10th Annual Auburn Hills Barbecue Cook-Off

Jun 22–23, 2018 · Auburn Hills, MI · 📍 Auburn Road(Downtown)

🥇

iBQ'n

686.2400 · Master Series — Overall

🥈

BAVARIAN SMOKE BBQ

678.1708 · Master Series — Overall

🥉

THE REAL SMOKIN ACES

672.4572 · Master Series — Overall

iBQ'n won Grand Champion at the 10th Annual Auburn Hills Barbecue Cook-Off on June 22, 2018 in Auburn Hills, MI at Auburn Road(Downtown), scoring 686.2400 in a field of 30 teams. BAVARIAN SMOKE BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 678.1708. Category winners: Chicken — BAVARIAN SMOKE BBQ (175.4056); Pork Ribs — BAVARIAN SMOKE BBQ (173.7028); Pork — iBQ'n (178.2972); Brisket — J & B'S BBQ (175.4056).

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.

546.83 median 651.30 686.24 🏆

How the meats cooked

Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.

Chicken 175.41
Pork Ribs 173.70
Pork 178.30
Brisket 175.41

130.30 178.30

Entries

4 judged meats

Top score

686.2400

Winning margin

8.0692

GC over RC

Field average

640.44

546.83686.24

median 651.30 · last place to winner

Perfect 180s

Tightest race

Pork Ribs

4.0344 pts across the top 5

Top-10 cutoff

662.1712

546.83686.24

10th place overall

Field spread

139.4060

winner to last place

Most consistent

iBQ'n

avg finish 5.50 across 4 meats

Double threats

teams with 2+ top-5 calls

Widest winning margin

Pork Ribs

won by 2.8000 pts — BAVARIAN SMOKE BBQ

How hot was the win?

Top 80%

beats 20% of 4715 Master Series wins in the data

Form held

Strong

ρ = -0.71 between pre-contest rating and finish

Field strength

1,583

avg power rating going in · stronger than 66% of contests

Top-rated in the field

iBQ'n

rated 1860 pre-contest

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.

Photo finishes

Tie closest of 9 calls decided inside half a point

Chicken places 2–3: BO B Q BBQ and THE REAL SMOKIN ACES tied on 174.2744 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 6–7: TWO CRACKERS Q-ING and SPITTIN' FEATHERS BBQ tied on 168.0116 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 9–10: PB&J'S BBQ TEAM and BAVARIAN SMOKE BBQ tied on 166.2512 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.

Chicken 2–3 · tie
Pork Ribs 6–7 · tie
Brisket 9–10 · tie
Brisket 8–9 · 0.0116

A double category winner

2 category wins in a day

BAVARIAN SMOKE BBQ won Chicken, Pork Ribs — a double.

Chicken 1st
Pork Ribs 1st

How the title was won

3 of 4 meats called to the stage

iBQ'n took the title on 3 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was chicken at 14th.

Chicken 14th
Pork Ribs 4th
Pork 1st
Brisket 3rd

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)

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	175.4056	170.8572	166.2628
Pork Ribs	173.7028	169.6684	164.5372
Pork	178.2972	169.1772	163.9656
Brisket	175.4056	170.8800	166.2512

Official results on kcbs.us ↗

Master Series

Overall

30 entries · top 686.2400 · median 651.3026

#	Team	Score
1	iBQ'n	686.2400
2	BAVARIAN SMOKE BBQ	678.1708
3	THE REAL SMOKIN ACES	672.4572
4	RUBBED, SMOKED, AND SAUCED BBQ	670.8912
5	SPITTIN' FEATHERS BBQ	669.1200
6	PB&J'S BBQ TEAM	669.0624
7	AWW HELL	668.5028
8	TWO CRACKERS Q-ING	664
9	BAD WOLF BBQ	663.4288
10	J & B'S BBQ	662.1712
11	BO B Q BBQ	661.6116
12	BAD HABIT BBQ	658.2280
13	KEVLAR BBQ	658.1484
14	SWEET RACKS & SMOKIN' BUTTS BBQ	655.3484
15	40 CALIBER BBQ	651.3140
16	SLIPPERY PETE'S BBQ	651.2912
17	SMOKIN GOOD TIME BBQ	648.5028
18	FIREHOUSE SMOKE	647.7940
19	MAC ATTACK BBQ	646.1368
20	DETROIT PIGSKIN BARBEQUE	631.7940
21	BROTHERHOOD OF SWINE	631.2912
22	CORPORAL KLINGERS Q	622.2628
23	STINKY D'S BBQ	616.4340
24	QUEFELLAS BBQ	614.6856
25	RAMSHACKLE BBQ	613.0972
26	TEX BBQ	607.9316
27	LICENSE TO GRILL	591.3372
28	Mad Hunky Meats	590.7084
29	Side Door Smoke	564.4572
30	JD'S SMOKIN BBQ - MICHIGAN	546.8340

Chicken

30 entries · top 175.4056 · median 163.9886

#	Team	Score
1	BAVARIAN SMOKE BBQ	175.4056
2	BO B Q BBQ	174.2744
3	THE REAL SMOKIN ACES	174.2744
4	40 CALIBER BBQ	172
5	SWEET RACKS & SMOKIN' BUTTS BBQ	170.8572
6	KEVLAR BBQ	170.8456
7	BAD WOLF BBQ	170.2972
8	RUBBED, SMOKED, AND SAUCED BBQ	169.1084
9	SMOKIN GOOD TIME BBQ	168.5828
10	PB&J'S BBQ TEAM	166.2628
11	AWW HELL	166.2628
12	SLIPPERY PETE'S BBQ	165.6684
13	SPITTIN' FEATHERS BBQ	165.1200
14	iBQ'n	165.1200
15	CORPORAL KLINGERS Q	164.5944
16	FIREHOUSE SMOKE	163.3828
17	TWO CRACKERS Q-ING	162.2856
18	J & B'S BBQ	162.2628
19	MAC ATTACK BBQ	161.7028
20	BAD HABIT BBQ	161.1656
21	LICENSE TO GRILL	161.1200
22	STINKY D'S BBQ	155.9772
23	QUEFELLAS BBQ	154.8456
24	Mad Hunky Meats	154.2628
25	TEX BBQ	152.5372
26	BROTHERHOOD OF SWINE	150.2172
27	RAMSHACKLE BBQ	147.9656
28	DETROIT PIGSKIN BARBEQUE	147.3828
29	Side Door Smoke	133.1544
30	JD'S SMOKIN BBQ - MICHIGAN	131.4512

Pork Ribs

30 entries · top 173.7028 · median 160.2400

#	Team	Score
1	BAVARIAN SMOKE BBQ	173.7028
2	RUBBED, SMOKED, AND SAUCED BBQ	170.9028
3	BAD WOLF BBQ	170.8572
4	iBQ'n	170.2628
5	40 CALIBER BBQ	169.6684
6	TWO CRACKERS Q-ING	168.0116
7	SPITTIN' FEATHERS BBQ	168.0116
8	AWW HELL	167.9772
9	PB&J'S BBQ TEAM	166.2856
10	SLIPPERY PETE'S BBQ	164.5372
11	DETROIT PIGSKIN BARBEQUE	164.5256
12	MAC ATTACK BBQ	163.9772
13	FIREHOUSE SMOKE	163.3828
14	BAD HABIT BBQ	162.8228
15	KEVLAR BBQ	161.0972
16	QUEFELLAS BBQ	159.3828
17	CORPORAL KLINGERS Q	158.2628
18	BO B Q BBQ	158.2400
19	SWEET RACKS & SMOKIN' BUTTS BBQ	158.2400
20	THE REAL SMOKIN ACES	158.2056
21	STINKY D'S BBQ	157.1428
22	J & B'S BBQ	157.0972
23	BROTHERHOOD OF SWINE	156.5256
24	SMOKIN GOOD TIME BBQ	154.8000
25	RAMSHACKLE BBQ	153.7028
26	Mad Hunky Meats	151.3944
27	TEX BBQ	147.9772
28	Side Door Smoke	141.1200
29	JD'S SMOKIN BBQ - MICHIGAN	137.6800
30	LICENSE TO GRILL	135.4172

Pork

30 entries · top 178.2972 · median 161.6744

#	Team	Score
1	iBQ'n	178.2972
2	THE REAL SMOKIN ACES	177.7144
3	BAD HABIT BBQ	171.4056
4	PB&J'S BBQ TEAM	170.2628
5	RUBBED, SMOKED, AND SAUCED BBQ	169.1772
6	SWEET RACKS & SMOKIN' BUTTS BBQ	169.1200
7	J & B'S BBQ	167.4056
8	SPITTIN' FEATHERS BBQ	164.5484
9	DETROIT PIGSKIN BARBEQUE	164.5256
10	MAC ATTACK BBQ	163.9656
11	AWW HELL	163.3828
12	BAVARIAN SMOKE BBQ	162.8112
13	SMOKIN GOOD TIME BBQ	161.7028
14	BAD WOLF BBQ	161.6800
15	40 CALIBER BBQ	161.6800
16	FIREHOUSE SMOKE	161.6688
17	RAMSHACKLE BBQ	160.5944
18	LICENSE TO GRILL	160
19	BO B Q BBQ	159.9544
20	KEVLAR BBQ	159.9428
21	TWO CRACKERS Q-ING	158.8456
22	SLIPPERY PETE'S BBQ	158.2400
23	BROTHERHOOD OF SWINE	157.7028
24	TEX BBQ	156
25	Side Door Smoke	155.3600
26	Mad Hunky Meats	150.8340
27	STINKY D'S BBQ	150.7884
28	QUEFELLAS BBQ	149.6344
29	CORPORAL KLINGERS Q	149.1084
30	JD'S SMOKIN BBQ - MICHIGAN	147.4056

Brisket

30 entries · top 175.4056 · median 161.1486

#	Team	Score
1	J & B'S BBQ	175.4056
2	TWO CRACKERS Q-ING	174.8572
3	iBQ'n	172.5600
4	SPITTIN' FEATHERS BBQ	171.4400
5	AWW HELL	170.8800
6	BO B Q BBQ	169.1428
7	BROTHERHOOD OF SWINE	166.8456
8	KEVLAR BBQ	166.2628
9	PB&J'S BBQ TEAM	166.2512
10	BAVARIAN SMOKE BBQ	166.2512
11	SMOKIN GOOD TIME BBQ	163.4172
12	SLIPPERY PETE'S BBQ	162.8456
13	BAD HABIT BBQ	162.8340
14	THE REAL SMOKIN ACES	162.2628
15	RUBBED, SMOKED, AND SAUCED BBQ	161.7028
16	BAD WOLF BBQ	160.5944
17	FIREHOUSE SMOKE	159.3596
18	SWEET RACKS & SMOKIN' BUTTS BBQ	157.1312
19	MAC ATTACK BBQ	156.4912
20	DETROIT PIGSKIN BARBEQUE	155.3600
21	STINKY D'S BBQ	152.5256
22	TEX BBQ	151.4172
23	RAMSHACKLE BBQ	150.8344
24	QUEFELLAS BBQ	150.8228
25	CORPORAL KLINGERS Q	150.2972
26	40 CALIBER BBQ	147.9656
27	Side Door Smoke	134.8228
28	LICENSE TO GRILL	134.8000
29	Mad Hunky Meats	134.2172
30	JD'S SMOKIN BBQ - MICHIGAN	130.2972

10th Annual Auburn Hills Barbecue Cook-Off

The contest at a glance (read off the scored boards)

How the field scored

How the meats cooked

Entries

Top score

Winning margin

Field average

Perfect 180s

Tightest race

Top-10 cutoff

Field spread

Most consistent

Double threats

Widest winning margin

How hot was the win?

Form held

Field strength

Top-rated in the field

Storylines (3 found in this contest's numbers)

Photo finishes

A double category winner

How the title was won

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)

Official results on kcbs.us ↗

Master Series

Overall

Chicken

Pork Ribs

Pork

Brisket