A new contest record
687.4284
highest overall ever cooked here
687.4284 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 663.9768 TRASH CAN COOKERS set in 2014.
- old record 663.9768
- set 2014 by TRASH CAN COOKERS
Cedar Fest BBQ Cook-Off 2017
Mar 31 – Apr 1, 2017 · Cedar Park, TX · 📍 1901 Sunchase Blvd
FAT BOYS BBQ - TEMPLE, TX won Grand Champion at the Cedar Fest BBQ Cook-Off on March 31, 2017 in Cedar Park, TX at 1901 Sunchase Blvd, scoring 687.4284 in a field of 70 teams. ROLLIN' SMOKE BBQ TEXAS took Reserve Grand Champion with 678.8572. Category winners: Chicken — BUTTRUB.COM (176.0000); Pork Ribs — MASON DIXON SWINE (178.3200); Pork — Blue Smoke BBQ of Frisco (174.8572); Brisket — The Lone Star BBQ Crew (176.5600). This is the 2nd of 8 editions of this contest on record; the 2014 edition was won by TRASH CAN COOKERS; 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.
449.63
median 623.11
687.43 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 176
- Pork Ribs 178.32
- Pork 174.86
- Brisket 176.56
124.55
178.32
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2014 to 2026 — this edition picked out.
Entries
70
4 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
687.4284
Winning margin
8.5712
GC over RC
Field average
620.74
449.63687.43
median 623.11 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork
2.2400 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
660.5372
449.63687.43
10th place overall
Field spread
237.7940
winner to last place
Double threats
4
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 77%
beats 23% of 4715 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
20%
10 of 50 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Weak
ρ = -0.29 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,509
avg power rating going in · stronger than 6% of contests
Storylines (6 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
FAT BOYS BBQ - TEMPLE, TX won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 4 calls from 4 boards, best of them 2nd. Consistency beat fireworks.
- Chicken 2nd
- Pork Ribs 10th
- Pork 9th
- Brisket 3rd
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 8 calls decided inside half a point
Brisket places 1–2: The Lone Star BBQ Crew and Lucky Dawgs' BBQ tied on 176.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 6–7: SMOKIN HOT BBQ and CRS Barbecue tied on 172.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 8–9: ONE MAN PITS and TEXAS SMOKE WHISPERER tied on 171.9656 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Brisket 1–2 · tie
- Brisket 6–7 · tie
- Brisket 8–9 · tie
- Pork 8–9 · 0.0116
A contest record in pork ribs
178.3200
best pork ribs ever cooked here
MASON DIXON SWINE turned in 178.3200 in pork ribs — past the 175.4516 that had stood across 1 earlier editions.
- old best 175.4516
- across 1 past editions
One of the big ones
70
teams on the grounds
Bigger than 95% of the 5,469 contests in the data
70 teams — bigger than 95% of the 5,469 contests in the data.
The contest returns
3 yrs
since the last edition
This contest was away for 3 years — the previous tracked edition ran on 2014-04-04.
- previous edition 2014-04-04
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 4, 2014 | Cedar Park, TX | Cedar Park, TX 78630 | 50 | 663.9768 | TRASH CAN COOKERS | ONE MAN PITS |
| Mar 31, 2017 ← this one | Cedar Park, TX | 1901 Sunchase Blvd | 70 | 687.4284 | FAT BOYS BBQ - TEMPLE, TX | ROLLIN' SMOKE BBQ TEXAS |
| Apr 6, 2018 | Cedar Park, TX | 1901 Sunchase Blvd | 69 | 693.6800 | ROOFTOP BBQ | FAT BOYS BBQ - TEMPLE, TX |
| Apr 5, 2019 | Cedar Park, TX | 1901 Sunchase Blvd | 61 | 701.7372 | Texas-car-b-que | KISS MY RACK |
| Jun 4, 2021 | Cedar Park, TX | 1901 Sun Chase Blvd | 48 | 702.8800 | Chicken Fried BBQ | LA PASADITA |
| Apr 1, 2022 | Cedar Park, TX | 1901 Sun Chase Blvd | 56 | 698.2284 | Chingon BBQ | Texas Chrome Hero's Foundation |
| Apr 10, 2026 | Cedar Park, TX | Elizabeth Milburn Park Cedar Park | 41 | 702.8228 | PS I LOVE YOU BBQ | Si Quema BBQ |
| Apr 2, 2027 | Cedar Park, TX | — | — | — | — | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 176 | 173.1544 | 168.5600 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.3200 | 172.0572 | 166.8800 |
| Pork | 174.8572 | 172.6172 | 169.1428 |
| Brisket | 176.5600 | 172.5828 | 168.5600 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
70 entries · top 687.4284 · median 623.1144
Chicken
68 entries · top 176 · median 156.5256
Pork Ribs
70 entries · top 178.3200 · median 157.4572
Pork
70 entries · top 174.8572 · median 158.2458
Brisket
70 entries · top 176.5600 · median 152.8400
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 — Cook'S Choice
39 entries · top 173.7372 · median 158.3200