A first Grand Championship
2
tracked contests to get there
This was Smoked Pioneers BBQ Team's first Grand Championship in the data — it arrived at their 2nd tracked contest.
BBQ Festival 2018
Aug 17, 2018 · Vanamõisa, Saue Parish, Estonia · ESTONIA · 📍 Vanamõisa, Saue Parish, 13522
Smoked Pioneers BBQ Team won Grand Champion at the BBQ Festival 2018 on August 17, 2018 in Vanamõisa, Saue Parish, 13522 at Vanamõisa, Saue Parish, 13522, scoring 662.3544 in a field of 10 teams. Insomnia BBQ Team took Reserve Grand Champion with 650.8576. Category winners: Chicken — Faeton BBQ (168.5828); Pork Ribs — Smoked Pioneers BBQ Team (174.9028); Pork — Insomnia BBQ Team (165.6800); Brisket — Smoked Pioneers BBQ Team (170.2972). This is the 1st of 2 editions of this contest on record; the next was held in 2020.
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.
426.81
median 619.58
662.35 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 168.58
- Pork Ribs 174.90
- Pork 165.68
- Brisket 170.30
20
174.90
Entries
10
4 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
662.3544
Winning margin
11.4968
GC over RC
Field average
592.87
426.81662.35
median 619.58 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
5.7372 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
426.8116
426.81662.35
10th place overall
Field spread
235.5428
winner to last place
Double threats
7
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 99%
beats 1% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.61 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,499
avg power rating going in · stronger than 1% of contests
Storylines (5 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
11.4968
points clear of the field
Wider than 91% of the 4,710 championships in the data
The champion won by 11.4968 points — a wider margin than 91% of championships in the data.
Photo finishes
0.0572
decided the closest call
Pork places 4–5: Smoking Finns edged Redneck Bar-B-Q Express by 0.0572.
- Pork 4–5 · 0.0572
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
Smoked Pioneers BBQ Team won Pork Ribs, Brisket — a double, and took the Grand Championship on top of it.
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Brisket 1st
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
Smoked Pioneers BBQ Team took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 2 outright wins — their weakest board was pork at 6th.
- Chicken 3rd
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 6th
- Brisket 1st
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 17, 2018 ← this one | Vanamõisa, Saue Parish | Vanamõisa, Saue Parish, 13522 | 10 | 662.3544 | Smoked Pioneers BBQ Team | Insomnia BBQ Team |
| Aug 21, 2020 | Saue Parish | Vanamoisa | 13 | 685.0512 | Sweaty Hogs | BBQ Symphony |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 168.5828 | 162.8456 | 20 |
| Pork Ribs | 174.9028 | 160.6060 | 137.0972 |
| Pork | 165.6800 | 154.8228 | 20 |
| Brisket | 170.2972 | 150.2628 | 124.5372 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
10 entries · top 662.3544 · median 619.5770
Chicken
10 entries · top 168.5828 · median 162.0056
Pork Ribs
10 entries · top 174.9028 · median 158.8630
Pork
10 entries · top 165.6800 · median 153.1314
Brisket
10 entries · top 170.2972 · median 145.4000
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 — Sauce
10 entries · top 174.2972 · median 160.2856