBQ | |
| 19 | WE WILL ROCK QUE | |
| 20 | BRASS MONKEY BBQ | |
| 21 | SMOKE HARBOR BBQ | |
| 22 | DESIGNATED SMOKIN' AREA |
Pork Ribs
23 entries · top 176 · median 161.6572
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SMOKE FREAKS | |
| 2 | TWO BREWS BBQ | |
| 3 | THE BBQ BUS | |
| 4 | Littles BBQ Co | |
| 5 | CHANNABILLY BBQ | |
| 6 | BIG "E" BBQ | |
| 7 | THE BBQ SHERPAS | |
| 8 | 2NQUE | |
| 9 | BLUE ISLAND BBQ CO. | |
| 10 | STRESS RELIEF BBQ | |
| 11 | A BOY NAMED QUE | |
| 12 | KAVE DWELLERS | |
| 13 | HAZY BLUE BBQ | |
| 14 | FLYIN' FINN BREWERY & BBQ | |
| 15 | KANAK ATTACK | |
| 16 | JC'S RIB-RIPPIN GOOD BBQ | |
| 17 | WE WILL ROCK QUE | |
| 18 | CARNIVORE'S PARADISE | |
| 19 | DESIGNATED SMOKIN' AREA | |
| 20 | SMOKE HARBOR BBQ | |
| 21 | QUE U | |
| 22 | BRASS MONKEY BBQ | |
| 23 | Honey Bay's BBQ |
Pork
23 entries · top 173.7600 · median 160.5372
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SMOKE FREAKS | |
| 2 | BLUE ISLAND BBQ CO. | |
| 3 | KAVE DWELLERS | |
| 4 | STRESS RELIEF BBQ | |
| 5 | WE WILL ROCK QUE | |
| 6 | THE BBQ BUS | |
| 7 | KANAK ATTACK | |
| 8 | HAZY BLUE BBQ | |
| 9 | QUE U | |
| 10 | BIG "E" BBQ | |
| 11 | CHANNABILLY BBQ | |
| 12 | Littles BBQ Co | |
| 13 | SMOKE HARBOR BBQ | |
| 14 | FLYIN' FINN BREWERY & BBQ | |
| 15 | TWO BREWS BBQ | |
| 16 | DESIGNATED SMOKIN' AREA | |
| 17 | Honey Bay's BBQ | |
| 18 | A BOY NAMED QUE | |
| 19 | BRASS MONKEY BBQ | |
| 20 | JC'S RIB-RIPPIN GOOD BBQ | |
| 21 | CARNIVORE'S PARADISE | |
| 22 | THE BBQ SHERPAS | |
| 23 | 2NQUE |
Brisket
23 entries · top 173.1544 · median 159.3828
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | STRESS RELIEF BBQ | |
| 2 | KANAK ATTACK | |
| 3 | KAVE DWELLERS | |
| 4 | BIG "E" BBQ | |
| 5 | SMOKE FREAKS | |
| 6 | Littles BBQ Co | |
| 7 | FLYIN' FINN BREWERY & BBQ | |
| 8 | WE WILL ROCK QUE | |
| 9 | A BOY NAMED QUE | |
| 10 | BLUE ISLAND BBQ CO. | |
| 11 | CHANNABILLY BBQ | |
| 12 | THE BBQ SHERPAS | |
| 13 | QUE U | |
| 14 | DESIGNATED SMOKIN' AREA | |
| 15 | CARNIVORE'S PARADISE | |
| 16 | THE BBQ BUS | |
| 17 | 2NQUE | |
| 18 | TWO BREWS BBQ | |
| 19 | JC'S RIB-RIPPIN GOOD BBQ | |
| 20 | SMOKE HARBOR BBQ | |
| 21 | HAZY BLUE BBQ | |
| 22 | BRASS MONKEY BBQ | |
| 23 | Honey Bay's BBQ |