Won without a category win
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
BBQ+ won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 4 calls from 4 boards, best of them 2nd. Consistency beat fireworks.
- Chicken 10th
- Pork Ribs 7th
- Pork 2nd
- Brisket 5th
Beer,Fries & BBQ V (Day 2) 2018
May 12–13, 2018 · Hasselt, Belgium · BELGIUM
BBQ+ won Grand Champion at the Beer,Fries & BBQ V (Day 2) on May 12, 2018 in Hasselt, 3800, scoring 687.4400 in a field of 51 teams. BUNCH OF SWINES took Reserve Grand Champion with 684.5488. Category winners: Chicken — PUREBBQ (176.5828); Pork Ribs — WESTHOEK SMOKERS (178.3200); Pork — BUNCH OF SWINES (180.0000); Brisket — BONSAIS WILD BBQ (175.4744). This is the 2nd of 2 editions of this contest on record; the 2018 edition was won by IQ - NETHERLANDS.
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.
475.94
median 646.80
687.44 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 176.58
- Pork Ribs 178.32
- Pork 180 🔥
- Brisket 175.47
20
180
Entries
51
4 judged meats · 2 ancillary
Top score
687.4400
Winning margin
2.8912
GC over RC
Field average
638.66
475.94687.44
median 646.80 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Chicken
2.8572 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
663.9544
475.94687.44
10th place overall
Field spread
211.4972
winner to last place
Double threats
4
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 77%
beats 23% of 4715 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
100%
37 of 37 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.71 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,541
avg power rating going in · stronger than 31% of contests
Storylines (6 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 11 calls decided inside half a point
Pork Ribs places 7–8: BBQ+ and THE OINK BROTHERS tied on 168.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 4–5: BBQ WIESEL and BBQ+ tied on 171.4172 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 5–6: ALLSEASONED DUTCH BBQ TEAM edged MISS PIGGY'S U.K. by 0.0112.
- Pork Ribs 7–8 · tie
- Brisket 4–5 · tie
- Chicken 5–6 · 0.0112
- Chicken 8–9 · 0.0116
A contest record in chicken
176.5828
best chicken ever cooked here
PUREBBQ turned in 176.5828 in chicken — past the 174.2972 that had stood across 1 earlier editions.
- old best 174.2972
- across 1 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: IQ - NETHERLANDS (won 2018).
- IQ - NETHERLANDS · 2018
A perfect score on the table
1
perfect 180s
1 perfect 180 was scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- BUNCH OF SWINES · Pork
They keep coming back
100%
of last edition’s field returned
37 of 37 teams from 2018-05-11 came back
37 of the 37 teams that cooked the previous edition came back for this one — a contest people put on the calendar.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 11, 2018 | Hasselt | Kapermolen Park/Hasselt/Belgium | 37 | 693.1312 | IQ - NETHERLANDS | DRAGON BBQ |
| May 12, 2018 ← this one | Hasselt | Hasselt, 3800 | 51 | 687.4400 | BBQ+ | BUNCH OF SWINES |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 176.5828 | 173.7256 | 171.4400 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.3200 | 169.1544 | 167.4288 |
| Pork | 180 | 173.2000 | 170.2628 |
| Brisket | 175.4744 | 171.4172 | 166.8800 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
51 entries · top 687.4400 · median 646.8000
Chicken
51 entries · top 176.5828 · median 165.6684
Pork Ribs
51 entries · top 178.3200 · median 161.1084
Pork
51 entries · top 180 · median 162.8228 · 🔥 perfect 180
Brisket
51 entries · top 175.4744 · median 158.8916
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 — Carmans Haute Dog
24 entries · top 180 · median 162.8572 · 🔥 perfect 180
Master Series — M & M'S Dessert
18 entries · top 180 · median 167.3828 · 🔥 perfect 180