Won without a category win
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
SLAPS BBQ won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 4 calls from 4 boards, best of them 3rd. Consistency beat fireworks.
- Chicken 3rd
- Pork Ribs 6th
- Pork 4th
- Brisket 4th
Smoke On the Trails 2018
Sep 28–29, 2018 · Gardner, KS · 📍 Celebration Park 32501 W 159th St
SLAPS BBQ won Grand Champion at the Smoke On the Trails on September 28, 2018 in Gardner, KS at Celebration Park 32501 W 159th St, scoring 705.7028 in a field of 68 teams. PELLET ENVY took Reserve Grand Champion with 701.6916. Category winners: Chicken — Fergolicious BBQ (180.0000); Pork Ribs — 3 PIGS SMOKIN (178.8572); Pork — HIGH i QUE (177.1428); Brisket — PELLET ENVY (178.8572). This is the 2nd of 5 editions of this contest on record; the 2017 edition was won by CLARK CREW BBQ; 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.
296.45
median 662.47
705.70 🏆
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 178.86
- Pork 177.14
- Brisket 178.86
100.26
180
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2017 to 2021 — this edition picked out.
Entries
68
4 judged meats
Top score
705.7028
Winning margin
4.0112
GC over RC
Field average
653.30
296.45705.70
median 662.47 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Chicken
2.2972 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
688.4800
296.45705.70
10th place overall
Field spread
409.2572
winner to last place
Double threats
5
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 12%
beats 88% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
42%
27 of 64 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.74 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,567
avg power rating going in · stronger than 52% 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.
A dynasty in the making
3×
wins at this contest
3 of 5 tracked editions
SLAPS BBQ has won this contest 3 times across its 5 tracked editions.
- 2018
- 2020
- 2021
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 12 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 4–5: 913 BBQ and PELLET ENVY tied on 177.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 9–10: THE SMOKING HILLS and MAN MEAT BBQ tied on 174.8456 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 5–6: Fergolicious BBQ and SLAPS BBQ tied on 176.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 4–5 · tie
- Chicken 9–10 · tie
- Pork Ribs 5–6 · tie
- Pork Ribs 8–9 · tie
A contest record in chicken
180.0000
best chicken ever cooked here
Fergolicious BBQ turned in 180.0000 in chicken — past the 177.7144 that had stood across 1 earlier editions.
- old best 177.7144
- across 1 past editions
One of the big ones
68
teams on the grounds
Bigger than 95% of the 5,462 contests in the data
68 teams — bigger than 95% of the 5,462 contests in the data.
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.
- Fergolicious BBQ · Chicken
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 29, 2017 | Gardner, KS | Celebration Park 32501 W 159th St | 64 | 706.2856 | CLARK CREW BBQ | PELLET ENVY |
| Sep 28, 2018 ← this one | Gardner, KS | Celebration Park 32501 W 159th St | 68 | 705.7028 | SLAPS BBQ | PELLET ENVY |
| Sep 27, 2019 | Gardner, KS | Celebration Park 32501 W 159th St | 53 | 691.3484 | High I Que | MAN MEAT BBQ |
| Sep 11, 2020 | Gardner, KS | 32501 W 159th St. | 48 | 704.5372 | Slaps BBQ | Happy Grillmore - KS |
| Sep 10, 2021 | Gardner, KS | Gardner, KS 66030 | 53 | 711.4172 | Slaps BBQ | SMOKE RINGERS |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180 | 177.7028 | 174.8456 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.8572 | 176 | 175.4172 |
| Pork | 177.1428 | 173.7028 | 171.9772 |
| Brisket | 178.8572 | 174.2628 | 171.4400 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
68 entries · top 705.7028 · median 662.4684
Chicken
67 entries · top 180 · median 167.9772 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork Ribs
67 entries · top 178.8572 · median 167.3944
Pork
68 entries · top 177.1428 · median 166.2342
Brisket
67 entries · top 178.8572 · median 165.0972