A new contest record
703.9772
highest overall ever cooked here
703.9772 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 696.5944 SMOKE THIS BBQ MO set in 2014.
- old record 696.5944
- set 2014 by SMOKE THIS BBQ MO
BBQ and Fly In on the River 2017
Aug 18–19, 2017 · Excelsior Springs, MO · 📍 201 E Broadway
CLARK CREW BBQ won Grand Champion at the BBQ and Fly In on the River on August 18, 2017 in Excelsior Springs, MO at 201 E Broadway, scoring 703.9772 in a field of 65 teams. DIRT ROAD BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 700.5256. Category winners: Chicken — HUNKA HUNKA BURNIN' RUB (177.7144); Pork Ribs — 4 LEGS UP BBQ (178.2972); Pork — THE SMOKING HILLS (179.4400); Brisket — THE SMOKING HILLS (180.0000). This is the 5th of 7 editions of this contest on record; the 2016 edition was won by HIGH i QUE II; 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.
511.33
median 663.33
703.98 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 177.71
- Pork Ribs 178.30
- Pork 179.44
- Brisket 180 🔥
20
180
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2013 to 2019 — this edition picked out.
Entries
65
4 judged meats · 2 ancillary
Top score
703.9772
Winning margin
3.4516
GC over RC
Field average
653.17
511.33703.98
median 663.33 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Chicken
1.7144 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
685.6340
511.33703.98
10th place overall
Field spread
192.6516
winner to last place
Double threats
4
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 18%
beats 82% of 4723 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
46%
26 of 56 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.83 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,612
avg power rating going in · stronger than 84% of contests
Storylines (9 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
CLARK CREW BBQ won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 3 calls from 4 boards, best of them 2nd. Consistency beat fireworks.
- Chicken 2nd
- Pork Ribs 2nd
- Pork 2nd
- Brisket 16th
A day of perfect scores
3
perfect 180s
3 perfect 180s were scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- THE SMOKING HILLS · Brisket
- THESLABS.COM · Brisket
- DIRT ROAD BBQ · Brisket
A dynasty in the making
2×
wins at this contest
2 of 7 tracked editions
SMOKE THIS BBQ MO has won this contest 2 times across its 7 tracked editions.
- 2014
- 2018
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 14 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 5–6: BURNT AT BOTH ENDZ and JAESTAR BBQ tied on 176.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 9–10: THE SMOKING HILLS and BURNT FINGER BBQ tied on 174.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 8–9: SMOKIN ELVISES and THESLABS.COM tied on 172.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 5–6 · tie
- Chicken 9–10 · tie
- Pork Ribs 8–9 · tie
- Brisket 1–2 · tie
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
THE SMOKING HILLS won Pork, Brisket — a double.
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 1st
A contest record in pork
179.4400
best pork ever cooked here
THE SMOKING HILLS turned in 179.4400 in pork — past the 178.8572 that had stood across 4 earlier editions.
- old best 178.8572
- across 4 past editions
Back to defend
3
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: R BUTTS R SMOKIN (won 2013), SMOKE THIS BBQ MO (won 2014), JAESTAR BBQ (won 2015).
- R BUTTS R SMOKIN · 2013
- SMOKE THIS BBQ MO · 2014
- JAESTAR BBQ · 2015
One of the big ones
65
teams on the grounds
Bigger than 94% of the 5,482 contests in the data
65 teams — bigger than 94% of the 5,482 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 16, 2013 | Excelsior Springs, MO | Excelsior Springs, MO | 66 | 685.6800 | R BUTTS R SMOKIN | WHISKEY PIT BBQ COMPANY |
| Aug 15, 2014 | Excelsior Springs, MO | Excelsior Springs, MO 64024 | 51 | 696.5944 | SMOKE THIS BBQ MO | R BUTTS R SMOKIN |
| Aug 14, 2015 | Excelsior Springs, MO | Excelsior Springs, MO 64024 | 67 | 689.6340 | JAESTAR BBQ | GETTIN' BASTED |
| Aug 19, 2016 | Excelsior Springs, MO | 201 R Broadway | 56 | 694.8112 | HIGH i QUE II | SMOKERS PURGATORY |
| Aug 18, 2017 ← this one | Excelsior Springs, MO | 201 E Broadway | 65 | 703.9772 | CLARK CREW BBQ | DIRT ROAD BBQ |
| Aug 17, 2018 | Excelsior Springs, MO | 201 E Broadway | 57 | 697.0972 | SMOKE THIS BBQ MO | 913 BBQ |
| Aug 16, 2019 | Excelsior Springs, MO | 201 E Broadway | 68 | 708.5372 | Boomerang BBQ | 913 BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 177.7144 | 176 | 174.2628 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.2972 | 174.2628 | 172.0344 |
| Pork | 179.4400 | 176 | 173.1428 |
| Brisket | 180 | 173.1428 | 172.5484 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
65 entries · top 703.9772 · median 663.3256
Chicken
65 entries · top 177.7144 · median 165.7028
Pork Ribs
65 entries · top 178.2972 · median 164.5716
Pork
65 entries · top 179.4400 · median 166.2400
Brisket
65 entries · top 180 · median 163.4056 · 🔥 perfect 180
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 — Dessert
16 entries · top 180 · median 177.4228 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | PORKY MCBEEF AND THE CLUCKERS | |
| 2 | THESLABS.COM | |
| 3 | HUNKA HUNKA BURNIN' RUB | |
| 4 | VALLEY OAKS STEAK COMPANY | |
| 5 | PIG NEWTON | |
| 6 | 4 LEGS UP BBQ | |
| 7 | DIRT ROAD BBQ | |
| 8 | ALL FORKED UP FOR Q | |
| 9 | THE SMOKING HILLS | |
| 10 | WALDO BBQ | |
| 11 | LIP SMACKEN BBQ | |
| 12 | INDIGO PIG | |
| 13 | BURNT FINGER BBQ | |
| 14 | SMOKIN WILLE'S BARBECUE | |
| 15 | Heavy D | |
| 16 | MAIN STREET AUTO |
Master Series — Pasta
19 entries · top 179.4400 · median 168.5600
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | K CASS BBQ | |
| 2 | H2 BARBQ | |
| 3 | Bare Bones BBQ Team | |
| 4 | BURNT FINGER BBQ | |
| 5 | THE INNOCENT PIG | |
| 6 | Heavy D | |
| 7 | WALDO BBQ | |
| 8 | SMOKIN GUNS BBQ | |
| 9 | VALLEY OAKS STEAK COMPANY | |
| 10 | HUNKA HUNKA BURNIN' RUB | |
| 11 | Y-WE-Q | |
| 12 | DIRT ROAD BBQ | |
| 13 | MAIN STREET AUTO | |
| 14 | SMOKIN ELVISES | |
| 15 | WOTS SMOKERS | |
| 16 | PORKY MCBEEF AND THE CLUCKERS | |
| 17 | THESLABS.COM | |
| 18 | LIP SMACKEN BBQ | |
| 19 | PETE'S PIG PIT POSSE |