A dynasty in the making
2×
wins at this contest
2 of 7 tracked editions
MIDNIGHT BURN has won this contest 2 times across its 7 tracked editions.
- 2017
- 2018
Mountain High BBQ Festival & Car Show 2017
Aug 11–12, 2017 · Franklin, NC · 📍 1436 Georgia Rd
MIDNIGHT BURN won Grand Champion at the Mountain High BBQ Festival & Car Show on August 11, 2017 in Franklin, NC at 1436 Georgia Rd, scoring 688.5140 in a field of 34 teams. CREEKSIDE SMOKERS NC took Reserve Grand Champion with 685.0628. Category winners: Chicken — MIDNIGHT BURN (179.4400); Pork Ribs — ROCKY TOP BARBEQUE (176.0000); Pork — ROCKY TOP BARBEQUE (174.8572); Brisket — BROTHER IN LAW BBQ TEAM - NC (175.4172). This is the 5th of 7 editions of this contest on record; the 2016 edition was won by HICKORY PRIME; 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.
622.63
median 658.97
688.51 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 179.44
- Pork Ribs 176
- Pork 174.86
- Brisket 175.42
142.74
179.44
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2013 to 2019 — this edition picked out.
Entries
34
4 judged meats · 7 ancillary
Top score
688.5140
Winning margin
3.4512
GC over RC
Field average
658.13
622.63688.51
median 658.97 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork
2.8572 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
667.2912
622.63688.51
10th place overall
Field spread
65.8860
winner to last place
Double threats
5
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 75%
beats 25% of 4714 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
44%
15 of 34 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.7 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,569
avg power rating going in · stronger than 54% 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 7 calls decided inside half a point
Pork Ribs places 7–8: HICKORY BARBEQUE COMPANY and THE BLUE BLOODS tied on 168.5372 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 2–3: THE BLUE BLOODS and SWIG-N-PIG tied on 173.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 6–7: SMOKE THIS edged ROCKY TOP BARBEQUE by 0.0116.
- Pork Ribs 7–8 · tie
- Pork 2–3 · tie
- Chicken 6–7 · 0.0116
- Chicken 9–10 · 0.0116
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
ROCKY TOP BARBEQUE won Pork Ribs, Pork — a double.
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 1st
How the title was won
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
MIDNIGHT BURN took the title on 3 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was pork at 12th.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 9th
- Pork 12th
- Brisket 2nd
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: PICKIN' PORKERS (won 2015).
- PICKIN' PORKERS · 2015
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 9, 2013 | Franklin, NC | Franklin, NC | 49 | 698.2516 | SWAMP BOYS | SMOKE IN THE MOUNTAINS |
| Aug 8, 2014 | Frankllin, NC | Frankllin, NC 28734 | 39 | 695.9656 | JACK'S OLD SOUTH | SMOKE THIS |
| Aug 7, 2015 | Franklin, NC | Franklin, NC 28734 | 36 | 695.9544 | PICKIN' PORKERS | SWAMP BOYS |
| Aug 12, 2016 | Franklin, NC | Macon County Fair Grounds | 34 | 699.9884 | HICKORY PRIME | MIDNIGHT BURN |
| Aug 11, 2017 ← this one | Franklin, NC | 1436 Georgia Rd | 34 | 688.5140 | MIDNIGHT BURN | CREEKSIDE SMOKERS NC |
| Aug 10, 2018 | Franklin, NC | 1436 Georgia Rd | 51 | 699.9544 | MIDNIGHT BURN | CONTAGIOUS Q |
| Aug 9, 2019 | Franklin, NC | Macon County Fairgrounds | 29 | 697.0744 | WHO CARES BBQ | MIDNIGHT BURN |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 179.4400 | 173.7144 | 171.4056 |
| Pork Ribs | 176 | 170.2628 | 167.3944 |
| Pork | 174.8572 | 172 | 168.5600 |
| Brisket | 175.4172 | 171.4400 | 166.8228 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
34 entries · top 688.5140 · median 658.9656
Chicken
34 entries · top 179.4400 · median 167.3942
Pork Ribs
34 entries · top 176 · median 163.9428
Pork
34 entries · top 174.8572 · median 165.1142
Brisket
34 entries · top 175.4172 · median 162.5370
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
8 entries · top 177.7372 · median 153.9828
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | IRON PIG BBQ | |
| 2 | BONAFIDE BBQ | |
| 3 | WEEKEND WARRIORS | |
| 4 | DIRTY OL' BUTT SLAPPERS | |
| 5 | HIGHWAY 28 NORTH COOKERS | |
| 6 | TOO SAUCED TO PORK | |
| 7 | OLE SMOKEY BARBECUE CREW | |
| 8 | MIDNIGHT BURN |
Master Series — Backyard Champion
9 entries · top 501.6460 · median 479.9432
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DOCTOR CUE NC | |
| 2 | TOO SAUCED TO PORK | |
| 3 | Brickhouse BBQ | |
| 4 | TEAM SWAG BBQ | |
| 5 | BACKYARD PORKERS | |
| 6 | BONAFIDE BBQ | |
| 7 | 3 GUYS & A BOTTLE | |
| 8 | HIGHWAY 28 NORTH COOKERS | |
| 9 | Smokin Butts BBQ |
Master Series — Backyard Chicken
9 entries · top 173.1316 · median 161.6688
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brickhouse BBQ | |
| 2 | TOO SAUCED TO PORK | |
| 3 | DOCTOR CUE NC | |
| 4 | BONAFIDE BBQ | |
| 5 | TEAM SWAG BBQ | |
| 6 | BACKYARD PORKERS | |
| 7 | Smokin Butts BBQ | |
| 8 | 3 GUYS & A BOTTLE | |
| 9 | HIGHWAY 28 NORTH COOKERS |
Master Series — Backyard Pork
8 entries · top 174.2628 · median 163.6914
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | TOO SAUCED TO PORK | |
| 2 | BACKYARD PORKERS | |
| 3 | TEAM SWAG BBQ | |
| 4 | Brickhouse BBQ | |
| 5 | HIGHWAY 28 NORTH COOKERS | |
| 6 | DOCTOR CUE NC | |
| 7 | 3 GUYS & A BOTTLE | |
| 8 | BONAFIDE BBQ |
Master Series — Backyard Ribs
9 entries · top 170.2744 · median 158.2628
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DOCTOR CUE NC | |
| 2 | 3 GUYS & A BOTTLE | |
| 3 | TEAM SWAG BBQ | |
| 4 | HIGHWAY 28 NORTH COOKERS | |
| 5 | BONAFIDE BBQ | |
| 6 | Smokin Butts BBQ | |
| 7 | BACKYARD PORKERS | |
| 8 | Brickhouse BBQ | |
| 9 | TOO SAUCED TO PORK |
Master Series — Dessert
10 entries · top 176.5600 · median 164.5314
Master Series — Sauce
14 entries · top 171.4400 · median 140.2684
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIRCLE B BBQ | |
| 2 | OLE SMOKEY BARBECUE CREW | |
| 3 | PORK-N-BONES | |
| 4 | TOO SAUCED TO PORK | |
| 5 | MIDNIGHT BURN | |
| 6 | MIKE HALLMAN | |
| 7 | KILLER BBQ | |
| 8 | WEEKEND WARRIORS | |
| 9 | BACKYARD PORKERS | |
| 10 | STELLA AND CREW BBQ | |
| 11 | THE ALGOOD BAR-B-Q PIT CREW | |
| 12 | BONAFIDE BBQ | |
| 13 | CREEKSIDE SMOKERS NC | |
| 14 | IRON PIG BBQ |