A new contest record
684.4800
highest overall ever cooked here
684.4800 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 678.8000 CHECKERED FLAG 500 BBQ set in 2016.
- old record 678.8000
- set 2016 by CHECKERED FLAG 500 BBQ
Que for the Troops 2017
Jun 2–3, 2017 · Levittown, PA · 📍 9125 Millcreek RD
LO' -N- SLO' BBQ won Grand Champion at the Que for the Troops on June 2, 2017 in Levittown, PA at 9125 Millcreek RD, scoring 684.4800 in a field of 63 teams. SMOKEN DUDES BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 677.6916. Category winners: Chicken — QUEGASM (177.7600); Pork Ribs — SMOKEN DUDES BBQ (173.2116); Pork — POPPA Q-BBQ (173.1544); Brisket — SIR-PORK'S-ALOT BBQ (174.8572). This is the 5th of 6 editions of this contest on record; the 2016 edition was won by CHECKERED FLAG 500 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.
473.67
median 643.92
684.48 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 177.76
- Pork Ribs 173.21
- Pork 173.15
- Brisket 174.86
129.10
177.76
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2013 to 2018 — this edition picked out.
Entries
63
4 judged meats · 2 ancillary
Top score
684.4800
Winning margin
6.7884
GC over RC
Field average
633.70
473.67684.48
median 643.92 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork
2.8572 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
665.0632
473.67684.48
10th place overall
Field spread
210.8112
winner to last place
Double threats
3
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 83%
beats 17% of 4715 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
66%
44 of 67 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.6 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,541
avg power rating going in · stronger than 30% 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
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
LO' -N- SLO' BBQ won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 3 calls from 4 boards, best of them 3rd. Consistency beat fireworks.
- Chicken 11th
- Pork Ribs 3rd
- Pork 4th
- Brisket 7th
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 14 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 7–8: PULLIN' MY MONEY MUSCLE and REDNECK SMOKE CLUB tied on 170.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 8–9: REDNECK SMOKE CLUB and UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT tied on 170.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 3–4: LO' -N- SLO' BBQ and SLIPPERY PETE'S BBQ tied on 172.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 7–8 · tie
- Chicken 8–9 · tie
- Pork Ribs 3–4 · tie
- Pork 7–8 · tie
A contest record in chicken
177.7600
best chicken ever cooked here
QUEGASM turned in 177.7600 in chicken — past the 177.7028 that had stood across 4 earlier editions.
- old best 177.7028
- across 4 past editions
Back to defend
3
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: WILBUR'S REVENGE (won 2013), DANTE'S INFERNO (won 2015), CHECKERED FLAG 500 BBQ (won 2016).
- WILBUR'S REVENGE · 2013
- DANTE'S INFERNO · 2015
- CHECKERED FLAG 500 BBQ · 2016
One of the big ones
63
teams on the grounds
Bigger than 93% of the 5,469 contests in the data
63 teams — bigger than 93% of the 5,469 contests in the data.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 2013 | Levittown, PA | Levittown, PA | 46 | 658.2858 | WILBUR'S REVENGE | FIRE & SPICE |
| Jun 6, 2014 | Levittown, PA | Levittown, PA | 65 | 665.0968 | SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA | STUBBORN BULL BBQ |
| Jun 5, 2015 | Levittown, PA | Levittown, PA 19030 | 54 | 678.2972 | DANTE'S INFERNO | CHECKERED FLAG 500 BBQ |
| Jun 3, 2016 | Levittown, PA | 3125 Millcreek | 67 | 678.8000 | CHECKERED FLAG 500 BBQ | HAWG NATION BBQ |
| Jun 2, 2017 ← this one | Levittown, PA | 9125 Millcreek RD | 63 | 684.4800 | LO' -N- SLO' BBQ | SMOKEN DUDES BBQ |
| Jun 1, 2018 | Levittown, PA | 9125 Millcreek RD | 61 | 681.7028 | UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT | OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 177.7600 | 172.0116 | 169.7028 |
| Pork Ribs | 173.2116 | 169.6684 | 166.8456 |
| Pork | 173.1544 | 170.2972 | 169.1200 |
| Brisket | 174.8572 | 171.9656 | 169.1428 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
63 entries · top 684.4800 · median 643.9204
Chicken
63 entries · top 177.7600 · median 162.8344
Pork Ribs
63 entries · top 173.2116 · median 160.5372
Pork
62 entries · top 173.1544 · median 158.8514
Brisket
63 entries · top 174.8572 · median 158.2400
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 — Anything Butt
23 entries · top 176.0228 · median 159.4172
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DEAD ON Q | |
| 2 | BURNT SIDE DOWN | |
| 3 | A 2 Z | |
| 4 | WE RIB U LONG TIME | |
| 5 | SMOKEN DUDES BBQ | |
| 6 | TORTUGA BBQ | |
| 7 | POPPA Q-BBQ | |
| 8 | A-QUE | |
| 9 | JURASSIC PORK - PA | |
| 10 | EASTERN BEAST BBQ TEAM | |
| 11 | OCM (OINK CLUCK MOO) BBQ | |
| 12 | COOKS N HOOKS | |
| 13 | SMOKIN' TEX BBQ | |
| 14 | HERM'S HOGS | |
| 15 | DR. PEARL'S MEDICINAL SMOKE BBQ TEAM | |
| 16 | HERDER HERDER BBQ | |
| 17 | B'S QUE | |
| 18 | DANTE'S INFERNO | |
| 19 | BITE BACK BBQ | |
| 20 | PULLIN' MY MONEY MUSCLE | |
| 21 | PIG CANDY BARBEQUE CO. | |
| 22 | CARVER'S Q | |
| 23 | ENGINEERED SMOKE |
Master Series — Dessert
24 entries · top 177.7028 · median 156.8514