A new contest record
699.3828
highest overall ever cooked here
699.3828 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 681.6800 The BBQ Ranch set in 2025.
- old record 681.6800
- set 2025 by The BBQ Ranch
Marchfelder Feuerfest 2026
May 2–3, 2026 · Orth an der Donau, Austria · AUSTRIA · 📍 Graf - Salm - Gasse 2
Reps: Andreas Schnoell, Eva Schnoell
BBQ Hot Yard won Grand Champion at the Marchfelder Feuerfest on May 2, 2026 in Orth an der Donau, NO at Graf - Salm - Gasse 2, scoring 699.3828 in a field of 8 teams. 3BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 688.5944. Category winners: Chicken — SCHLUCHTENGRILLER BBQ (178.8572); Pork Ribs — COOKLOUNGE BBQ (175.4288); Pork — 3BBQ (180.0000); Brisket — BBQ Hot Yard (177.1544). This is the 3rd of 6 editions of this contest on record; the 2025 edition was won by Barbecoa BBQ Team; the next was held in 2026.
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.
660.98
median 681.04
699.38 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 178.86
- Pork Ribs 175.43
- Pork 180 🔥
- Brisket 177.15
147.35
180
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2025 to 2026 — this edition picked out.
Entries
8
4 judged meats
Top score
699.3828
Winning margin
10.7884
GC over RC
Field average
681.06
660.98699.38
median 681.04 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Chicken
2.2972 pts across the top 5
Field spread
38.3996
winner to last place
Double threats
7
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 36%
beats 64% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Weak
ρ = 0.69 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,570
avg power rating going in
Storylines (8 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.
An upset on the books
18-in-100
shot on pre-contest ratings
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 82 times in 100
BBQ Hot Yard came in rated below the field's top team, COOKLOUNGE BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 18-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
- champion 1528
- top seed 1796
A first Grand Championship
20
tracked contests to get there
This was BBQ Hot Yard's first Grand Championship in the data — it arrived at their 20th tracked contest.
A statement win
10.7884
points clear of the field
Wider than 89% of the 4,710 championships in the data
The champion won by 10.7884 points — a wider margin than 89% of championships in the data.
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 4 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 4–5: COOKLOUNGE BBQ and Woodquarter Smokerheads tied on 176.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 3–4: Onkel Felix BBQ and BBQ Hot Yard tied on 176.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 6–7: 3BBQ edged Stammtischgriller by 0.0116.
- Chicken 4–5 · tie
- Pork 3–4 · tie
- Chicken 6–7 · 0.0116
- Pork Ribs 2–3 · 0.0344
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
BBQ Hot Yard took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was chicken at 8th.
- Chicken 8th
- Pork Ribs 4th
- Pork 4th
- Brisket 1st
A contest record in brisket
177.1544
best brisket ever cooked here
BBQ Hot Yard turned in 177.1544 in brisket — past the 170.8112 that had stood across 2 earlier editions.
- old best 170.8112
- across 2 past editions
A perfect score on the table
1
perfect 180s
1 perfect 180 was scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- 3BBQ · Pork
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 3, 2025 | Orth an der Donau, NO | Graf - Salm - Gasse 2 | 12 | 681.6800 | The BBQ Ranch | Woodquarter Smokerheads |
| May 3, 2025 | Orth an der Donau, NO | Graf - Salm - Gasse 2 | 13 | 175.4172 | Barbecoa BBQ Team | — |
| May 2, 2026 ← this one | Orth an der Donau, NO | Graf - Salm - Gasse 2 | 8 | 699.3828 | BBQ Hot Yard | 3BBQ |
| May 2, 2026 | Orth an der Donau, NO | Graf - Salm - Gasse 2 | 7 | 176.5600 | Woodquarter Smokerheads | — |
| Jul 3, 2027 | Orth an der Donau, NO | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jul 3, 2027 | Orth an der Donau, NO | — | — | — | — | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 178.8572 | 176.5600 | — |
| Pork Ribs | 175.4288 | 172.0228 | — |
| Pork | 180 | 171.4056 | — |
| Brisket | 177.1544 | 161.6340 | — |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
8 entries · top 699.3828 · median 681.0398
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BBQ Hot Yard | |
| 2 | 3BBQ | |
| 3 | Onkel Felix BBQ | |
| 4 | Szendo Smoke BBQ Team | |
| 5 | Stammtischgriller | |
| 6 | SCHLUCHTENGRILLER BBQ | |
| 7 | Woodquarter Smokerheads | |
| 8 | COOKLOUNGE BBQ |
Chicken
8 entries · top 178.8572 · median 176.5600
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SCHLUCHTENGRILLER BBQ | |
| 2 | Szendo Smoke BBQ Team | |
| 3 | Onkel Felix BBQ | |
| 4 | COOKLOUNGE BBQ | |
| 5 | Woodquarter Smokerheads | |
| 6 | 3BBQ | |
| 7 | Stammtischgriller | |
| 8 | BBQ Hot Yard |
Pork Ribs
8 entries · top 175.4288 · median 172.2914
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | COOKLOUNGE BBQ | |
| 2 | Onkel Felix BBQ | |
| 3 | Szendo Smoke BBQ Team | |
| 4 | BBQ Hot Yard | |
| 5 | 3BBQ | |
| 6 | SCHLUCHTENGRILLER BBQ | |
| 7 | Stammtischgriller | |
| 8 | Woodquarter Smokerheads |
Pork
8 entries · top 180 · median 173.9828 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3BBQ | |
| 2 | Woodquarter Smokerheads | |
| 3 | Onkel Felix BBQ | |
| 4 | BBQ Hot Yard | |
| 5 | Szendo Smoke BBQ Team | |
| 6 | SCHLUCHTENGRILLER BBQ | |
| 7 | Stammtischgriller | |
| 8 | COOKLOUNGE BBQ |
Brisket
8 entries · top 177.1544 · median 162.2456
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BBQ Hot Yard | |
| 2 | Stammtischgriller | |
| 3 | SCHLUCHTENGRILLER BBQ | |
| 4 | 3BBQ | |
| 5 | Woodquarter Smokerheads | |
| 6 | Szendo Smoke BBQ Team | |
| 7 | Onkel Felix BBQ | |
| 8 | COOKLOUNGE BBQ |