A new contest record
690.2516
highest overall ever cooked here
690.2516 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 683.3372 FINN'S FINEST BBQ set in 2016.
- old record 683.3372
- set 2016 by FINN'S FINEST BBQ
New Jersey State Barbecue Championship 2018
Jul 14–15, 2018 · North Wildwood, NJ
UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT won Grand Champion at the New Jersey State Barbecue Championship on July 14, 2018 in North Wildwood, NJ, scoring 690.2516 in a field of 64 teams. PIGGIN' WHISKEY took Reserve Grand Champion with 674.2056. Category winners: Chicken — TOM TOM BOB A QUE (176.5600); Pork Ribs — UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT (174.8572); Pork — SWINE AND CHEESE (177.7144); Brisket — SHADY CREW (176.0344). This is the 6th of 12 editions of this contest on record; the 2017 edition was won by LOCAL SMOKE 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.
522.09
median 628.44
690.25 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 176.56
- Pork Ribs 174.86
- Pork 177.71
- Brisket 176.03
108.48
177.71
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2013 to 2026 — this edition picked out.
Entries
64
4 judged meats · 3 ancillary
Top score
690.2516
Winning margin
16.0460
GC over RC
Field average
619.88
522.09690.25
median 628.44 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
2.8456 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
650.1256
522.09690.25
10th place overall
Field spread
168.1600
winner to last place
Double threats
4
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 70%
beats 30% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
73%
49 of 67 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.57 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,523
avg power rating going in · stronger than 16% of contests
Storylines (9 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 statement win
16.0460
points clear of the field
Wider than 97% of the 4,710 championships in the data
The champion won by 16.0460 points — a wider margin than 97% of championships in the data.
A dynasty in the making
3×
wins at this contest
3 of 12 tracked editions
Chunky BBQ has won this contest 3 times across its 12 tracked editions.
- 2022
- 2023
- 2024
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 8 calls decided inside half a point
Brisket places 2–3: TOP GUN BARBECUE and UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT tied on 174.8572 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 3–4: PHILLY SMOKE edged HERDER HERDER BBQ by 0.0112. Pork places 9–10: PIGGIN' WHISKEY edged Moe Cason Barbeque by 0.0116.
- Brisket 2–3 · tie
- Pork Ribs 3–4 · 0.0112
- Pork 9–10 · 0.0116
- Pork Ribs 8–9 · 0.0116
How the title was won
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT took the title on 3 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was pork at 19th.
- Chicken 2nd
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 19th
- Brisket 3rd
A contest record in pork ribs
174.8572
best pork ribs ever cooked here
UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT turned in 174.8572 in pork ribs — past the 173.7372 that had stood across 5 earlier editions.
- old best 173.7372
- across 5 past editions
Back to defend
3
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: LOCAL SMOKE BBQ (won 2013, 2017), UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT (won 2015), FINN'S FINEST BBQ (won 2016).
- LOCAL SMOKE BBQ · 2013, 2017
- UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT · 2015
- FINN'S FINEST BBQ · 2016
One of the big ones
64
teams on the grounds
Bigger than 93% of the 5,462 contests in the data
64 teams — bigger than 93% of the 5,462 contests in the data.
They keep coming back
73%
of last edition’s field returned
49 of 67 teams from 2017-07-07 came back
49 of the 67 teams that cooked the previous edition came back for this one — a contest people put on the calendar.
This contest's own records (6 in the KCBS record book)
Records held by every edition of this contest put together, not just this one afternoon.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 12, 2013 | North Wildwood, NJ | North Wildwood, NJ | 65 | 655.3940 | LOCAL SMOKE BBQ | RIBS WITHIN |
| Jul 11, 2014 | North Wildwood, NJ | North Wildwood, NJ 08260 | 65 | 670.3088 | GONEHOGGIN.COM | SHADY CREW |
| Jul 10, 2015 | North Wildwood, NJ | North Wildwood, NJ 08260 | 65 | 667.9200 | UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT | SLOWER LOWER BBQ |
| Jul 8, 2016 | North Wildwood, NJ | North Wildwood , NJ | 65 | 683.3372 | FINN'S FINEST BBQ | WILBUR'S REVENGE |
| Jul 7, 2017 | North Wildwood, NJ | 201 New Jersey Ave | 67 | 674.1480 | LOCAL SMOKE BBQ | FINN'S FINEST BBQ |
| Jul 14, 2018 ← this one | North Wildwood, NJ | North Wildwood, NJ 08260 | 64 | 690.2516 | UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT | PIGGIN' WHISKEY |
| Jul 12, 2019 | North Wildwood, NJ | 201 New Jersey Ave | 64 | 689.6340 | Uncle Pigs Barbecue Pit | TOP GUN BARBECUE |
| Jul 9, 2022 | North Wildwood, NJ | 201 New Jersey Ave | 61 | 703.3828 | Chunky BBQ | UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT |
| Jul 14, 2023 | North Wildwood, NJ | 201 New Jersey Ave | 64 | 703.9772 | Chunky BBQ | GLAZED AND INFUSED NEW JERSEY BBQ |
| Jul 13, 2024 | North Wildwood, NJ | 201 New Jersey Ave | 62 | 695.3944 | Chunky BBQ | UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT |
| Jul 12, 2025 | North Wildwood, NJ | 201 New Jersey Ave | 63 | 694.2400 | Pig Candy Barbeque Co. | Big Butts BBQ |
| Jul 11, 2026 | North Wildwood, NJ | 201 New Jersey Ave | 62 | 704.5256 | B's Que | Bogg's Hog BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 176.5600 | 173.7144 | 167.9656 |
| Pork Ribs | 174.8572 | 170.8800 | 167.4400 |
| Pork | 177.7144 | 169.1316 | 166.8228 |
| Brisket | 176.0344 | 170.8572 | 166.2400 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
64 entries · top 690.2516 · median 628.4404
Chicken
64 entries · top 176.5600 · median 157.1142
Pork Ribs
64 entries · top 174.8572 · median 156.5716
Pork
64 entries · top 177.7144 · median 159.1372
Brisket
64 entries · top 176.0344 · median 153.3772
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 — Dessert
38 entries · top 180 · median 165.9772 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SMOKIN' TEX BBQ | |
| 2 | CARVER'S Q | |
| 3 | Mates Nice Rack BBQ | |
| 4 | SMOKOPOLIS BBQ | |
| 5 | PHILLY SMOKE | |
| 6 | SMOKIN' HOT PIGGIES | |
| 7 | PIGGIN' WHISKEY | |
| 8 | TEAM BOY-B-Q | |
| 9 | PACKANACK LAKE BBQ CLUB | |
| 10 | BLACK TIE BBQ | |
| 11 | Fat Rocky BBQ | |
| 12 | Hot Rod's BBQ | |
| 13 | BAR B Q DAT | |
| 14 | UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT | |
| 15 | TEAM OLD SCHOOL | |
| 16 | LOCAL SMOKE BBQ | |
| 17 | SIR-PORK'S-ALOT BBQ | |
| 18 | Crescent Moon BBQ | |
| 19 | UP IN SMOKERS | |
| 20 | TOM TOM BOB A QUE | |
| 21 | B'S QUE | |
| 22 | POPPA Q-BBQ | |
| 23 | RIBS WITHIN | |
| 24 | COOKS N HOOKS | |
| 25 | WE RIB U LONG TIME | |
| 26 | MITCH'S BBQ | |
| 27 | PALM TREE SMOKEHOUSE | |
| 28 | SHADY CREW | |
| 29 | BONES & BIBS SWINE TEAM | |
| 30 | Crotchwood BBQ Team | |
| 31 | SMOKE OR BE SMOKED | |
| 32 | BIG BAD WOLVES | |
| 33 | MinuteMan BBQ | |
| 34 | RUB ME TENDER OF SMYRNA | |
| 35 | WHAT'S SMOKIN | |
| 36 | SWINE AND CHEESE | |
| 37 | HONEY BEARS BBQ TEAM | |
| 38 | TJ's BBQ |
Master Series — Iron Chef
51 entries · top 180 · median 160.5256 · 🔥 perfect 180
Master Series — Sauce
57 entries · top 174.8800 · median 157.0740