A new contest record
703.4172
highest overall ever cooked here
703.4172 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 700.5712 SLAPS BBQ set in 2016.
- old record 700.5712
- set 2016 by SLAPS BBQ
Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championship 2018
Aug 24–25, 2018 · Lubbock, TX · 📍 1308 Indiana Ave
BOOMERANG BBQ won Grand Champion at the Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championship on August 24, 2018 in Lubbock, TX at 1308 Indiana Ave, scoring 703.4172 in a field of 54 teams. KISS MY RACK took Reserve Grand Champion with 698.2400. Category winners: Chicken — GOING SOUTH BBQ (179.4400); Pork Ribs — KISS MY RACK (180.0000); Pork — Texas Stick Burners (177.7372); Brisket — Texas Stick Burners (179.4400). This is the 3rd of 5 editions of this contest on record; the 2017 edition was won by Outdoor Chef; the next was held in 2025.
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.
143.94
median 655.90
703.42 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 179.44
- Pork Ribs 180 🔥
- Pork 177.74
- Brisket 179.44
87.37
180
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2016 to 2026 — this edition picked out.
Entries
54
4 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
703.4172
Winning margin
5.1772
GC over RC
Field average
629.28
143.94703.42
median 655.90 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Chicken
3.4400 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
678.2740
143.94703.42
10th place overall
Field spread
559.4744
winner to last place
Double threats
6
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 19%
beats 81% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
41%
18 of 44 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.63 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,547
avg power rating going in · stronger than 35% 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
BOOMERANG 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 3rd
- Brisket 6th
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 10 calls decided inside half a point
Pork Ribs places 7–8: BUCKSHOT BBQ - TX and Where There's A Will tied on 172.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 8–9: Where There's A Will and SMOKE EM UP BBQ tied on 172.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 7–8: ROLLIN' SMOKE BBQ TEXAS and Outdoor Chef tied on 172.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Pork Ribs 7–8 · tie
- Pork Ribs 8–9 · tie
- Pork 7–8 · tie
- Brisket 9–10 · tie
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
Texas Stick Burners won Pork, Brisket — a double.
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 1st
A contest record in pork ribs
180.0000
best pork ribs ever cooked here
KISS MY RACK turned in 180.0000 in pork ribs — past the 177.7144 that had stood across 2 earlier editions.
- old best 177.7144
- across 2 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: Outdoor Chef (won 2017).
- Outdoor Chef · 2017
A perfect score on the table
1
perfect 180s
1 perfect 180 was scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- KISS MY RACK · Pork Ribs
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 26, 2016 | Lubbock, TX | 1308 Indiana Ave | 72 | 700.5712 | SLAPS BBQ | SLAP YO' DADDY BBQ |
| Aug 25, 2017 | Lubbock, TX | 1308 Indiana Ave | 44 | 698.2628 | Outdoor Chef | BOOMERANG BBQ |
| Aug 24, 2018 ← this one | Lubbock, TX | 1308 Indiana Ave | 54 | 703.4172 | BOOMERANG BBQ | KISS MY RACK |
| Aug 15, 2025 | Lubbock, TX | 1308 Indiana Ave | 55 | 705.7028 | Smoked & Furious | TCB BBQ |
| Aug 21, 2026 | Lubbock, TX | 1308 Indiana Ave | 51 | 706.2628 | TINY E BBQ | God's Country BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 179.4400 | 176 | 172.0228 |
| Pork Ribs | 180 | 174.8572 | 172.0116 |
| Pork | 177.7372 | 172.5484 | 171.4056 |
| Brisket | 179.4400 | 174.2856 | 171.4400 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
54 entries · top 703.4172 · median 655.9024
Chicken
52 entries · top 179.4400 · median 163.9770
Pork Ribs
54 entries · top 180 · median 165.9770 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork
52 entries · top 177.7372 · median 163.4286
Brisket
52 entries · top 179.4400 · median 163.3828
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 — Steak
54 entries · top 142.8572 · median 129.4114