A first Grand Championship
57
tracked contests to get there
This was SKUNK RIVER BBQ's first Grand Championship in the data — it arrived at their 57th tracked contest.
Knights Of Columbus BBQ Smoke Off 4 Life 2018
Jun 15–16, 2018 · Kansas City, KS · 📍 2646 S 34th St
SKUNK RIVER BBQ won Grand Champion at the Knights Of Columbus BBQ Smoke Off 4 Life on June 15, 2018 in Kansas City, KS at 2646 S 34th St, scoring 693.1084 in a field of 32 teams. GETTIN' SAUCED took Reserve Grand Champion with 691.3828. Category winners: Chicken — WEEKEND BUM BBQ (177.7144); Pork Ribs — AMERICAN FIRE BBQ (177.7144); Pork — Salt and Pepper BBQ (175.4172); Brisket — SKUNK RIVER BBQ (177.1428). This is the 2nd of 6 editions of this contest on record; the 2017 edition was won by HIGH i QUE II; 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.
599.37
median 659.29
693.11 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 177.71
- Pork Ribs 177.71
- Pork 175.42
- Brisket 177.14
136.48
177.71
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2017 to 2023 — this edition picked out.
Entries
32
4 judged meats · 2 ancillary
Top score
693.1084
Winning margin
1.7256
GC over RC
Field average
657.49
599.37693.11
median 659.29 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
3.4288 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
670.7424
599.37693.11
10th place overall
Field spread
93.7368
winner to last place
Double threats
5
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 61%
beats 39% of 4715 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
50%
17 of 34 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.71 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,565
avg power rating going in · stronger than 50% of contests
Storylines (4 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.
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 11 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 2–3: 3 PIGS SMOKIN and HOLLA-N-SWALLA tied on 176.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 5–6: HOLLA-N-SWALLA and GETTIN' SAUCED tied on 169.6684 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 3–4: PORKY MCBEEF AND THE CLUCKERS and LIFT, TILT, AND STAGGER BBQ tied on 172.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 2–3 · tie
- Pork 5–6 · tie
- Brisket 3–4 · tie
- Brisket 8–9 · tie
How the title was won
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
SKUNK RIVER BBQ took the title on 3 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was pork at 18th.
- Chicken 4th
- Pork Ribs 3rd
- Pork 18th
- Brisket 1st
A contest record in chicken
177.7144
best chicken ever cooked here
WEEKEND BUM BBQ turned in 177.7144 in chicken — past the 174.8572 that had stood across 1 earlier editions.
- old best 174.8572
- across 1 past editions
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 16, 2017 | Kansas City, KS | 2646 S 34th St | 34 | 694.7772 | HIGH i QUE II | Fergolicious BBQ |
| Jun 15, 2018 ← this one | Kansas City, KS | 2646 S 34th St | 32 | 693.1084 | SKUNK RIVER BBQ | GETTIN' SAUCED |
| Jun 14, 2019 | Kansas City, KS | 2646 S 34th St | 38 | 688.5028 | Fergolicious BBQ | SLAPS BBQ |
| Jun 18, 2021 | Kansas City, KS | Our Lady of Unity | 37 | 706.2744 | Slaps BBQ | Barking Dog BBQ |
| Jun 17, 2022 | Kansas City, KS | Our Lady of Unity | 29 | 705.0856 | Go Pig or Go Home | LOVE 2 Q |
| Jun 16, 2023 | Kansas City, KS | Our Lady of Unity | 29 | 707.4172 | BrewsCue | Cow Creek BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 177.7144 | 174.2856 | 170.8112 |
| Pork Ribs | 177.7144 | 172.5828 | 166.8572 |
| Pork | 175.4172 | 169.6684 | 166.2628 |
| Brisket | 177.1428 | 172.5484 | 168.5600 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
32 entries · top 693.1084 · median 659.2856
Chicken
32 entries · top 177.7144 · median 165.4000
Pork Ribs
32 entries · top 177.7144 · median 165.9600
Pork
32 entries · top 175.4172 · median 163.9428
Brisket
32 entries · top 177.1428 · median 166.5428
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 — Bake Beans
7 entries · top 177.7028 · median 169.7028
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BOOM CHICKA COW COW | |
| 2 | PETE'S BACK ALLEY BBQ | |
| 3 | BUD'S BOYS BBQ | |
| 4 | Salt and Pepper BBQ | |
| 5 | RUB THAT MEAT BBQ | |
| 6 | Knights of the Holy Smoker | |
| 7 | 2 DRUNK 2 QUE |
Master Series — Desserts
9 entries · top 180 · median 174.2744 · 🔥 perfect 180