A new contest record
701.6916
highest overall ever cooked here
701.6916 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 696.5140 SON OF SMOKE set in 2016.
- old record 696.5140
- set 2016 by SON OF SMOKE
Elk Grove Western Festival and BBQ Championship 2018
May 4–5, 2018 · Elk Grove, CA · 📍 9950 Elk Grove-Florin RD
SIMPLY MARVELOUS BBQ won Grand Champion at the Elk Grove Western Festival and BBQ Championship on May 4, 2018 in Elk Grove, CA at 9950 Elk Grove-Florin RD, scoring 701.6916 in a field of 35 teams. BIG B'S DOWN-N-DIRTY BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 693.1200. Category winners: Chicken — SIMPLY MARVELOUS BBQ (177.7372); Pork Ribs — BONE RUBBIN BBQ (177.1772); Pork — SIMPLY MARVELOUS BBQ (176.5600); Brisket — SIMPLY MARVELOUS BBQ (178.8572). This is the 4th of 7 editions of this contest on record; the 2017 edition was won by SON OF SMOKE; the next was held in 2019.
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.
513.95
median 646.14
701.69 🏆
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 177.18
- Pork 176.56
- Brisket 178.86
80.78
178.86
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2016 to 2019 — this edition picked out.
Entries
35
4 judged meats · 3 ancillary
Top score
701.6916
Winning margin
8.5716
GC over RC
Field average
641.08
513.95701.69
median 646.14 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork
3.4516 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
665.6684
513.95701.69
10th place overall
Field spread
187.7372
winner to last place
Double threats
5
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 26%
beats 74% of 4723 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
55%
18 of 33 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.7 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,537
avg power rating going in · stronger than 27% of contests
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.
A hat-trick of category wins
3
category wins in a day
SIMPLY MARVELOUS BBQ won Chicken, Pork, Brisket — a hat-trick, and took the Grand Championship on top of it.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 1st
A dynasty in the making
2×
wins at this contest
2 of 7 tracked editions
SON OF SMOKE has won this contest 2 times across its 7 tracked editions.
- 2016
- 2017
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 11 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 6–7: SON OF SMOKE and Smokey and the Pirate tied on 171.9656 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 8–9: BULL MARKET BBQ and THE SMOKING J'S tied on 170.8228 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 7–8: SON OF SMOKE and FU MAN QUE CREW tied on 171.4056 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 6–7 · tie
- Chicken 8–9 · tie
- Pork 7–8 · tie
- Brisket 6–7 · tie
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
SIMPLY MARVELOUS BBQ took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 3 outright wins — their weakest board was pork ribs at 7th.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 7th
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 1st
A contest record in brisket
178.8572
best brisket ever cooked here
SIMPLY MARVELOUS BBQ turned in 178.8572 in brisket — past the 176.0228 that had stood across 3 earlier editions.
- old best 176.0228
- across 3 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: SON OF SMOKE (won 2016, 2017).
- SON OF SMOKE · 2016, 2017
The biggest field yet
35
teams — a contest high
This contest usually draws about 32 teams
35 teams is the deepest field this contest has drawn in the data, against a typical 32.
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 29, 2016 | Elk Grove, CA | 9950 Elk Grove-Florin RD | 30 | 696.5140 | SON OF SMOKE | BIG POPPA SMOKERS |
| Apr 30, 2016 | Elk Grove, CA | 9950 Elk Grove-Florin RD | — | — | — | — |
| May 5, 2017 | Elk Grove, CA | 9950 Elk Grove-Florin RD | 33 | 687.3600 | SON OF SMOKE | BIG B'S DOWN-N-DIRTY BBQ |
| May 4, 2018 ← this one | Elk Grove, CA | 9950 Elk Grove-Florin RD | 35 | 701.6916 | SIMPLY MARVELOUS BBQ | BIG B'S DOWN-N-DIRTY BBQ |
| May 3, 2019 | Elk Grove, CA | 9950 Elk Grove-Florin RD | 27 | 695.9772 | The Smoking J's | BIG POPPA SMOKERS |
| May 3, 2019 | Elk Grove, CA | 9950 Elk Grove-Florin RD | 15 | 330.9144 | Smokin' Ray's BBQ | — |
| May 6, 2022 | Elk Grove, CA | — | — | — | — | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 177.7372 | 173.7028 | 170.2856 |
| Pork Ribs | 177.1772 | 169.7028 | 167.4288 |
| Pork | 176.5600 | 173.1084 | 167.3828 |
| Brisket | 178.8572 | 171.4056 | 165.1084 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
35 entries · top 701.6916 · median 646.1372
Chicken
35 entries · top 177.7372 · median 166.2856
Pork Ribs
35 entries · top 177.1772 · median 162.2516
Pork
35 entries · top 176.5600 · median 162.8000
Brisket
35 entries · top 178.8572 · median 160.5372
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 — Backyard
10 entries · top 315.4516 · median 303.9770
Master Series — Backyard Chicken
10 entries · top 162.8916 · median 152.5714
Master Series — Backyard Ribs
10 entries · top 164.5944 · median 151.1258