A first Grand Championship
36
tracked contests to get there
This was MEAT RUSHMORE BBQ's first Grand Championship in the data — it arrived at their 36th tracked contest.
UMB Smokin Vault BBQ Contest (Invitational Competitor's Series)
May 3–4, 2019 · Kansas City, MO · 📍 American Royal
Reps: Carolyn Wells
MEAT RUSHMORE BBQ won Grand Champion at the UMB Smokin Vault BBQ Contest (Invitational Competitor's Series) on May 3, 2019 in Kansas City, MO at American Royal, scoring 687.3828 in a field of 16 teams. SUPERSWINE took Reserve Grand Champion with 685.6456. Category winners: Chicken — DRUM DADDY BBQ (178.8800); Pork Ribs — SUPERSWINE (175.4400); Pork — SUPERSWINE (178.8572); Brisket — MEAT RUSHMORE BBQ (170.2744).
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.
570.23
median 645.59
687.38 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 178.88
- Pork Ribs 175.44
- Pork 178.86
- Brisket 170.27
129.67
178.88
Entries
16
4 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
687.3828
Winning margin
1.7372
GC over RC
Field average
636.60
570.23687.38
median 645.59 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
5.1656 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
628.4800
570.23687.38
10th place overall
Field spread
117.1540
winner to last place
Double threats
6
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
Storylines (4 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 5 calls decided inside half a point
Brisket places 4–5: PARK AVENUE PORK and MEN OF ERIN tied on 163.9656 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 4–5: MEN OF ERIN edged VOODOO STILL SAUCED by 0.0112. Chicken places 2–3: MEAT RUSHMORE BBQ edged PARK AVENUE PORK by 0.0228.
- Brisket 4–5 · tie
- Pork Ribs 4–5 · 0.0112
- Chicken 2–3 · 0.0228
- Brisket 5–6 · 0.0228
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
SUPERSWINE won Pork Ribs, Pork — a double.
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 1st
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
MEAT RUSHMORE BBQ took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was pork at 3rd.
- Chicken 2nd
- Pork Ribs 2nd
- Pork 3rd
- 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
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 178.8800 | 169.1428 | 161.1316 |
| Pork Ribs | 175.4400 | 170.2744 | 159.3828 |
| Pork | 178.8572 | 165.1200 | 158.8572 |
| Brisket | 170.2744 | 163.9656 | 153.6572 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Competitor Series
Overall
16 entries · top 687.3828 · median 645.5884 · out of 720, not the usual 720
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | MEAT RUSHMORE BBQ | |
| 2 | SUPERSWINE | |
| 3 | DRUM DADDY BBQ | |
| 4 | PARK AVENUE PORK | |
| 5 | VOODOO STILL SAUCED | |
| 6 | MEN OF ERIN | |
| 7 | PORKIN THE PIG | |
| 8 | GAME OF BONES | |
| 9 | FAT CAT BBQ | |
| 10 | SMOKE-A-HOLICS | |
| 11 | TOMBSTONE Q | |
| 12 | GRILLE BILLIES | |
| 13 | MILWAUKEE BREW CREW | |
| 14 | BUBBYQ | |
| 15 | TAILGATE WARRIORS | |
| 16 | DOWN SOUTH BBQ |
Chicken
16 entries · top 178.8800 · median 164.2858
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DRUM DADDY BBQ | |
| 2 | MEAT RUSHMORE BBQ | |
| 3 | PARK AVENUE PORK | |
| 4 | VOODOO STILL SAUCED | |
| 5 | PORKIN THE PIG | |
| 6 | SUPERSWINE | |
| 7 | GAME OF BONES | |
| 8 | MILWAUKEE BREW CREW | |
| 9 | SMOKE-A-HOLICS | |
| 10 | TAILGATE WARRIORS | |
| 11 | MEN OF ERIN | |
| 12 | FAT CAT BBQ | |
| 13 | DOWN SOUTH BBQ | |
| 14 | GRILLE BILLIES | |
| 15 | TOMBSTONE Q | |
| 16 | BUBBYQ |
Pork Ribs
16 entries · top 175.4400 · median 160.8114
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SUPERSWINE | |
| 2 | MEAT RUSHMORE BBQ | |
| 3 | GRILLE BILLIES | |
| 4 | MEN OF ERIN | |
| 5 | VOODOO STILL SAUCED | |
| 6 | PORKIN THE PIG | |
| 7 | FAT CAT BBQ | |
| 8 | TOMBSTONE Q | |
| 9 | DRUM DADDY BBQ | |
| 10 | SMOKE-A-HOLICS | |
| 11 | PARK AVENUE PORK | |
| 12 | GAME OF BONES | |
| 13 | BUBBYQ | |
| 14 | TAILGATE WARRIORS | |
| 15 | MILWAUKEE BREW CREW | |
| 16 | DOWN SOUTH BBQ |
Pork
16 entries · top 178.8572 · median 160.5428
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SUPERSWINE | |
| 2 | PARK AVENUE PORK | |
| 3 | MEAT RUSHMORE BBQ | |
| 4 | VOODOO STILL SAUCED | |
| 5 | DRUM DADDY BBQ | |
| 6 | TOMBSTONE Q | |
| 7 | FAT CAT BBQ | |
| 8 | BUBBYQ | |
| 9 | GAME OF BONES | |
| 10 | MEN OF ERIN | |
| 11 | PORKIN THE PIG | |
| 12 | SMOKE-A-HOLICS | |
| 13 | MILWAUKEE BREW CREW | |
| 14 | DOWN SOUTH BBQ | |
| 15 | GRILLE BILLIES | |
| 16 | TAILGATE WARRIORS |
Brisket
16 entries · top 170.2744 · median 156.2400
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | MEAT RUSHMORE BBQ | |
| 2 | GAME OF BONES | |
| 3 | DRUM DADDY BBQ | |
| 4 | PARK AVENUE PORK | |
| 5 | MEN OF ERIN | |
| 6 | SUPERSWINE | |
| 7 | FAT CAT BBQ | |
| 8 | PORKIN THE PIG | |
| 9 | TOMBSTONE Q | |
| 10 | SMOKE-A-HOLICS | |
| 11 | MILWAUKEE BREW CREW | |
| 12 | VOODOO STILL SAUCED | |
| 13 | TAILGATE WARRIORS | |
| 14 | GRILLE BILLIES | |
| 15 | BUBBYQ | |
| 16 | DOWN SOUTH BBQ |
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.
Ancillary — Sausage
10 entries · top 177.1428 · median 166.5714
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DRUM DADDY BBQ | |
| 2 | MEAT RUSHMORE BBQ | |
| 3 | VOODOO STILL SAUCED | |
| 4 | GRILLE BILLIES | |
| 5 | MEN OF ERIN | |
| 6 | TOMBSTONE Q | |
| 7 | MILWAUKEE BREW CREW | |
| 8 | BUBBYQ | |
| 9 | FAT CAT BBQ | |
| 10 | TAILGATE WARRIORS |