A statement win
9.7484
points clear of the field
Wider than 87% of the 4,713 championships in the data
The champion won by 9.7484 points — a wider margin than 87% of championships in the data.
Bardo-Q BBQ Competition 2018
Apr 21–22, 2018 · Bardonecchia, Italy · ITALY
SMOKING BAD BBQ TEAM won Grand Champion at the Bardo-Q BBQ Competition on April 21, 2018 in Bardonecchia, 10098, scoring 690.8912 in a field of 15 teams. THE BARKTENDERS took Reserve Grand Champion with 681.1428. Category winners: Chicken — DRAGON BBQ (178.2972); Pork Ribs — SMOKING BAD BBQ TEAM (172.0000); Pork — TORINO RIBS (177.1544); Brisket — SMOKING BAD BBQ TEAM (175.4628). This is the 2nd of 2 editions of this contest on record; the 2017 edition was won by STICKY FINGERS BARBECUE TEAM.
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.
628.48
median 662.21
690.89 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 178.30
- Pork Ribs 172
- Pork 177.15
- Brisket 175.46
149.07
178.30
Entries
15
4 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
690.8912
Winning margin
9.7484
GC over RC
Field average
661.18
628.48690.89
median 662.21 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
2.8572 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
657.6340
628.48690.89
10th place overall
Field spread
62.4112
winner to last place
Double threats
6
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 68%
beats 32% of 4714 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
39%
11 of 28 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.57 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,530
avg power rating going in · stronger than 22% 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 6 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 4–5: THE BARKTENDERS and GRILLER UNCHAINED tied on 169.7600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 6–7: GRILLER INSTINCT edged TORINO RIBS by 0.0112. Chicken places 9–10: SMOKE'N'FIRE BBQ TEAM edged STICKY FINGERS BARBECUE TEAM by 0.0116.
- Chicken 4–5 · tie
- Chicken 6–7 · 0.0112
- Chicken 9–10 · 0.0116
- Brisket 3–4 · 0.0116
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
SMOKING BAD BBQ TEAM won Pork Ribs, Brisket — a double, and took the Grand Championship on top of it.
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Brisket 1st
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
SMOKING BAD BBQ TEAM took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 2 outright wins — their weakest board was chicken at 8th.
- Chicken 8th
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 2nd
- Brisket 1st
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: STICKY FINGERS BARBECUE TEAM (won 2017).
- STICKY FINGERS BARBECUE TEAM · 2017
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 22, 2017 | Bardonecchia | Bardonecchia | 28 | 697.6684 | STICKY FINGERS BARBECUE TEAM | BROS HOG |
| Apr 21, 2018 ← this one | Bardonecchia | Bardonecchia, 10098 | 15 | 690.8912 | SMOKING BAD BBQ TEAM | THE BARKTENDERS |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 178.2972 | 169.7600 | 168.5256 |
| Pork Ribs | 172 | 169.1428 | 162.8228 |
| Pork | 177.1544 | 169.1200 | 161.6572 |
| Brisket | 175.4628 | 167.9656 | 161.0856 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
15 entries · top 690.8912 · median 662.2056
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SMOKING BAD BBQ TEAM | |
| 2 | THE BARKTENDERS | |
| 3 | TORINO RIBS | |
| 4 | STICKY FINGERS BARBECUE TEAM | |
| 5 | DRAGON BBQ | |
| 6 | BRIGBOYS BBQ TEAM | |
| 7 | BROS HOG | |
| 8 | GRILLER INSTINCT | |
| 9 | GRILLER UNCHAINED | |
| 10 | SMOKEY JOB | |
| 11 | ITALIAN STYLE BBQ TEAM | |
| 12 | SMOKE'N'FIRE BBQ TEAM | |
| 13 | BURROS BBQ | |
| 14 | BURNT BROS BBQ TEAM | |
| 15 | Baden in Glut |
Chicken
15 entries · top 178.2972 · median 168.5828
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DRAGON BBQ | |
| 2 | ITALIAN STYLE BBQ TEAM | |
| 3 | BRIGBOYS BBQ TEAM | |
| 4 | THE BARKTENDERS | |
| 5 | GRILLER UNCHAINED | |
| 6 | GRILLER INSTINCT | |
| 7 | TORINO RIBS | |
| 8 | SMOKING BAD BBQ TEAM | |
| 9 | SMOKE'N'FIRE BBQ TEAM | |
| 10 | STICKY FINGERS BARBECUE TEAM | |
| 11 | BURROS BBQ | |
| 12 | SMOKEY JOB | |
| 13 | BROS HOG | |
| 14 | Baden in Glut | |
| 15 | BURNT BROS BBQ TEAM |
Pork Ribs
15 entries · top 172 · median 163.9772
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SMOKING BAD BBQ TEAM | |
| 2 | TORINO RIBS | |
| 3 | THE BARKTENDERS | |
| 4 | STICKY FINGERS BARBECUE TEAM | |
| 5 | SMOKEY JOB | |
| 6 | GRILLER UNCHAINED | |
| 7 | SMOKE'N'FIRE BBQ TEAM | |
| 8 | BROS HOG | |
| 9 | BRIGBOYS BBQ TEAM | |
| 10 | ITALIAN STYLE BBQ TEAM | |
| 11 | DRAGON BBQ | |
| 12 | Baden in Glut | |
| 13 | BURNT BROS BBQ TEAM | |
| 14 | GRILLER INSTINCT | |
| 15 | BURROS BBQ |
Pork
15 entries · top 177.1544 · median 163.9428
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | TORINO RIBS | |
| 2 | SMOKING BAD BBQ TEAM | |
| 3 | GRILLER INSTINCT | |
| 4 | BURROS BBQ | |
| 5 | BROS HOG | |
| 6 | THE BARKTENDERS | |
| 7 | BRIGBOYS BBQ TEAM | |
| 8 | SMOKE'N'FIRE BBQ TEAM | |
| 9 | SMOKEY JOB | |
| 10 | DRAGON BBQ | |
| 11 | STICKY FINGERS BARBECUE TEAM | |
| 12 | ITALIAN STYLE BBQ TEAM | |
| 13 | BURNT BROS BBQ TEAM | |
| 14 | GRILLER UNCHAINED | |
| 15 | Baden in Glut |
Brisket
15 entries · top 175.4628 · median 164.5372
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SMOKING BAD BBQ TEAM | |
| 2 | THE BARKTENDERS | |
| 3 | BROS HOG | |
| 4 | STICKY FINGERS BARBECUE TEAM | |
| 5 | DRAGON BBQ | |
| 6 | BRIGBOYS BBQ TEAM | |
| 7 | BURNT BROS BBQ TEAM | |
| 8 | GRILLER INSTINCT | |
| 9 | GRILLER UNCHAINED | |
| 10 | SMOKEY JOB | |
| 11 | ITALIAN STYLE BBQ TEAM | |
| 12 | SMOKE'N'FIRE BBQ TEAM | |
| 13 | TORINO RIBS | |
| 14 | Baden in Glut | |
| 15 | BURROS BBQ |
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 — Mistery Box
7 entries · top 180 · median 167.4056 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | STICKY FINGERS BARBECUE TEAM | |
| 2 | BURROS BBQ | |
| 3 | ITALIAN STYLE BBQ TEAM | |
| 4 | GRILLER UNCHAINED | |
| 5 | SMOKE'N'FIRE BBQ TEAM | |
| 6 | SMOKING BAD BBQ TEAM | |
| 7 | BROS HOG |