A new contest record
712.5600
highest overall ever cooked here
712.5600 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 702.8344 ONE2BBQ set in 2016.
- old record 702.8344
- set 2016 by ONE2BBQ
Murphysboro BBQ Cookoff 2018
Sep 21–22, 2018 · Murphysboro, IL · 📍 214 N 17th St
IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ won Grand Champion at the Murphysboro BBQ Cookoff on September 21, 2018 in Murphysboro, IL at 214 N 17th St, scoring 712.5600 in a field of 59 teams. CLARK CREW BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 704.5256. Category winners: Chicken — RUSTY PIG BBQ (180.0000); Pork Ribs — SMOKE FREAKS (180.0000); Pork — GETTIN' BASTED (177.7372); Brisket — IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ (180.0000). This is the 3rd of 3 editions of this contest on record; the 2017 edition was won by Q-BONES BBQ.
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.
448.45
median 673.10
712.56 🏆
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 177.74
- Brisket 180 🔥
129.69
180
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2016 to 2018 — this edition picked out.
Entries
59
4 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
712.5600
Winning margin
8.0344
GC over RC
Field average
652.48
448.45712.56
median 673.10 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
4 🔥
Tightest race
Pork
1.1772 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
690.2056
448.45712.56
10th place overall
Field spread
264.1140
winner to last place
Double threats
4
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 1%
beats 99% of 4723 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
40%
22 of 55 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.71 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,621
avg power rating going in · stronger than 88% 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
4
perfect 180s
4 perfect 180s were scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ · Brisket
- CLARK CREW BBQ · Brisket
- RUSTY PIG BBQ · Chicken
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 12 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 3–4: BOOMERANG BBQ and ONE2BBQ tied on 177.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 4–5: ONE2BBQ and CLARK CREW BBQ tied on 177.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 7–8: HEATH RILES BBQ and OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE tied on 176.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 3–4 · tie
- Chicken 4–5 · tie
- Chicken 7–8 · tie
- Pork 9–10 · tie
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was pork ribs at 7th.
- Chicken 2nd
- Pork Ribs 7th
- Pork 5th
- Brisket 1st
A contest record in chicken
180.0000
best chicken ever cooked here
RUSTY PIG BBQ turned in 180.0000 in chicken — past the 179.4400 that had stood across 2 earlier editions.
- old best 179.4400
- across 2 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: ONE2BBQ (won 2016).
- ONE2BBQ · 2016
One of the big ones
59
teams on the grounds
Bigger than 91% of the 5,482 contests in the data
59 teams — bigger than 91% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 23, 2016 | Murphysboro, IL | Murphysboro, IL | 64 | 702.8344 | ONE2BBQ | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ |
| Sep 22, 2017 | Murphysboro, IL | 214 N 17th St | 55 | 701.1084 | Q-BONES BBQ | IT'S 5 O'CLOCK SOMEWHERE |
| Sep 21, 2018 ← this one | Murphysboro, IL | 214 N 17th St | 59 | 712.5600 | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ | CLARK CREW BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180 | 177.7028 | 174.8572 |
| Pork Ribs | 180 | 177.7144 | 175.4056 |
| Pork | 177.7372 | 176.5600 | 173.1200 |
| Brisket | 180 | 176 | 173.7028 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
59 entries · top 712.5600 · median 673.0972
Chicken
57 entries · top 180 · median 169.6800 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork Ribs
57 entries · top 180 · median 168 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork
58 entries · top 177.7372 · median 167.6800
Brisket
59 entries · top 180 · median 167.9656 · 🔥 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
9 entries · top 178.8800 · median 161.7028
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | PITMASTERIQ BBQ | |
| 1 | THE FABULOUS FAULTLINERS | |
| 2 | THE PORK WHISPERERS | |
| 2 | THE PORK WHISPERERS | |
| 3 | Rub Runners | |
| 3 | Rub Runners | |
| 4 | AUTO"BE"GRILLIN | |
| 4 | PITMASTERIQ BBQ | |
| 5 | AUTO"BE"GRILLIN |