Decided by a tiebreaker
Tie
identical totals at the top
The top two teams finished on identical totals — the Grand Championship came down to the KCBS tiebreaker rules.
Polar Pig BBQ Cook-Off (Duel B) 2018
Nov 9–10, 2018 · Concord, NC · 📍 4751 NC Hwy 49
THE ALGOOD BAR-B-Q PIT CREW won Grand Champion at the Polar Pig BBQ Cook-Off (Duel B) on November 9, 2018 in Concord, NC at 4751 NC Hwy 49, scoring 686.7884 in a field of 44 teams. CONTAGIOUS Q took Reserve Grand Champion with 686.7884. Category winners: Chicken — APORKALYPSE NOW (178.8572); Pork Ribs — Organizer Portal (175.4172); Pork — THE SMOKEHOUSE MAFIA (175.4056); Brisket — TWISTED PAIR BBQ (178.8572). This is the 3rd of 5 editions of this contest on record; the 2018 edition was won by ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN; 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.
469.60
median 670.49
686.79 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 178.86
- Pork Ribs 175.42
- Pork 175.41
- Brisket 178.86
134.80
178.86
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2017 to 2019 — this edition picked out.
Entries
44
4 judged meats
Top score
686.7884
Winning margin
Tie
identical totals — KCBS tiebreaker
Field average
661.37
469.60686.79
median 670.49 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
1.1428 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
677.5884
469.60686.79
10th place overall
Field spread
217.1888
winner to last place
Double threats
4
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 79%
beats 21% of 4723 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
32%
15 of 47 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.55 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,739
avg power rating going in · stronger than 100% of contests
Storylines (8 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.
An upset on the books
20-in-100
shot on pre-contest ratings
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 80 times in 100
THE ALGOOD BAR-B-Q PIT CREW came in rated below the field's top team, Organizer Portal, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 20-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
- champion 1759
- top seed 2004
Won without a category win
2 of 4
meats called to the stage
THE ALGOOD BAR-B-Q PIT CREW won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 2 calls from 4 boards, best of them 2nd. Consistency beat fireworks.
- Chicken 5th
- Pork Ribs 22nd
- Pork 2nd
- Brisket 11th
A knife fight at the top
2.2740
points across the top five
First to fifth in the overall standings covered just 2.2740 points — 3 teams sat within a single point of the lead.
- 1st THE ALGOOD BAR-B-Q PIT CREW
- 2nd CONTAGIOUS Q
- 3rd 3N1 Q
- 4th BOOMERANG BBQ
- 5th BARREL FEVER BBQ
A stacked field
1739
average power rating going in
Stronger than 100% of every rated contest
The field averaged a 1739 power rating going in — stronger than 100% of every contest tracked.
- top seed Organizer Portal (2004)
- 44 rated teams
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 15 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 6–7: CONTAGIOUS Q and Rogue Hog BBQ tied on 174.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 4–5: 3N1 Q and SMOKE THIS tied on 174.2744 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 9–10: BOOMERANG BBQ edged Rogue Hog BBQ by 0.0116.
- Chicken 6–7 · tie
- Pork Ribs 4–5 · tie
- Pork Ribs 9–10 · 0.0116
- Brisket 9–10 · 0.0116
A contest record in pork
175.4056
best pork ever cooked here
THE SMOKEHOUSE MAFIA turned in 175.4056 in pork — past the 174.8572 that had stood across 1 earlier editions.
- old best 174.8572
- across 1 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: REDNECK SCIENTIFIC (won 2017).
- REDNECK SCIENTIFIC · 2017
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 10, 2017 | Concord, NC | 4751 NC Hwy 49 | 47 | 703.9428 | REDNECK SCIENTIFIC | SMOKE MONSTER BBQ |
| Nov 9, 2018 | Concord, NC | 4751 NC Hwy 49 | 56 | 691.3372 | ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN | OLD COLONY SMOKEHOUSE |
| Nov 9, 2018 ← this one | Concord, NC | 4751 NC Hwy 49 | 44 | 686.7884 | THE ALGOOD BAR-B-Q PIT CREW | CONTAGIOUS Q |
| Nov 8, 2019 | Concord, NC | 4751 NC Hwy 49 | 47 | 703.9428 | South Pork | MUTTLEY CREW BBQ |
| Nov 9, 2019 | Concord, NC | 4751 NC Hwy 49 | 33 | 698.2632 | Smack That Butt BBQ | WHO CARES BBQ |
| Nov 5, 2021 | Concord, NC | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nov 6, 2021 | Concord, NC | — | — | — | — | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 178.8572 | 174.2856 | 173.1316 |
| Pork Ribs | 175.4172 | 174.2744 | 172 |
| Pork | 175.4056 | 171.9772 | 169.6912 |
| Brisket | 178.8572 | 173.1084 | 170.8228 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
44 entries · top 686.7884 · median 670.4858
Chicken
44 entries · top 178.8572 · median 168.8456
Pork Ribs
43 entries · top 175.4172 · median 167.4172
Pork
44 entries · top 175.4056 · median 165.6914
Brisket
44 entries · top 178.8572 · median 165.9828