A new contest record
701.1200
highest overall ever cooked here
701.1200 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 697.7028 SMOKE THIS BBQ MO set in 2017.
- old record 697.7028
- set 2017 by SMOKE THIS BBQ MO
Racing for the BBQ 2018
Jul 27–28, 2018 · Lee's Summit, MO · 📍 NE Campground RD
SLAPS BBQ won Grand Champion at the Racing for the BBQ on July 27, 2018 in Lee's Summit, MO at NE Campground RD, scoring 701.1200 in a field of 66 teams. DIRT ROAD BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 698.2856. Category winners: Chicken — GETTIN' SAUCED (176.5600); Pork Ribs — PORKY MCBEEF AND THE CLUCKERS (176.5716); Pork — LIVESPARKS (179.4400); Brisket — BURNT FINGER BBQ (176.5600). This is the 6th of 6 editions of this contest on record; the 2017 edition was won by SMOKE THIS BBQ MO.
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.
159.42
median 641.90
701.12 🏆
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 176.57
- Pork 179.44
- Brisket 176.56
133.65
179.44
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2013 to 2018 — this edition picked out.
Entries
66
4 judged meats · 3 ancillary
Top score
701.1200
Winning margin
2.8344
GC over RC
Field average
557.94
159.42701.12
median 641.90 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
1.7144 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
675.3600
159.42701.12
10th place overall
Field spread
541.7028
winner to last place
Double threats
4
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 28%
beats 72% of 4715 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
50%
27 of 54 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.57 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,536
avg power rating going in · stronger than 27% of contests
Storylines (7 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.
Won without a category win
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
SLAPS BBQ won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 4 calls from 4 boards, best of them 2nd. Consistency beat fireworks.
- Chicken 2nd
- Pork Ribs 4th
- Pork 2nd
- Brisket 6th
A dynasty in the making
2×
wins at this contest
2 of 6 tracked editions
SLAPS BBQ has won this contest 2 times across its 6 tracked editions.
- 2016
- 2018
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 11 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 2–3: SLAPS BBQ and DIRT ROAD BBQ tied on 176.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 9–10: SONS OF A BRISKET and SHOW ME THE QUE! tied on 170.8228 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 3–4: THE BOYS IN QUE and SLAPS BBQ tied on 175.4056 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 2–3 · tie
- Chicken 9–10 · tie
- Pork Ribs 3–4 · tie
- Pork 3–4 · tie
Back to defend
3
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: GETTIN' SAUCED (won 2013), Smoke Masters Mafia (won 2015), SLAPS BBQ (won 2016).
- GETTIN' SAUCED · 2013
- Smoke Masters Mafia · 2015
- SLAPS BBQ · 2016
One of the big ones
66
teams on the grounds
Bigger than 94% of the 5,469 contests in the data
66 teams — bigger than 94% of the 5,469 contests in the data.
The biggest field yet
66
teams — a contest high
This contest usually draws about 57 teams
66 teams is the deepest field this contest has drawn in the data, against a typical 57.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 26, 2013 | Lee's Summit, MO | Lee's Summit, MO | 58 | 695.9656 | GETTIN' SAUCED | BLAZIN' BLUES BBQ |
| Jul 25, 2014 | Lee's Summit, MO | Lee's Summit, MO 64086 | 54 | 687.3368 | SHAKE 'N BAKE BBQ | GETTIN' SAUCED |
| Jul 24, 2015 | Lees Summit, MO | Lees Summit, MO 64126 | 63 | 696.0344 | Smoke Masters Mafia | GETTIN' BASTED |
| Jul 29, 2016 | Lee's Summit, MO | NE Campground RD | 54 | 695.9540 | SLAPS BBQ | VALLEY OAKS STEAK COMPANY |
| Jul 28, 2017 | Lee's Summit, MO | NE Campground RD | 54 | 697.7028 | SMOKE THIS BBQ MO | 3 PIGS SMOKIN |
| Jul 27, 2018 ← this one | Lee's Summit, MO | NE Campground RD | 66 | 701.1200 | SLAPS BBQ | DIRT ROAD BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 176.5600 | 174.8456 | 170.8228 |
| Pork Ribs | 176.5716 | 173.1660 | 169.6800 |
| Pork | 179.4400 | 174.2972 | 171.9656 |
| Brisket | 176.5600 | 171.9656 | 169.6800 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
66 entries · top 701.1200 · median 641.8972
Chicken
53 entries · top 176.5600 · median 165.1316
Pork Ribs
53 entries · top 176.5716 · median 163.9772
Pork
53 entries · top 179.4400 · median 165.1428
Brisket
53 entries · top 176.5600 · median 160.5372
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 — Hot Dog
8 entries · top 177.7028 · median 170.2742
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BURNT FINGER BBQ | |
| 2 | ROADKILL BBQ | |
| 3 | LOCK, STOCK, AND TWO SMOKING FELLAS | |
| 4 | Shark Crew BBQ | |
| 5 | ALL FORKED UP FOR Q | |
| 6 | LOVE 2 Q | |
| 7 | THE JOY OF BBQ | |
| 8 | HANG 'EM' HIGH |
Master Series — Kids 5-10
10 entries · top 177.7028 · median 172.5484
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cooper Johnson | |
| 2 | Riley Fisher | |
| 3 | Tanner Hicks | |
| 4 | Landon Elliott | |
| 5 | Trey Bebow | |
| 6 | Avery Gibson | |
| 7 | Cash Stratton | |
| 8 | GABRIEL ARNETT | |
| 9 | Hank Day | |
| 10 | Leonard Peterson |
Master Series — Teens 11-15
3 entries · top 173.1428 · median 170.8228
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Will Fisher | |
| 2 | Aliyeh Wheeler | |
| 3 | Mason Little |