A new contest record
703.3712
highest overall ever cooked here
703.3712 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 695.3712 SUBLIME BBQ set in 2016.
- old record 695.3712
- set 2016 by SUBLIME BBQ
Smoke Out in the Valley 2017
Jun 17–18, 2017 · Buckner, MO · 📍 317 S Hudson st
Fergolicious BBQ won Grand Champion at the Smoke Out in the Valley on June 17, 2017 in Buckner, MO at 317 S Hudson st, scoring 703.3712 in a field of 21 teams. THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SMOKE took Reserve Grand Champion with 701.1200. Category winners: Chicken — SONS OF A BRISKET (177.7372); Pork Ribs — Fergolicious BBQ (179.4400); Pork — Fergolicious BBQ (177.7028); Brisket — THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SMOKE (178.8572). This is the 3rd of 3 editions of this contest on record; the 2016 edition was won by SUBLIME 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.
613.55
median 678.21
703.37 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 177.74
- Pork Ribs 179.44
- Pork 177.70
- Brisket 178.86
136.50
179.44
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2015 to 2017 — this edition picked out.
Entries
21
4 judged meats · 2 ancillary
Top score
703.3712
Winning margin
2.2512
GC over RC
Field average
665.71
613.55703.37
median 678.21 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
2.8800 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
678.7540
613.55703.37
10th place overall
Field spread
89.8172
winner to last place
Double threats
6
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 21%
beats 79% of 4714 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
37%
11 of 30 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.76 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,599
avg power rating going in · stronger than 76% 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.
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 10 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 4–5: VALLEY OAKS STEAK COMPANY and SMOKE ON THE WATER tied on 174.8572 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 7–8: Fergolicious BBQ and THUMP & STRUM BBQ tied on 174.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 2–3: THUMP & STRUM BBQ and SONS OF A BRISKET tied on 177.7372 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 4–5 · tie
- Chicken 7–8 · tie
- Brisket 2–3 · tie
- Pork Ribs 8–9 · 0.0112
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
Fergolicious BBQ won Pork Ribs, Pork — a double, and took the Grand Championship on top of it.
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 1st
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
Fergolicious BBQ took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 2 outright wins — their weakest board was chicken at 7th.
- Chicken 7th
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 7th
A contest record in chicken
177.7372
best chicken ever cooked here
SONS OF A BRISKET turned in 177.7372 in chicken — past the 177.7028 that had stood across 2 earlier editions.
- old best 177.7028
- across 2 past editions
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 20, 2015 | Buckner, MO | Buckner, MO 64016 | 29 | 684.5484 | DIRT ROAD BBQ | SUBLIME BBQ |
| Jun 18, 2016 | Buckner, MO | Hudson St | 30 | 695.3712 | SUBLIME BBQ | DIRT ROAD BBQ |
| Jun 17, 2017 ← this one | Buckner, MO | 317 S Hudson st | 21 | 703.3712 | Fergolicious BBQ | THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SMOKE |
| Jun 9, 2018 | Buckner, MO | — | — | — | — | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 177.7372 | 174.8572 | 172.5716 |
| Pork Ribs | 179.4400 | 172 | 168.5600 |
| Pork | 177.7028 | 173.1200 | 170.2628 |
| Brisket | 178.8572 | 174.8456 | 166.2628 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
21 entries · top 703.3712 · median 678.2056
Chicken
21 entries · top 177.7372 · median 172.5600
Pork Ribs
21 entries · top 179.4400 · median 165.1084
Pork
21 entries · top 177.7028 · median 169.7028
Brisket
21 entries · top 178.8572 · median 165.6800
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
3 entries · top 162.3200 · median 154.7772
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Brothers BBQ | |
| 2 | WHISKEY SMOKERS | |
| 3 | HANG 'EM' HIGH |
Master Series — Dessert
4 entries · top 171.9656 · median 168.5828
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | UNFAMOUS DAVE'S | |
| 2 | WHISKEY SMOKERS | |
| 3 | HANG 'EM' HIGH | |
| 4 | VALLEY OAKS STEAK COMPANY |