A new contest record
685.1084
highest overall ever cooked here
685.1084 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 175.4172 LEE LA Q set in 2018.
- old record 175.4172
- set 2018 by LEE LA Q
Stills and Grills Fest 2019
May 17–18, 2019 · North Wilkesboro, NC · 📍 Downtown
Reps: Debby Harwell, Don Harwell · Prize money: $9,150
SMOKE MONSTER BBQ won Grand Champion at the Stills and Grills Fest on May 17, 2019 in North Wilkesboro, NC at Downtown, scoring 685.1084 in a field of 21 teams. WHO CARES BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 682.8000. Category winners: Chicken — DOCTOR CUE NC (175.4400); Pork Ribs — WHO CARES BBQ (176.5716); Pork — WHO CARES BBQ (170.8228); Brisket — SMOKE MONSTER BBQ (174.8456). This is the 2nd of 2 editions of this contest on record; the 2018 edition was won by LEE LA Q.
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.
587.76
median 650.72
685.11 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 175.44
- Pork Ribs 176.57
- Pork 170.82
- Brisket 174.85
133.07
176.57
Entries
21
4 judged meats
Top score
685.1084
Winning margin
2.3084
GC over RC
Field average
644.14
587.76685.11
median 650.72 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
2.8916 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
666.1828
587.76685.11
10th place overall
Field spread
97.3484
winner to last place
Prize money
$9,150
on the line
Double threats
8
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 82%
beats 18% of 4715 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.83 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,573
avg power rating going in · stronger than 58% 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.
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 5 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 1–2: DOCTOR CUE NC and SPEAKS FOR ITSELF BBQ tied on 175.4400 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 7–8: TWO OLD MEN AND A GRILL edged CAROLINA SMOKIN JOHN'S BBQ by 0.0116. Pork places 4–5: BURNING PIG BBQ edged CAROLINA SMOKIN JOHN'S BBQ by 0.0116.
- Chicken 1–2 · tie
- Brisket 7–8 · 0.0116
- Pork 4–5 · 0.0116
- Chicken 6–7 · 0.0228
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
WHO CARES BBQ won Pork Ribs, Pork — a double.
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 1st
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
SMOKE MONSTER BBQ took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was pork ribs at 6th.
- Chicken 4th
- Pork Ribs 6th
- Pork 6th
- Brisket 1st
A contest record in chicken
175.4400
best chicken ever cooked here
DOCTOR CUE NC turned in 175.4400 in chicken — past the 175.4172 that had stood across 1 earlier editions.
- old best 175.4172
- across 1 past editions
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 16, 2018 | North Wilkesboro, NC | North Wilkesboro, NC 28659 | 9 | 175.4172 | LEE LA Q | Get N My Belly |
| May 17, 2019 ← this one | North Wilkesboro, NC | Downtown | 21 | 685.1084 | Smoke Monster BBQ | WHO CARES BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 175.4400 | 172.5484 | 168.0228 |
| Pork Ribs | 176.5716 | 172.5484 | 165.7144 |
| Pork | 170.8228 | 167.4056 | 162.8456 |
| Brisket | 174.8456 | 171.4628 | 163.4400 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
21 entries · top 685.1084 · median 650.7196
Chicken
21 entries · top 175.4400 · median 166.2628
Pork Ribs
21 entries · top 176.5716 · median 165.6684
Pork
21 entries · top 170.8228 · median 162.8456
Brisket
21 entries · top 174.8456 · median 162.2972