A new contest record
706.8344
highest overall ever cooked here
706.8344 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 705.1200 BUNCH OF SWINES set in 2018.
- old record 705.1200
- set 2018 by BUNCH OF SWINES
39th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN) 2018
Sep 15–16, 2018 · Kansas City, KS · 📍 400 Speedway Blvd
IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ won Grand Champion at the 39th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN) on September 15, 2018 in Kansas City, KS at 400 Speedway Blvd, scoring 706.8344 in a field of 467 teams. BUTCHER BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 701.7372. Category winners: Chicken — IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ (180.0000); Pork Ribs — UTB BBQ (180.0000); Pork — Pig-Chicka-Cow-Cow (179.4400); Brisket — BUCKSHOT BBQ - TX (180.0000). This is the 2nd of 2 editions of this contest on record; the 2018 edition was won by BUNCH OF SWINES.
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.
150.24
median 660.53
706.83 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 180 🔥
- Pork Ribs 180 🔥
- Pork 179.44
- Brisket 180 🔥
20
180
Entries
467
4 judged meats · 8 ancillary
Top score
706.8344
Winning margin
5.0972
GC over RC
Field average
650.06
150.24706.83
median 660.53 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
10 🔥
Tightest race
Chicken
0 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
695.3716
150.24706.83
10th place overall
Field spread
556.5944
winner to last place
How hot was the win?
Top 9%
beats 91% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
100%
164 of 164 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.7 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,585
avg power rating going in · stronger than 67% of contests
Storylines (7 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 day of perfect scores
10
perfect 180s
10 perfect 180s were scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- BUCKSHOT BBQ - TX · Brisket
- LUCKY'S Q · Brisket
- HUNKA HUNKA BURNIN' RUB · Brisket
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 24 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 1–2: IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ and T-MAC SMOKIN tied on 180.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 2–3: T-MAC SMOKIN and PELLET ENVY tied on 180.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 3–4: PELLET ENVY and BUTCHER BBQ tied on 180.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 1–2 · tie
- Chicken 2–3 · tie
- Chicken 3–4 · tie
- Chicken 4–5 · tie
How the title was won
2 of 4
meats called to the stage
IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ took the title on 2 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was pork ribs at 104th.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 104th
- Pork 15th
- Brisket 6th
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: BUNCH OF SWINES (won 2018).
- BUNCH OF SWINES · 2018
One of the big ones
467
teams on the grounds
The 9th biggest field of the 5,462 contests in the data
467 teams — the 9th biggest field of the 5,462 contests in the data.
They keep coming back
100%
of last edition’s field returned
164 of 164 teams from 2018-09-14 came back
164 of the 164 teams that cooked the previous edition came back for this one — a contest people put on the calendar.
In the record book (1 in the KCBS record book)
What happened at this contest that stands in the all-time KCBS record book. A gold line is a record nobody has beaten.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 14, 2018 | Kansas City, KS | 400 Speedway Blvd | 164 | 705.1200 | BUNCH OF SWINES | ONE2BBQ |
| Sep 15, 2018 ← this one | Kansas City, KS | 400 Speedway Blvd | 467 | 706.8344 | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ | BUTCHER BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180 | 180 | 177.7028 |
| Pork Ribs | 180 | 178.8572 | 177.1772 |
| Pork | 179.4400 | 178.8572 | 178.2972 |
| Brisket | 180 | 177.7144 | 176.5944 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
467 entries · top 706.8344 · median 660.5256
Chicken
467 entries · top 180 · median 166.2972 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork Ribs
462 entries · top 180 · median 166.2400 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork
463 entries · top 179.4400 · median 164.5372
Brisket
462 entries · top 180 · median 163.9658 · 🔥 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 — 0
141 entries · top 532.0344 · median 486.2060
Master Series — Baked Beans
130 entries · top 179.4400 · median 164.2800
Master Series — Dessert
120 entries · top 180 · median 173.7028 · 🔥 perfect 180
Master Series — Pork Loin
181 entries · top 177.7028 · median 159.9772
Master Series — Potato
116 entries · top 180 · median 167.4058 · 🔥 perfect 180
Master Series — Sausage
227 entries · top 180 · median 166.2284 · 🔥 perfect 180
Master Series — Turkey
149 entries · top 178.8800 · median 165.1428
Master Series — Vegetable
109 entries · top 180 · median 167.3828 · 🔥 perfect 180