Won without a category win
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
BBQ+ won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 3 calls from 4 boards, best of them 2nd. Consistency beat fireworks.
- Chicken 4th
- Pork Ribs 3rd
- Pork 2nd
- Brisket 11th
Tallya BBQ Festival
Oct 13–14, 2018 · Tallya, Hungary · HUNGARY
BBQ+ won Grand Champion at the Tallya BBQ Festival on October 13, 2018 in Tallya, 1125, scoring 692.0116 in a field of 38 teams. IQ - NETHERLANDS took Reserve Grand Champion with 689.0968. Category winners: Chicken — PUREBBQ (177.7028); Pork Ribs — IQ - NETHERLANDS (180.0000); Pork — MASTERS OF FIRE (180.0000); Brisket — FULAC BBQ (180.0000).
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.
573.49
median 651.63
692.01 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 177.70
- Pork Ribs 180 🔥
- Pork 180 🔥
- Brisket 180 🔥
130.09
180
Entries
38
4 judged meats · 2 ancillary
Top score
692.0116
Winning margin
2.9148
GC over RC
Field average
650.33
573.49692.01
median 651.63 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Chicken
5.1428 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
665.0744
573.49692.01
10th place overall
Field spread
118.5260
winner to last place
Double threats
3
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 64%
beats 36% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.35 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,527
avg power rating going in · stronger than 19% of contests
Storylines (3 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
3
perfect 180s
3 perfect 180s were scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- FULAC BBQ · Brisket
- MASTERS OF FIRE · Pork
- IQ - NETHERLANDS · Pork Ribs
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 8 calls decided inside half a point
Pork places 9–10: SMOKING ACES BBQ SWEDEN and IQ - NETHERLANDS tied on 169.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 7–8: IQ - NETHERLANDS edged THE BARBECUBE by 0.0112. Chicken places 4–5: BBQ+ edged DRAGON BBQ by 0.0116.
- Pork 9–10 · tie
- Brisket 7–8 · 0.0112
- Chicken 4–5 · 0.0116
- Pork Ribs 3–4 · 0.0228
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)
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 177.7028 | 172.5600 | 168.5600 |
| Pork Ribs | 180 | 172.5828 | 169.6800 |
| Pork | 180 | 171.4400 | 169.7028 |
| Brisket | 180 | 170.8800 | 168.5372 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
38 entries · top 692.0116 · median 651.6340
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BBQ+ | |
| 2 | IQ - NETHERLANDS | |
| 3 | FULAC BBQ | |
| 4 | SUNCITY BBQ SZEGED | |
| 5 | PUREBBQ | |
| 6 | EGGHEAD-BARBECUE | |
| 7 | MASTERS OF FIRE | |
| 8 | THE REBEL BBQ BROTHERS | |
| 9 | DRAGON BBQ | |
| 10 | KGB - KATKA GERGO BARBECUE | |
| 11 | DUNAKANYAR BBQ | |
| 12 | Voros Meteor Barbecoa | |
| 13 | BodrogSmoker BBQ Team | |
| 14 | FEHER NYUL BBQ TEAM | |
| 15 | SMOKING ACES BBQ SWEDEN | |
| 16 | MEATMASTERS BBQ&GRILL | |
| 17 | BERGISCHE ROSTAROMEN | |
| 18 | THE DUTCHEF | |
| 19 | Smoke Union | |
| 20 | Bp BARbq feat Briquette | |
| 21 | SLOWJOE BBQ SWEDEN | |
| 22 | Clean Smoke BBQ | |
| 23 | TRANSYLVANIAN BBQ FESTIVAL | |
| 24 | PiciGurman | |
| 25 | Smoke & Meat | |
| 26 | Malata Szolnok BBQ | |
| 27 | TORNYOS BBQ | |
| 28 | GerillaGasztro BBQ Team | |
| 29 | SMOKE RIDERS | |
| 30 | Debrecz'N BBQ | |
| 31 | THE BARBECUBE | |
| 32 | BBQ Mania | |
| 33 | Tallya Fustje BBQ | |
| 34 | Broil King Kannibalz | |
| 35 | Bobos Carpathian food venture | |
| 36 | Zabaljcsak! BBQ | |
| 37 | Q1 | |
| 38 | Bertis Bbq Family |
Chicken
38 entries · top 177.7028 · median 161.9942
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | PUREBBQ | |
| 2 | FULAC BBQ | |
| 3 | SUNCITY BBQ SZEGED | |
| 4 | BBQ+ | |
| 5 | DRAGON BBQ | |
| 6 | MEATMASTERS BBQ&GRILL | |
| 7 | THE REBEL BBQ BROTHERS | |
| 8 | IQ - NETHERLANDS | |
| 9 | GerillaGasztro BBQ Team | |
| 10 | BERGISCHE ROSTAROMEN | |
| 11 | KGB - KATKA GERGO BARBECUE | |
| 12 | TRANSYLVANIAN BBQ FESTIVAL | |
| 13 | Tallya Fustje BBQ | |
| 14 | Clean Smoke BBQ | |
| 15 | MASTERS OF FIRE | |
| 16 | PiciGurman | |
| 17 | SMOKING ACES BBQ SWEDEN | |
| 18 | THE DUTCHEF | |
| 19 | Smoke & Meat | |
| 20 | EGGHEAD-BARBECUE | |
| 21 | SLOWJOE BBQ SWEDEN | |
| 22 | FEHER NYUL BBQ TEAM | |
| 23 | TORNYOS BBQ | |
| 24 | Q1 | |
| 25 | DUNAKANYAR BBQ | |
| 26 | BodrogSmoker BBQ Team | |
| 27 | Debrecz'N BBQ | |
| 28 | Bp BARbq feat Briquette | |
| 29 | Smoke Union | |
| 30 | Voros Meteor Barbecoa | |
| 31 | Malata Szolnok BBQ | |
| 32 | Bertis Bbq Family | |
| 33 | SMOKE RIDERS | |
| 34 | Broil King Kannibalz | |
| 35 | BBQ Mania | |
| 36 | THE BARBECUBE | |
| 37 | Bobos Carpathian food venture | |
| 38 | Zabaljcsak! BBQ |
Pork Ribs
38 entries · top 180 · median 162.8402 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | IQ - NETHERLANDS | |
| 2 | EGGHEAD-BARBECUE | |
| 3 | BBQ+ | |
| 4 | THE REBEL BBQ BROTHERS | |
| 5 | FULAC BBQ | |
| 6 | Bp BARbq feat Briquette | |
| 7 | MASTERS OF FIRE | |
| 8 | Smoke Union | |
| 9 | SUNCITY BBQ SZEGED | |
| 10 | KGB - KATKA GERGO BARBECUE | |
| 11 | SLOWJOE BBQ SWEDEN | |
| 12 | Malata Szolnok BBQ | |
| 13 | THE BARBECUBE | |
| 14 | THE DUTCHEF | |
| 15 | TRANSYLVANIAN BBQ FESTIVAL | |
| 16 | DRAGON BBQ | |
| 17 | Voros Meteor Barbecoa | |
| 18 | TORNYOS BBQ | |
| 19 | FEHER NYUL BBQ TEAM | |
| 20 | SMOKING ACES BBQ SWEDEN | |
| 21 | PiciGurman | |
| 22 | DUNAKANYAR BBQ | |
| 23 | BodrogSmoker BBQ Team | |
| 24 | Debrecz'N BBQ | |
| 25 | BBQ Mania | |
| 26 | SMOKE RIDERS | |
| 27 | Clean Smoke BBQ | |
| 28 | Tallya Fustje BBQ | |
| 29 | BERGISCHE ROSTAROMEN | |
| 30 | PUREBBQ | |
| 31 | Bobos Carpathian food venture | |
| 32 | Broil King Kannibalz | |
| 33 | MEATMASTERS BBQ&GRILL | |
| 34 | Smoke & Meat | |
| 35 | GerillaGasztro BBQ Team | |
| 36 | Zabaljcsak! BBQ | |
| 37 | Q1 | |
| 38 | Bertis Bbq Family |
Pork
38 entries · top 180 · median 162.8628 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | MASTERS OF FIRE | |
| 2 | BBQ+ | |
| 3 | Voros Meteor Barbecoa | |
| 4 | DUNAKANYAR BBQ | |
| 5 | KGB - KATKA GERGO BARBECUE | |
| 6 | EGGHEAD-BARBECUE | |
| 7 | Smoke Union | |
| 8 | BodrogSmoker BBQ Team | |
| 9 | SMOKING ACES BBQ SWEDEN | |
| 10 | IQ - NETHERLANDS | |
| 11 | DRAGON BBQ | |
| 12 | BERGISCHE ROSTAROMEN | |
| 13 | SUNCITY BBQ SZEGED | |
| 14 | PUREBBQ | |
| 15 | Zabaljcsak! BBQ | |
| 16 | MEATMASTERS BBQ&GRILL | |
| 17 | THE DUTCHEF | |
| 18 | TRANSYLVANIAN BBQ FESTIVAL | |
| 19 | Bp BARbq feat Briquette | |
| 20 | Debrecz'N BBQ | |
| 21 | GerillaGasztro BBQ Team | |
| 22 | PiciGurman | |
| 23 | SMOKE RIDERS | |
| 24 | FEHER NYUL BBQ TEAM | |
| 25 | Malata Szolnok BBQ | |
| 26 | THE REBEL BBQ BROTHERS | |
| 27 | BBQ Mania | |
| 28 | Clean Smoke BBQ | |
| 29 | Broil King Kannibalz | |
| 30 | Bertis Bbq Family | |
| 31 | Smoke & Meat | |
| 32 | TORNYOS BBQ | |
| 33 | Q1 | |
| 34 | SLOWJOE BBQ SWEDEN | |
| 35 | Tallya Fustje BBQ | |
| 36 | FULAC BBQ | |
| 37 | THE BARBECUBE | |
| 38 | Bobos Carpathian food venture |
Brisket
38 entries · top 180 · median 163.7142 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | FULAC BBQ | |
| 2 | FEHER NYUL BBQ TEAM | |
| 3 | PUREBBQ | |
| 4 | Smoke & Meat | |
| 5 | Bobos Carpathian food venture | |
| 6 | BodrogSmoker BBQ Team | |
| 7 | IQ - NETHERLANDS | |
| 8 | THE BARBECUBE | |
| 9 | EGGHEAD-BARBECUE | |
| 10 | THE REBEL BBQ BROTHERS | |
| 11 | BBQ+ | |
| 12 | SMOKE RIDERS | |
| 13 | DUNAKANYAR BBQ | |
| 14 | SUNCITY BBQ SZEGED | |
| 15 | Clean Smoke BBQ | |
| 16 | MEATMASTERS BBQ&GRILL | |
| 17 | SLOWJOE BBQ SWEDEN | |
| 18 | Voros Meteor Barbecoa | |
| 19 | GerillaGasztro BBQ Team | |
| 20 | SMOKING ACES BBQ SWEDEN | |
| 21 | BBQ Mania | |
| 22 | TORNYOS BBQ | |
| 23 | BERGISCHE ROSTAROMEN | |
| 24 | DRAGON BBQ | |
| 25 | PiciGurman | |
| 26 | Bp BARbq feat Briquette | |
| 27 | MASTERS OF FIRE | |
| 28 | Malata Szolnok BBQ | |
| 29 | THE DUTCHEF | |
| 30 | KGB - KATKA GERGO BARBECUE | |
| 31 | Zabaljcsak! BBQ | |
| 32 | Debrecz'N BBQ | |
| 33 | Broil King Kannibalz | |
| 34 | Smoke Union | |
| 35 | Tallya Fustje BBQ | |
| 36 | TRANSYLVANIAN BBQ FESTIVAL | |
| 37 | Q1 | |
| 38 | Bertis Bbq Family |
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 — Mystery Box
28 entries · top 178.2972 · median 168.2914
Master Series — Sauce
34 entries · top 176 · median 166.8228